What's happening
This bill requires health care facilities to respect patients' religious beliefs, especially regarding life-sustaining treatments and discharge decisions.
Why it matters
Strengthens patient autonomy by requiring hospitals and care facilities to actively support—not just permit—patients in exercising their civil and religious rights, especially regarding life-sustaining treatments and discharge decisions.
Mandates that a patient’s religious beliefs must be respected in critical medical decisions, such as whether to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining care, giving legal weight to these values in medical settings.
Clarifies that if a patient is incapacitated, the responsibility to determine their wishes related to religious beliefs falls to their legally designated agent or surrogate, potentially impacting end-of-life decisions and reducing conflict between families and providers.
Requires that these rights be formally communicated to patients (or their representatives) during the hospital admission process, potentially increasing awareness and ensuring that both patients and staff understand the legal obligations involved.
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Who cares
General hospitals
The bill would require them to include the right to independent personal decisions in their published patient rights statements.
Health care facilities
The bill would require facilities to facilitate patients’ exercise of civil and religious liberties and respect their religious beliefs when withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment or discharging them.
Patients with religious care preferences
The bill would expressly require respect for their religious beliefs in decisions about life-sustaining treatment and discharge.
Health care agents and surrogates
For incapacitated patients, the bill would place the determination with the patient’s agent or surrogate, as applicable under law.
Headline styles
Respect Patients' Religious Beliefs
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.1485
- Referred to health
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to health
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 63–0
Show 4 earlier actions
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.716
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2271
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 12, 2017
Introduced by Sen. HANNON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring health care facilities to respect each patient's religious beliefs with regard to the provision of care
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the public health law, as added by chapter 2 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
(g) The commissioner shall require that every general hospital adopt and make public an identical statement of the rights and responsibilities of patients, including a patient complaint and quality of care review process, a right to an appropriate patient discharge plan, a right to independent personal decisions pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred three-c of this article and, for patients other than beneficiaries of title XVIII of the federal social security act (medicare), a right to a discharge review in accordance with section twenty-eight hundred three-i of this article. The form and content of such statement shall be determined in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the council and approved by the commissioner. A patient who requires continuing health care services in accordance with such patient's discharge plan may not be discharged until such services are secured or determined by the hospital to be reasonably available to the patient. Each general hospital shall give a copy of the statement to each patient, or the appointed personal representative of the patient at or prior to the time of admission to the general hospital, as long as the patient or the appointed personal representative of the patient receives such notice no earlier than fourteen days before admission. Such statement shall also be conspicuously posted by the hospital and shall be a part of the patient's admission
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02909-01-7
S. 2271 2
package. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to limit any authority vested in the commissioner pursuant to this article related to the operation of hospitals and care and services provided to patients.
§ 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2803-c of the public health law, as added by chapter 648 of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
a. Every patient's civil and religious liberties, including the right to independent personal decisions and knowledge of available choices, shall not be infringed and the facility shall [encourage] facilitate and assist in the fullest possible exercise of these rights. Every patient's religious beliefs shall be respected with regard to withholding or withdrawing life sustaining treatments, or discharge from a facility. If such patient is incapacitated, such determination shall be made by their agent or surrogate as applicable by law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring health care facilities to respect each patient's religious beliefs with regard to the provision of care
Purpose
Ensures patients are informed of their civil and religious liberties, and that religious beliefs are respected with regard to withholding or withdrawing life sustaining treatments.
Summary of provisions
Section one amends Public Health Law (PHL) § 2803(1)(g) to require the hospital statement of rights and responsibilities to include the right to independent personal decisions pursuant to PHL § 2803-c(3)(a).
Section two amends PHL § 2803-c(3)(a) to provide that healthcare facilities shall facilitate and assist patient's in exercising their civil and religious liberties including the right to independent personal decisions and knowledge of available choices. This section also provides that every patient's religious beliefs shall be respected with regard to withholding or withdrawing life sustaining treatments or discharge from a facility.
Section three provides the effective date.
Justification
This bill amends the nursing home and hospital patient bill of rights to ensure patients are informed of their civil and religious liberties and to ensure facilities assist and facilitate the exercise of these rights. Further, the bill clarifies that every patient's religious beliefs shall be respected with regard to withholding or withdrawing life sustaining treatments or discharge from a facility.
Legislative history
2015-2016: S.1054 - Passed Senate, died in Assembly (both years) 2013-2014: S.5811
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
90 days after it shall become law
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.