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Committee considers removing pregnancy exclusion from state advance directive template
Summary
House Bill 1215 would delete a pregnancy exclusion clause from Washington's model advance health care directive; proponents said the model's wording has caused providers to refuse directives, while opponents said removing the clause could endanger fetuses.
House Bill 1215, which would remove language in the state's suggested advance health care directive that automatically voids a directive if the signer is pregnant and the physician knows of the pregnancy, drew supporters and opponents to the Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee on Jan. 28.
Sponsor Representative Jamila Taylor said the measure is intended to ensure parity in end‑of‑life decision‑making: "I bring this bill in order to help bring parity for a person who is pregnant, in terms of their end of life care and their directives," she told the committee. The bill removes a sentence in the model form that reads, in the statutory template, that a directive "shall have no force or…
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