New York Health Care Law - YOUR RIGHT TO DECIDE YOUR TREATMENT - Advance Medical Directive
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New York Health Care Law - YOUR RIGHT TO DECIDE YOUR TREATMENT
The United States Supreme Court has concluded that you have a constitutional right to be free of unwanted medical treatment.3 New York law also grants you the right to accept or reject medical treatment, including life-prolonging procedures, such as mechanical respiration and tube or intravenous feeding.4 New York facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes are required to inform you before you are admitted as to whether or not they will be able to honor your right to accept or reject treatment, or if you are already admitted, they are required to transfer you to a facility that will.
However, under current New York law, no one, not even a family member, has the right to decide about your medical treatment if you are unable to do so, unless you have given them the Legal authority to make decisions for you or leave clear and convincing evidence of your treatment wishes. One notable exception is that under the recently enacted Health Care Decisions Act for Persons with Mental Retardation, guardians of individuals with mental retardation have the authority to refuse life-sustaining treatment for such adults.
(N.Y. Public Health Law § 2991 (McKinney 1993) requires hospitals and other health care facilities to provide patients with a Health Care Proxy form and information about creating a proxy. In addition, the federal Patient Self-Determination Act requires health care facilities to notify patients of their rights under state law to create advance directives. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395cc(f) (1992).)
(N.Y. SCPA Law § 1750-B (McKinney 2004). Under the Health Care Decisions Act for Persons with Mental Retardation (HCDA), guardians of individuals with mental retardation have the authority to refuse life-sustaining treatment for such adults.)
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