Bill > HB2072

This bill modifies Texas law regarding healthcare directives and life-sustaining treatment, introducing significant new legal protections and criminal penalties. The bill creates a first-degree felony offense for healthcare providers who withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment contrary to a patient's validly executed directive or healthcare decision, even if the provider claims to be unaware of the directive. It removes certain legal limitations periods for health care liability claims related to improper withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, meaning patients or their families could potentially sue healthcare providers indefinitely for such violations. The bill amends existing statutes in the Civil Practice and Remedies Code and Health and Safety Code to clarify that healthcare providers can be held criminally and civilly liable for improperly ending a patient's life-sustaining treatment, regardless of their claimed lack of knowledge about the patient's advance directives. These changes aim to strengthen patient autonomy and provide more robust legal recourse for patients and their families when healthcare decisions are made without proper consent or against the patient's expressed wishes. The new provisions will take effect on September 1, 2025, and will apply only to causes of action and offenses occurring on or after that date.

Health and Social Services

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB2072