Across the United States, many advance directive laws impose two limits on healthcare agent authority to make decisions about nutrition and hydration.
First, when the patient's wishes regarding administration of artificial nutrition and hydration are not reasonably known and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained, the agent lacks authority to make decisions regarding these measures. Second, advance directive laws are often completely silent on whether agents may make decisions regarding oral nutrition and hydration.
New York is following a growing trend across the country to remove both these limits. First, S.B. 350 would remove the presumption against agents being able to make decisions regarding ANH. Instead, ANH would be treated like mechanical ventilation, dialysis, CPR, or any other life-sustaining treatment.
Second, current New York law permits agents to make "any and all health care decisions on the principal's behalf." That includes "any treatment, service or procedure to diagnose or treat an individual's physical or mental condition." The new legislation clarifies that "health care decisions" also includes "hydration and nutrition."
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