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Public Act 102-0182 |
HB0704 Enrolled | LRB102 12654 LNS 17993 b |
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AN ACT concerning civil law.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Health Care Surrogate Act is amended by |
changing Section 10 as follows:
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(755 ILCS 40/10) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 851-10)
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Sec. 10. Definitions.
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"Adult" means a person who is (i) 18 years of age or older |
or (ii) an
emancipated minor under the Emancipation of
Minors |
Act.
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"Artificial nutrition and hydration" means supplying food |
and water through a
conduit, such as a tube or intravenous |
line, where the recipient is not
required to chew or swallow |
voluntarily, including, but not limited to,
nasogastric tubes, |
gastrostomies, jejunostomies, and
intravenous infusions. |
Artificial nutrition and hydration does not include
assisted |
feeding, such as spoon or bottle feeding.
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"Available" means that a person is not "unavailable". A |
person is
unavailable if (i) the person's existence is not |
known, (ii) the person has
not been able to be contacted by |
telephone or mail, or (iii) the person
lacks decisional |
capacity, refuses to accept the office of surrogate, or is
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unwilling to respond in a manner that indicates a choice among |
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the
treatment matters at issue.
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"Attending physician" means the physician selected by or
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assigned to the patient who has primary responsibility for
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treatment and care of the patient and who is a licensed |
physician
in Illinois or a physician licensed in the state |
where the patient is being treated . If more than one physician |
shares that
responsibility, any of those physicians may act as |
the attending
physician under this Act.
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"Close friend" means any person 18 years of age or older |
who
has exhibited special care and concern for the patient and |
who
presents an affidavit to the attending physician stating |
that he or
she (i) is a close friend of the patient, (ii) is |
willing and able to become
involved in the patient's health |
care, and (iii) has maintained such
regular contact with the |
patient as to be familiar with the
patient's activities, |
health, and religious and moral beliefs. The
affidavit must |
also state facts and circumstances that demonstrate that
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familiarity.
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"Death" means when, according to accepted medical |
standards,
there is (i) an irreversible cessation of |
circulatory and
respiratory functions or (ii) an irreversible |
cessation of all
functions of the entire brain, including the |
brain stem.
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"Decisional capacity" means the ability to understand and
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appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision regarding
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medical treatment or
forgoing life-sustaining treatment and |
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the ability to reach and
communicate an informed decision in |
the matter as determined by the
attending physician.
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"Forgo life-sustaining treatment" means to withhold,
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withdraw, or terminate all or any portion of life-sustaining
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treatment with knowledge that the patient's death is likely to
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result.
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"Guardian" means a court appointed guardian of the person |
who
serves as a representative of a minor or as a |
representative of a
person under legal disability.
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"Health care facility" means a type of health care |
provider
commonly known by a wide variety of titles, including |
but not
limited to, hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes,
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rehabilitation centers, long term or tertiary care facilities, |
and
other facilities established to administer health care and |
provide
overnight stays in their ordinary course of business |
or practice.
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"Health care provider" means a person that is licensed,
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certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by the law of |
this
State or licensed in the state where the patient is being |
treated to administer health care in the ordinary course of |
business
or practice of a profession, including, but not |
limited to,
physicians, nurses, health care facilities, and |
any employee,
officer, director, agent, or person under |
contract with such a
person.
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"Imminent" (as in "death is imminent") means a |
determination
made by the attending physician according to |
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accepted medical
standards that death will occur in a |
relatively short period of
time, even if life-sustaining |
treatment is initiated or continued.
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"Life-sustaining treatment" means any medical treatment,
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procedure, or intervention that, in the judgment of the |
attending
physician, when applied to a patient with a |
qualifying condition,
would not be effective to remove the |
qualifying condition
or would serve only to prolong the dying |
process. Those
procedures can include, but are not limited to, |
assisted
ventilation, renal dialysis, surgical procedures, |
blood
transfusions, and the administration of drugs, |
antibiotics, and
artificial nutrition and hydration.
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"Minor" means an individual who is not an adult as defined |
in
this Act.
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"Parent" means a person who is the natural or adoptive |
mother
or father of the child and whose parental rights have |
not been
terminated by a court of law.
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"Patient" means an adult or minor individual, unless |
otherwise
specified, under the care or treatment of a licensed |
physician or
other health care provider.
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"Person" means an individual, a corporation, a business |
trust,
a trust, a partnership, an association, a government, a
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governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal entity.
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"Qualifying condition" means the existence of one or more |
of
the following conditions in a patient certified in writing |
in the
patient's medical record by the attending physician and |
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by at least
one other qualified physician:
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(1) "Terminal condition" means an illness or injury |
for
which there is no reasonable prospect of cure or |
recovery,
death is imminent, and the application of |
life-sustaining
treatment would only prolong the dying |
process.
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(2) "Permanent unconsciousness" means a condition |
that,
to a high degree of medical certainty, (i) will last
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permanently, without improvement, (ii) in which
thought, |
sensation, purposeful action, social interaction, and
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awareness of self and environment are absent, and (iii) |
for
which initiating or continuing life-sustaining |
treatment, in
light of the patient's medical condition, |
provides only
minimal medical benefit.
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(3) "Incurable or irreversible condition" means an
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illness or injury (i) for which there is no reasonable
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prospect of cure or recovery, (ii) that ultimately will |
cause
the patient's death even if life-sustaining |
treatment is
initiated or continued, (iii) that imposes |
severe pain or
otherwise imposes an inhumane burden on the |
patient, and (iv)
for which initiating or continuing |
life-sustaining treatment,
in light of the patient's |
medical condition, provides only
minimal medical benefit.
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The determination that a patient has a qualifying |
condition creates
no presumption regarding the application or |
non-application of life-sustaining
treatment. It is only after |
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a determination by the attending
physician that the patient |
has a qualifying condition that the
surrogate decision maker |
may consider whether or not to forgo
life-sustaining |
treatment. In making this decision, the surrogate
shall weigh |
the burdens on the patient of initiating or continuing
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life-sustaining treatment against the benefits of that |
treatment.
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"Qualified physician" means a physician licensed to |
practice
medicine in all of its branches in Illinois or a |
physician licensed in the state where the patient is being |
treated who has personally
examined the patient.
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"Surrogate decision maker" means an adult individual or
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individuals who (i) have decisional capacity, (ii) are |
available
upon reasonable inquiry, (iii) are willing to make |
medical treatment
decisions on behalf of
a patient who lacks |
decisional capacity, and (iv) are identified by
the attending |
physician in accordance with the provisions of this
Act as the |
person or persons who are to make those decisions in
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accordance with the provisions of this Act.
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(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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