Establishes a pregnant persons' bill of rights; requires posting and disclosing such bill of rights; establishes a penalty for failure to post or disclose such bill of rights.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5036
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 6, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, PAULIN, FERNANDEZ, MOSLEY, BARRON,
SEAWRIGHT -- 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. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 266-a to read as follows:
3 § 266-a. Pregnant persons' bill of rights. 1. Any healthcare profes-
4 sional who could reasonably foresee having pregnant persons as patients
5 shall conspicuously post a pregnant persons' bill of rights to be issued
6 by the department. The bill of rights shall be written in plain English,
7 and shall be made available in other languages, including but not limit-
8 ed to Spanish, French, Chinese and Russian. The pregnant persons' bill
9 of rights shall include, but not limited to the:
10 (a) right of decisionally capable pregnant persons to refuse treat-
11 ment, even if the refusal could result in the loss of life;
12 (b) requirement of doctors to receive informed consent from a pregnant
13 person before performing any medical procedure;
14 (c) requirement that coercion may not be used to receive that consent,
15 nor may appeals to conscience or morality;
16 (d) requirement that care should be provided in a culturally sensitive
17 environment;
18 (e) requirement that counseling and therapy should be made available
19 to anyone who experiences an adverse outcome as a result of refusing
20 treatment, but such counseling and therapy should not be required and
21 pregnant persons have the right to refuse the therapy;
22 (f) requirement that pregnant persons have the right to choose which
23 medical procedures she agrees to, without pressure throughout pregnancy
24 and delivery;
25 (g) right to request room, doctor or nurse change at any point;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00552-01-9
A. 5036 2
1 (h) right to know doctor's methods;
2 (i) right to change her mind with respect to any treatment decision at
3 any point;
4 (j) right of pregnant persons to be in any position they want so long
5 as it is medically indicated as safe;
6 (k) right of pregnant persons to know the risks associated with any
7 and all tests or procedures;
8 (l) right of pregnant persons to receive or refuse any type of
9 emotional, social, psychological or physical support people have before,
10 during and after labor;
11 (m) right of pregnant persons to choose birth setting;
12 (n) right of pregnant persons to refuse or accept any administered
13 drug/treatment; and
14 (o) right of pregnant persons to receive information about any poten-
15 tial direct or indirect effects, risks, hazards to the mother and fetus
16 because of a drug or procedure.
17 2. Before a healthcare professional commences a physical examination
18 or any treatment of a pregnant person, the healthcare professional
19 conducting the exam shall inform the person of the pregnant persons'
20 bill of rights by providing a copy of such bill of rights and offering
21 to explain such rights.
22 3. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall result
23 in a penalty of five hundred dollars for the first violation, and for
24 the second and each subsequent violation, the penalty shall be one thou-
25 sand dollars.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
27 have become a law.
