Treatment of qualified patients; withholding or withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration; treatment of pregnant patient.
1. A qualified patient may make decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment so long as he is able to do so.
2. NRS 449.535 to 449.690, inclusive, do not affect the responsibility of the attending physician or other provider of health care to provide treatment for a patient’s comfort or alleviation of pain.
3. Artificial nutrition and hydration by way of the gastro-intestinal tract shall be deemed a life-sustaining treatment and must be withheld or withdrawn from a qualified patient unless a different desire is expressed in writing by the patient. For a patient who has no effective declaration, artificial nutrition and hydration must not be withheld unless a different desire is expressed in writing by his authorized representative or the family member with the authority to consent or withhold consent.
4. Life-sustaining treatment must not be withheld or withdrawn pursuant to a declaration from a qualified patient known to the attending physician to be pregnant so long as it is probable that the fetus will develop to the point of live birth with continued application of life-sustaining treatment.
Last modified: February 26, 2006