HARRY HUGHES, Governor                                      2945

WHEREAS, The application of some such procedures to an
individual suffering a difficult and uncomfortable process of
dying may cause loss of patient dignity and secure only
continuation of a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life;
and

WHEREAS, Rights of patients to decide their own treatment
should be respected even after they are unable to actively
participate in such decisions; and

WHEREAS, Nothing in this Act is intended to condone,
authorize, or approve mercy killing or to permit any affirmative
or deliberate act or omission to end life other than to permit a
person to select the natural process of dying as provided in this
Act; and

WHEREAS, This Act is intended to ensure that such basic
measures as nursing care, nutrition, and hydration will be
maintained out of respect for the human dignity of every patient;
and

WHEREAS, This Act shall create no presumption concerning the
intent of any person who has not executed a declaration to
consent to the use or withholding of life-sustaining procedures
in the event of a terminal condition; and

WHEREAS, Under current law an individual may have difficulty
exercising the right to control decisions relating to
life-extending procedures because of uncertainty in the medical
profession concerning the legality of application or withholding
of such procedures even where a competent patient has evidenced a
desire that these procedures be applied or withheld; and

WHEREAS, There is a need for recognition of the dignity
which patients have a right to expect in making decisions
concerning their own medical treatment-; now, therefore,

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article - Health - General

SUBTITLE 6. LIFE-SUSTAINING PROCEDURES

5-601.

(A)  IN THIS SUBTITLE THE FOLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS
INDICATED.

(B)  "ATTENDING PHYSICIAN" MEANS A PHYSICIAN WHO HAS BEEN
SELECTED BY OR ASSIGNED TO, AND HAS PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE TREATMENT AND CARE OF, A DECLARANT.

(C) "COMATOSE PATIENT" MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL: