§ 54.1-2989 Willful destruction, concealment, etc., of declaration or revocation; penalties
A. Any person who willfully (i) conceals, cancels, defaces, obliterates, or damages the advance directive or Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order of another without the declarant’s or patient’s consent or the consent of the person authorized to consent for the patient; (ii) falsifies or forges the advance directive or Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order of another; or (iii) falsifies or forges a revocation of the advance directive or Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order of another shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. If such action causes life-prolonging procedures to be utilized in contravention of the previously expressed intent of the patient or a Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order, the person committing such action shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.
B. Any person who willfully (i) conceals, cancels, defaces, obliterates, or damages the advance directive or Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order of another without the declarant’s or patient’s consent or the consent of the person authorized to consent for the patient, (ii) falsifies or forges the advance directive or Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order of another, (iii) falsifies or forges a revocation of the advance directive or Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order of another, or (iv) conceals or withholds personal knowledge of the revocation of an advance directive or Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order, with the intent to cause a withholding or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures, contrary to the wishes of the declarant or a patient, and thereby, because of such act, directly causes life-prolonging procedures to be withheld or withdrawn and death to be hastened, shall be guilty of a Class 2 felony.
History
This law was first created in 1983. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 532 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1983 “Acts” aren’t available online. It has been modified 5 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1988, chapter 765; in 1992, chapters 412, 748, and 772; in 1998, chapters 803 and 854; in 1999, chapter 814; in 2009, chapters 211 and 268.
1983, c. 532, § 54-325.8:9; 1988, c. 765; 1992, cc. 412, 748, 772; 1998, cc. 803, 854; 1999, c. 814; 2009, cc. 211, 268.