New York Assembly Bill A00668 Latest Draft

   
  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.