NY: Senate Passes Family Health Care Decisions Bill

After being stalled in the Legislature for 17 years, the New York State Senate has finally joined the Assembly in passing the Family Health Care Decisions Act that enables a loved one to made health care decisions when the patient is not able to do so. The bill places a same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partner, just like a spouse, ahead of a surviving child or parent in making these decisions. Governor Paterson has said he will sign the bill into law when it is sent to him.

New York has been one of just two states where without a health care proxy, no one-not a domestic partner, spouse, or family member-could make health care decisions when the patient lacked the ability to do so. This gap in state law has sometimes forced loved ones to seek medical decision-making authority from a judge at the very time they should be focusing all their attention on caring for their partner.

The enactment of this legislation will allow loved ones including same-sex spouses who were married out-of-state or fit the domestic partnership definition to have the ability to make these decisions.

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