0001| HOUSE BILL 342
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0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003| INTRODUCED BY
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0004| J. "ANDY" KISSNER
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0006|
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0008|
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO HEALTH; CLARIFYING CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES OF AN
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0012| INDIVIDUAL'S RIGHT TO MAKE HEALTH-CARE DECISIONS.
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0013|
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0014| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0015| Section 1. Section 24-7A-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995,
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0016| Chapter 182, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
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0017| "24-7A-1. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Uniform Health-
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0018| Care Decisions Act:
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0019| A. "advance health-care directive" means an
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0020| individual instruction or a power of attorney for health care
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0021| made, in either case, while the individual has capacity;
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0022| B. "agent" means an individual designated in a
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0023| power of attorney for health care to make a health-care
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0024| decision for the individual granting the power;
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0025| C. "capacity" means an individual's ability to
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0001| understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of
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0002| proposed health care, including its significant benefits,
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0003| risks and alternatives to proposed health care and to make and
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0004| communicate an informed health-care decision. A determination
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0005| of lack of capacity shall be made only according to the
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0006| provisions of Section 24-7A-11 NMSA 1978;
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0007| D. "emancipated minor" means a person between the
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0008| ages of sixteen and eighteen who has been married, who is on
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0009| active duty in the armed forces or who has been declared by
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0010| court order to be emancipated;
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0011| E. "guardian" means a judicially appointed
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0012| guardian or conservator having authority to make a health-care
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0013| decision for an individual;
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0014| F. "health care" means any care, treatment,
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0015| service or procedure to maintain, diagnose or otherwise affect
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0016| an individual's physical or mental condition;
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0017| G. "health-care decision" means a decision made by
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0018| an individual or the individual's agent, guardian or
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0019| surrogate, regarding the individual's health care, including:
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0020| (1) selection and discharge of health-care
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0021| providers and institutions;
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0022| (2) approval or disapproval of diagnostic
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0023| tests, surgical procedures, programs of medication and orders
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0024| not to resuscitate;
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0025| (3) directions relating to life-sustaining
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0001| treatment, including withholding or withdrawing life-
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0002| sustaining treatment and the termination of life support; and
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0003| (4) directions to provide, withhold or
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0004| withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration and all other
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0005| forms of health care;
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0006| H. "health-care institution" means an institution,
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0007| facility or agency licensed, certified or otherwise authorized
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0008| or permitted by law to provide health care in the ordinary
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0009| course of business;
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0010| I. "health-care provider" means an individual
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0011| licensed, certified or otherwise authorized or permitted by
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0012| law to provide health care in the ordinary course of business
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0013| or practice of a profession;
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0014| J. "individual instruction" means an individual's
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0015| direction concerning a health-care decision for the
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0016| individual, made while the individual has capacity;
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0017| K. "life-sustaining treatment" means any medical
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0018| treatment or procedure without which the individual is likely
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0019| to die within a relatively short time, as determined to a
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0020| reasonable degree of medical certainty by the primary
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0021| physician;
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0022| L. "person" means an individual, corporation,
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0023| business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint
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0024| venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency or
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0025| instrumentality or any other legal or commercial entity;
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0001| M. "physician" means an individual authorized to
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0002| practice medicine or osteopathy;
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0003| N. "power of attorney for health care" means the
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0004| designation of an agent to make health-care decisions for the
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0005| individual granting the power, made while the individual has
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0006| capacity;
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0007| O. "primary physician" means a physician
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0008| designated by an individual or the individual's agent,
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0009| guardian or surrogate to have primary responsibility for the
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0010| individual's health care or, in the absence of a designation
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0011| or if the designated physician is not reasonably available, a
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0012| physician who undertakes the responsibility;
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0013| P. "principal" means an adult or emancipated minor
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0014| who, while having capacity, has made a power of attorney for
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0015| health care by which he delegates his right to make health-
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0016| care decisions for himself to an agent;
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0017| Q. "qualified health-care professional" means a
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0018| health-care provider who is a physician, physician assistant,
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0019| nurse practitioner, nurse, psychologist or social worker;
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0020| R. "reasonably available" means readily able to be
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0021| contacted without undue effort and willing and able to act in
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0022| a timely manner considering the urgency of the patient's
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0023| health-care needs;
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0024| S. "state" means a state of the United States, the
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0025| District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a
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0001| territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of
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0002| the United States;
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0003| T. "supervising health-care provider" means the
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0004| primary physician or, if there is no primary physician or the
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0005| primary physician is not reasonably available, the health-care
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0006| provider who has undertaken primary responsibility for an
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0007| individual's health care;
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0008| U. "surrogate" means an individual, other than a
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0009| patient's agent or guardian, authorized under the Uniform
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0010| Health-Care Decisions Act to make a health-care decision for
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0011| the patient; [and]
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0012| V. "unemancipated minor" means a person under the
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0013| age of eighteen; and
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0014| [V.] W. "ward" means an adult or emancipated
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0015| minor for whom a guardian has been appointed."
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0016| Section 2. Section 24-7A-6.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1997,
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0017| Chapter 168, Section 13) is amended to read:
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0018| "24-7A-6.1. DECISIONS FOR UNEMANCIPATED MINORS.--
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0019| A. Except as otherwise provided by law, a parent
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0020| or guardian of an unemancipated minor may make that minor's
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0021| health-care decisions.
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0022| B. A parent or guardian of an unemancipated minor
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0023| shall have the authority to withhold or withdraw life-
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0024| sustaining treatment for the unemancipated minor, subject to
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0025| the provisions of this section and the standards for surrogate
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0001| decision-making for adults provided for in the Uniform Health-
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0002| Care Decisions Act.
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0003| C. Subject to the provisions of Subsection B of
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0004| this section, if an unemancipated minor has the mental and
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0005| emotional capacity sufficient to understand the nature of
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0006| [that unemancipated minor's] his medical condition, the
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0007| risks and benefits of treatment and the contemplated decision
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0008| to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment, [that
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unemancipated minor] he shall have the authority to
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0010| withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment.
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0011| D. For purposes of Subsection C of this section, a
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0012| determination of the mental and emotional capacity of an
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0013| unemancipated minor shall be determined by two qualified
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0014| health-care professionals, one of whom shall be the
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0015| unemancipated minor's primary physician and the other of whom
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0016| shall be a physician [that] who works with unemancipated
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0017| minors of the minor's age in the ordinary course of that
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0018| physician's health-care practice. If the unemancipated minor
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0019| lacks capacity due to mental illness or developmental
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0020| disability, one of the qualified health-care professionals
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0021| shall be a person whose training and expertise aid in the
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0022| assessment of functional impairment.
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0023| E. If the unemancipated minor's primary physician
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0024| has reason to believe that a parent or guardian of an
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0025| unemancipated minor, including a noncustodial parent, has not
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0001| been informed of a decision to withhold or withdraw life-
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0002| sustaining treatment, the primary physician shall make
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0003| reasonable efforts to determine if the uninformed parent or
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0004| guardian has maintained substantial and continuous contact
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0005| with the unemancipated minor and, if so, shall make reasonable
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0006| efforts to notify that parent or guardian before implementing
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0007| a decision.
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0008| F. If there is disagreement regarding the decision
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0009| to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment for an
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0010| unemancipated minor, the provisions of Section [24-7A-11]
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0011| 24-7A-14 NMSA 1978 shall apply.
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0012| [G. For purposes of this section, "unemancipated
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minor" means a person at or under the age of fifteen.]"
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0014|
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