Legislation Will Allow New Yorkers to Make Health Care Decisions for Family Members Who Lack Capacity to Decide

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Governor David A. Paterson today signed the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) into law. The FHCDA allows family members to make health care decisions, including decisions about the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, on behalf of patients who lose their ability to make such decisions and have not prepared advance directives regarding their wishes.

“I could not be more pleased to sign this bill into law today as it will help ensure patients receive medical care more quickly and will help avoid unnecessary suffering,” Governor Paterson said. “After nearly two decades of negotiations, New Yorkers now have the right to make health care decisions on behalf of family members who cannot direct their own care.”
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