Bill Text: NY A00668 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes a pregnant persons' bill of rights; requires posting and disclosing such bill of rights; establishes a penalty for failure to post or disclose such bill of rights.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to health [A00668 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00668-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           668

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, PAULIN, SEAWRIGHT, JACKSON -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  establishing  a
          pregnant persons' bill of rights

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Title 6 of article 2 of the public health law, as added  by
     2  chapter  342  of  the  laws  of 2014, is amended by adding a new section
     3  266-a to read as follows:
     4    § 266-a. Pregnant persons' bill of rights. 1. Any  healthcare  profes-
     5  sional  who could reasonably foresee having pregnant persons as patients
     6  shall conspicuously post a pregnant persons' bill of rights to be issued
     7  by the department. The bill of rights shall be written in plain English,
     8  and shall be made available in other languages, including but not limit-
     9  ed to Spanish, French, Chinese and Russian. The pregnant  persons'  bill
    10  of rights shall include, but not limited to the:
    11    (a)  right  of  decisionally capable pregnant persons to refuse treat-
    12  ment, even if the refusal could result in the loss of life;
    13    (b) requirement of doctors to receive informed consent from a pregnant
    14  person before performing any medical procedure;
    15    (c) requirement that coercion may not be used to receive that consent,
    16  nor may appeals to conscience or morality;
    17    (d) requirement that care should be provided in a culturally sensitive
    18  environment;
    19    (e) requirement that counseling and therapy should be  made  available
    20  to  anyone  who  experiences  an adverse outcome as a result of refusing
    21  treatment, but such counseling and therapy should not  be  required  and
    22  pregnant persons have the right to refuse the therapy;
    23    (f)  requirement  that pregnant persons have the right to choose which
    24  medical procedures she agrees to, without pressure throughout  pregnancy
    25  and delivery;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00704-01-3
        A. 668                              2

     1    (g) right to request room, doctor or nurse change at any point;
     2    (h) right to know doctor's methods;
     3    (i) right to change her mind with respect to any treatment decision at
     4  any point;
     5    (j)  right of pregnant persons to be in any position they want so long
     6  as it is medically indicated as safe;
     7    (k) right of pregnant persons to know the risks  associated  with  any
     8  and all tests or procedures;
     9    (l)  right  of  pregnant  persons  to  receive  or  refuse any type of
    10  emotional, social, psychological or physical support people have before,
    11  during and after labor;
    12    (m) right of pregnant persons to choose birth setting;
    13    (n) right of pregnant persons to refuse  or  accept  any  administered
    14  drug/treatment; and
    15    (o)  right of pregnant persons to receive information about any poten-
    16  tial direct or indirect effects, risks, hazards to the mother and  fetus
    17  because of a drug or procedure.
    18    2.  Before  a healthcare professional commences a physical examination
    19  or any treatment of  a  pregnant  person,  the  healthcare  professional
    20  conducting  the  exam  shall  inform the person of the pregnant persons'
    21  bill of rights by providing a copy of such bill of rights  and  offering
    22  to explain such rights.
    23    3.  Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall result
    24  in a penalty of five hundred dollars for the first  violation,  and  for
    25  the second and each subsequent violation, the penalty shall be one thou-
    26  sand dollars.
    27    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    28  have become a law.