Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
Relating to the provision
of artificially administered nutrition and hydration and life-sustaining
treatment.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 3074 would amend Chapter 166 (Advance Directives) of the
Health and Safety Code. Specifically, it would change the model written
directive by updating the term “artificial nutrition and fluids” to “artificially
administered nutrition and hydration.” However, the original definition of that
term would remain the same.
This bill would expand the medical record information that
would be made available to a patient or the person responsible for the healthcare
decisions of that patient. Additionally,
if a patient or the person responsible for the patient requests life-sustaining
treatment that is deemed to be “medically inappropriate” by the physician and an
ethics or a medical committee, then then health facility would be required to
provide life-sustaining treatment pending the patient’s transfer out of that
facility. The health facility would not be authorized to withhold or withdraw any
treatment options during that period.
In the situation above, the health facility would be
required to provide a patient with artificially administered nutrition and hydration
unless the physicians determine that providing it would quicken a patient’s
death or harm him or her even further.
5/23/2015 update:
No changes have been made to this legislation in the Senate committee. The Senate chamber sponsor is Schwertner.
First chamber recommendation:
This legislation primarily concerns what is widely considered to be a social issue; namely the rights of individuals and their guardians concerning end of life care versus the responsibilities and obligations of physicians and hospitals to continue to provide care they view as ineffective and fruitless. Because we do not make recommendations for or against bills dealing primarily with social issues, we are neutral on HB 3074.