State Representative Seeks Comments on End-of-Life Legislation

Representative Susan Plasencia (R-Winter Park) has sought feedback on HB 219 which authorizes patient-directed doctor’s orders for end-of-life care decisions. This legislation authorizes doctors to sign, in consultation with the patient, a medical order that will direct end-of-life care if the individual becomes incapacitated. Importantly, HB 219 keeps Florida’s prohibition against patient-assisted suicide intact.
In a letter to Plasencia, the FCCB applauded the legislation’s significant safeguards that seek to protect the innate dignity of life. At the same time, the FCCB expressed concern that these medical orders often rely on ambiguous language, thereby creating confusion when an unforeseen medical episode leaves a patient with limited or no ability to review available interventions and alternatives. As such, the FCCB offered proposals that would provide more certainty about an individual’s end-of-life decisions, while also expressing a preference for advanced directives. The letter also reaffirmed opposition to any acts or omissions directly intended to end a life. To date, neither HB 219 nor its companion SB 390 by Senator Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) has received a committee hearing. 
The FCCB offers the Catholic Declaration on Life and Death which provides advanced care planning that conforms to both Florida law and the teachings of the Church.