Massachusetts
House Bill 1998 (2013)
An Act affirming a terminally ill patient’s right to
compassionate aid in dying
Check the status of this bill at the
Massachusetts Legislature
Note: The following protection of conscience provisions
are included in a bill to legalize assisted suicide in Massachusetts for
residents who are at least 18 years old and diagnosed with a terminal
illness with a life expectancy of six months or less. It is not
clear from the text of the statute whether or not an objector is exempt
from all parts of the assisted suicide process [per Section 4(b)ii], or
only from the requirement to actually provide the lethal medication [per
Section 4(1)]. Similarly, it is not clear whether or not an
objector is required to refer or otherwise assist a patient to find
someone who will provide a lethal prescription; Section 4(b)iv appears
to imply an expectation of referral or assistance. [
Complete
text of bill] [Administrator]
Section 1. Definitions.
“Health care provider” means a person licensed, certified, or otherwise
authorized or
permitted by law to administer health care or dispense
medication in the ordinary course of
business or practice of a
profession, and includes a health care facility.
Section 15. Provider Participation
(1) A health care provider may choose whether to voluntarily participate
in providing to a
qualified patient medication pursuant to this act and
is not under any duty, whether by contract, by statute, or by any other
legal requirement, to participate in providing a qualified patient with the
medication.
(2) A health care provider or professional organization or association
may not subject an
individual to censure, discipline, suspension, loss of
license, loss of privileges, loss of
membership, or other penalty for
participating or refusing to participate in providing medication
to
a qualified patient pursuant to this chapter.
(3) If a health care provider is unable or unwilling to carry out a
patient's request under
this chapter and the patient transfers care to a
new health care provider, the prior health care
provider shall transfer,
upon request, a copy of the patient's relevant medical records to the new
health care provider.
(4) (a) Health care providers shall maintain and disclose to consumers
upon request
their written policies outlining the extent to which they
refuse to participate in providing to a
qualified patient any medication
pursuant to this act
(b) The required consumer disclosure shall at minimum:
(i) include information about the Massachusetts Compassionate Care for
the Terminally
Ill Act;
(ii) identify the specific services in which they refuse to participate;
(iii) clarify any difference between institution-wide objections and
those that may be
raised by individual licensed providers who are
employed or work on contract with the provider;
(iv) describe the mechanism the provider will use to provide patients a
referral to another
provider or provider in the provider’s service area
who is willing to perform the specific health care service;
(v) describe the provider’s policies and procedures relating to
transferring patients to
other providers who will implement the health
care decision;
(vi) inform consumers that the cost of such transfer will be borne by the
transferring
provider;
(vii) describe the internal and external consumer complaint processes
available to persons affected by the provider’s objections.
(c) The consumer disclosure shall be provided:
(i) to any person upon the request;
(ii) to a patient or resident or their authorized appointed health care
agents, guardians,
surrogate decision-maker upon admission or at the time
of initial receipt of health care.
Section 18. Construction.
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to authorize a physician or any
other person to
end a patient's life by lethal injection, mercy killing,
assisted suicide, or active euthanasia.