"The Virtual Center for Independent Living for West Virginia""The Virtual Center for Independent Living for West Virginia"Home > Advocacy in Action > 2006 Legislative Initiative > Vote no on HB 4022
Congratulation Advocates! We were successful in educating our legislators about the impact HB 4022 could have on the disability community.
On February 2, 2006 HB 4022 was read for a first time in the House of Delegates. It was read a second time on February 3, 2006. It remained on the House Calendar for a third reading for seven days. On February 14, 2006, Delegate Amores asked for unanimous consent to take this bill back to the Judiciary Committee. HB 4022 was recommitted to the House Judiciary commitee where it is expected to remain with no further action.
Mountain State Centers for Independent Living joins the Fair Shake Network and urges you to act now.
An amended version of House Bill 4022 passed House Judiciary on Tuesday January 31, 2006 and will be reported to the full House with recommendation that it pass.
Please contact all House Members, especially Speaker Kiss and members of the Rules Committee, and ask them to vote NO on House Bill 4022. Do not allow policymakers to set policy that takes away your freedom of choice and allows physicians to override your Living Will or your Medical Power of Attorney.
Rules committee members include:
HB 4022 allows the attending physician in conjunction with consulting physician to make a decision that CPR would be ineffective medical treatment (ineffective CPR means that to a reasonable degree of medical certainty CPR would be unsuccessful or that the person will die within minutes to hours of time regardless of whether CPR is administered or repeated).
This bill overrides a person's living will or a person's medical power of attorney if two physicians decide that CPR would be ineffective.
The attending physicians, other health care providers, health care facilities or employees or agents thereof acting in accordance with the provisions of this article shall not be subject to criminal or civil liability for declining to comply with an incapacitated person's authorized decision-maker requesting medically ineffective CPR.
The purpose of the bill is to define medically ineffective cardiopulmonary resuscitation and to authorize an attending physician to issue a do not resuscitate order for a person who lacks decision-making capacity when cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be ineffective.
The issuance of the do not resuscitate order would not require consent when it has been determined to be medically ineffective by the attending physician and another physician - providing circumstances when health care facilities and providers are not required to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The bill overrides a person's living will or a person's medical power of attorney if two physicians decide that CPR would be ineffective.
HB 4022 allows the attending physician, in conjunction with consulting physician, to make a decision that CPR would be ineffective medical treatment. Ineffective CPR means that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, CPR would be unsuccessful or that the person will die within minutes to hours of time regardless of whether CPR is administered or repeated.
The attending physicians, other health care providers, health care facilities or employees or agents thereof acting in accordance with the provisions of this article shall not be subject to criminal or civil liability for declining to comply with an incapacitated person's authorized decision-maker requesting medically ineffective CPR.
Print the Fact Sheet and distribute to your legislators, the media and other advocacy groups: HB 4022 Fact Sheet.
Contact information:
Updated: February 1, 2006
www.mtstcil.org
