Bill Text: NY A05036 | 2019-2020 | 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 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to health [A05036 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A05036-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5036
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 6, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, PAULIN, FERNANDEZ, MOSLEY, BARRON,
          SEAWRIGHT -- 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. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  266-a to read as follows:
     3    §  266-a.  Pregnant persons' bill of rights. 1. Any healthcare profes-
     4  sional who could reasonably foresee having pregnant persons as  patients
     5  shall conspicuously post a pregnant persons' bill of rights to be issued
     6  by the department. The bill of rights shall be written in plain English,
     7  and shall be made available in other languages, including but not limit-
     8  ed  to  Spanish, French, Chinese and Russian. The pregnant persons' bill
     9  of rights shall include, but not limited to the:
    10    (a) right of decisionally capable pregnant persons  to  refuse  treat-
    11  ment, even if the refusal could result in the loss of life;
    12    (b) requirement of doctors to receive informed consent from a pregnant
    13  person before performing any medical procedure;
    14    (c) requirement that coercion may not be used to receive that consent,
    15  nor may appeals to conscience or morality;
    16    (d) requirement that care should be provided in a culturally sensitive
    17  environment;
    18    (e)  requirement  that counseling and therapy should be made available
    19  to anyone who experiences an adverse outcome as  a  result  of  refusing
    20  treatment,  but  such  counseling and therapy should not be required and
    21  pregnant persons have the right to refuse the therapy;
    22    (f) requirement that pregnant persons have the right to  choose  which
    23  medical  procedures she agrees to, without pressure throughout pregnancy
    24  and delivery;
    25    (g) right to request room, doctor or nurse change at any point;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00552-01-9
        A. 5036                             2
     1    (h) right to know doctor's methods;
     2    (i) right to change her mind with respect to any treatment decision at
     3  any point;
     4    (j)  right of pregnant persons to be in any position they want so long
     5  as it is medically indicated as safe;
     6    (k) right of pregnant persons to know the risks  associated  with  any
     7  and all tests or procedures;
     8    (l)  right  of  pregnant  persons  to  receive  or  refuse any type of
     9  emotional, social, psychological or physical support people have before,
    10  during and after labor;
    11    (m) right of pregnant persons to choose birth setting;
    12    (n) right of pregnant persons to refuse  or  accept  any  administered
    13  drug/treatment; and
    14    (o)  right of pregnant persons to receive information about any poten-
    15  tial direct or indirect effects, risks, hazards to the mother and  fetus
    16  because of a drug or procedure.
    17    2.  Before  a healthcare professional commences a physical examination
    18  or any treatment of  a  pregnant  person,  the  healthcare  professional
    19  conducting  the  exam  shall  inform the person of the pregnant persons'
    20  bill of rights by providing a copy of such bill of rights  and  offering
    21  to explain such rights.
    22    3.  Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall result
    23  in a penalty of five hundred dollars for the first  violation,  and  for
    24  the second and each subsequent violation, the penalty shall be one thou-
    25  sand dollars.
    26    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    27  have become a law.