Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB0704
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Full Text of HB0704  102nd General Assembly

HB0704ham001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin

Filed: 3/9/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 704

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 704 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Health Care Surrogate Act is amended by
5changing Section 10 as follows:
 
6    (755 ILCS 40/10)  (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 851-10)
7    Sec. 10. Definitions.
8    "Adult" means a person who is (i) 18 years of age or older
9or (ii) an emancipated minor under the Emancipation of Minors
10Act.
11    "Artificial nutrition and hydration" means supplying food
12and water through a conduit, such as a tube or intravenous
13line, where the recipient is not required to chew or swallow
14voluntarily, including, but not limited to, nasogastric tubes,
15gastrostomies, jejunostomies, and intravenous infusions.
16Artificial nutrition and hydration does not include assisted

 

 

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1feeding, such as spoon or bottle feeding.
2    "Available" means that a person is not "unavailable". A
3person is unavailable if (i) the person's existence is not
4known, (ii) the person has not been able to be contacted by
5telephone or mail, or (iii) the person lacks decisional
6capacity, refuses to accept the office of surrogate, or is
7unwilling to respond in a manner that indicates a choice among
8the treatment matters at issue.
9    "Attending physician" means the physician selected by or
10assigned to the patient who has primary responsibility for
11treatment and care of the patient and who is a licensed
12physician in Illinois or a physician licensed in the state
13where the patient is being treated. If more than one physician
14shares that responsibility, any of those physicians may act as
15the attending physician under this Act.
16    "Close friend" means any person 18 years of age or older
17who has exhibited special care and concern for the patient and
18who presents an affidavit to the attending physician stating
19that he or she (i) is a close friend of the patient, (ii) is
20willing and able to become involved in the patient's health
21care, and (iii) has maintained such regular contact with the
22patient as to be familiar with the patient's activities,
23health, and religious and moral beliefs. The affidavit must
24also state facts and circumstances that demonstrate that
25familiarity.
26    "Death" means when, according to accepted medical

 

 

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1standards, there is (i) an irreversible cessation of
2circulatory and respiratory functions or (ii) an irreversible
3cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the
4brain stem.
5    "Decisional capacity" means the ability to understand and
6appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision regarding
7medical treatment or forgoing life-sustaining treatment and
8the ability to reach and communicate an informed decision in
9the matter as determined by the attending physician.
10    "Forgo life-sustaining treatment" means to withhold,
11withdraw, or terminate all or any portion of life-sustaining
12treatment with knowledge that the patient's death is likely to
13result.
14    "Guardian" means a court appointed guardian of the person
15who serves as a representative of a minor or as a
16representative of a person under legal disability.
17    "Health care facility" means a type of health care
18provider commonly known by a wide variety of titles, including
19but not limited to, hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes,
20rehabilitation centers, long term or tertiary care facilities,
21and other facilities established to administer health care and
22provide overnight stays in their ordinary course of business
23or practice.
24    "Health care provider" means a person that is licensed,
25certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by the law of
26this State or licensed in the state where the patient is being

 

 

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1treated to administer health care in the ordinary course of
2business or practice of a profession, including, but not
3limited to, physicians, nurses, health care facilities, and
4any employee, officer, director, agent, or person under
5contract with such a person.
6    "Imminent" (as in "death is imminent") means a
7determination made by the attending physician according to
8accepted medical standards that death will occur in a
9relatively short period of time, even if life-sustaining
10treatment is initiated or continued.
11    "Life-sustaining treatment" means any medical treatment,
12procedure, or intervention that, in the judgment of the
13attending physician, when applied to a patient with a
14qualifying condition, would not be effective to remove the
15qualifying condition or would serve only to prolong the dying
16process. Those procedures can include, but are not limited to,
17assisted ventilation, renal dialysis, surgical procedures,
18blood transfusions, and the administration of drugs,
19antibiotics, and artificial nutrition and hydration.
20    "Minor" means an individual who is not an adult as defined
21in this Act.
22    "Parent" means a person who is the natural or adoptive
23mother or father of the child and whose parental rights have
24not been terminated by a court of law.
25    "Patient" means an adult or minor individual, unless
26otherwise specified, under the care or treatment of a licensed

 

 

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1physician or other health care provider.
2    "Person" means an individual, a corporation, a business
3trust, a trust, a partnership, an association, a government, a
4governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal entity.
5    "Qualifying condition" means the existence of one or more
6of the following conditions in a patient certified in writing
7in the patient's medical record by the attending physician and
8by at least one other qualified physician:
9        (1) "Terminal condition" means an illness or injury
10    for which there is no reasonable prospect of cure or
11    recovery, death is imminent, and the application of
12    life-sustaining treatment would only prolong the dying
13    process.
14        (2) "Permanent unconsciousness" means a condition
15    that, to a high degree of medical certainty, (i) will last
16    permanently, without improvement, (ii) in which thought,
17    sensation, purposeful action, social interaction, and
18    awareness of self and environment are absent, and (iii)
19    for which initiating or continuing life-sustaining
20    treatment, in light of the patient's medical condition,
21    provides only minimal medical benefit.
22        (3) "Incurable or irreversible condition" means an
23    illness or injury (i) for which there is no reasonable
24    prospect of cure or recovery, (ii) that ultimately will
25    cause the patient's death even if life-sustaining
26    treatment is initiated or continued, (iii) that imposes

 

 

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1    severe pain or otherwise imposes an inhumane burden on the
2    patient, and (iv) for which initiating or continuing
3    life-sustaining treatment, in light of the patient's
4    medical condition, provides only minimal medical benefit.
5    The determination that a patient has a qualifying
6condition creates no presumption regarding the application or
7non-application of life-sustaining treatment. It is only after
8a determination by the attending physician that the patient
9has a qualifying condition that the surrogate decision maker
10may consider whether or not to forgo life-sustaining
11treatment. In making this decision, the surrogate shall weigh
12the burdens on the patient of initiating or continuing
13life-sustaining treatment against the benefits of that
14treatment.
15    "Qualified physician" means a physician licensed to
16practice medicine in all of its branches in Illinois or a
17physician licensed in the state where the patient is being
18treated who has personally examined the patient.
19    "Surrogate decision maker" means an adult individual or
20individuals who (i) have decisional capacity, (ii) are
21available upon reasonable inquiry, (iii) are willing to make
22medical treatment decisions on behalf of a patient who lacks
23decisional capacity, and (iv) are identified by the attending
24physician in accordance with the provisions of this Act as the
25person or persons who are to make those decisions in
26accordance with the provisions of this Act.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.".