N.Y. Bill Lets Proxy Choose Death for Terminal Patient

New Yorkers may appoint a friend or relative to pull the plug on life support systems when they are terminally ill under a bill passed Sunday by the Legislature.

It was the first legislative action in the nation on the issue since last week’s Supreme Court decision recognizing a constitutional right to die, according to state Senate Health Committee Chairman Michael Tully.

Since first proposed by a committee appointed by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo in 1987, the measure has been the subject of intense debate among the elderly, AIDS patients and religious groups.

“This legislation provides New Yorkers with a vehicle to ensure that treatment is provided according to their own personal, religious and moral convictions, as conveyed by someone they have selected and trust,” Cuomo said.

Tim Sweeney, deputy executive director for policy for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, called the Legislature’s action humane and compassionate.

“We have seen many of our friends and lovers go through long and difficult deaths,” Sweeney said. “AIDS robs people of so much control in their lives, and this bill restores a measure of control for people with AIDS and their families.”

Under the legislation, a person could designate an adult to make health care decisions for him in the presence of two witnesses. The doctor attending the patient cannot serve as a proxy.

Two attending doctors could determine when a sick person is no longer able to make health care decisions. A person could specifically state in the proxy agreement whether or not artificial nutrition or hydration can be cut off for the proxy to be able to make that determination.

Private hospitals or clinics could refuse to allow a proxy to order a cutoff of life support systems for moral or religious reasons. But the hospital would have to inform incoming patients that it did not honor a proxy’s decision.