SS/HB 138 - This act establishes "Simon's Law" prohibiting any health care facility or health care professional from instituting a do-not-resuscitate or similar order without the written or oral consent of at least one parent or legal guardian of a non-emancipated minor patient or resident. If oral consent is granted, at least 2 witnesses other than the parent, guardian, or physician shall be present and willing to attest to the consent. Such consent shall immediately be recorded in the patient's medical record. Consent granted under the provisions of this act may be revoked orally or in writing by the grantor and shall take precedence over any previous granted consent. These requirements shall not apply if a reasonably diligent effort has been made over a 48-hour period to contact and inform a known parent or guardian without success. In cases of a child under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court, a juvenile or family court may issue an end-of-life medical decision order, a physician's order, or any other medical decision order, or appoint a guardian for that purpose. The Children's Division shall not be appointed as a guardian for such purposes. If a child under the custody of a juvenile court is returned to his or her parent or guardian, the parent or guardian may revoke consent, orally or in writing, for end-of-life medical decisions ordered by the court.
Nothing in this act shall require health care providers to provide or continue any treatment that would be medically inappropriate because, in their reasonable medical judgment, providing such treatment would either create a greater risk of causing or hastening the patient's death or would be potentially harmful or cause unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to the patient. Additionally, nothing in this act shall require health care providers to continue cardiopulmonary resuscitation or manual ventilation beyond a time in which, in their reasonable medical judgment, there is no further benefit to the patient or likely recovery of the patient.
This act is identical to SB 406 (2019).
SARAH HASKINS