N.Y. Public Health Law § 2504: Enabling certain persons to consent for certain medical, dental, health and hospital services

§ 2504. Enabling certain persons to consent for certain medical,

dental, health and hospital services. 1. Any person who is eighteen

years of age or older, or is the parent of a child or has married, or is

a homeless youth as defined in section five hundred thirty-two-a of the

executive law, or receives services at an approved runaway and homeless

youth crisis services program or a transitional independent living

support program as defined in section five hundred thirty-two-a of the

executive law, may give effective consent for medical, dental, health

and hospital services, including behavioral health services, for

themself, and the consent of no other person shall be necessary.

2. Any person who has been married or who has borne a child may give

effective consent for medical, dental, health and hospital services for

his or her child. Any person who has been designated pursuant to title

fifteen-A of article five of the general obligations law as a person in

parental relation to a child may consent to any medical, dental, health

and hospital services for such child for which consent is otherwise

required which are not: (a) major medical treatment as defined in

subdivision (a) of section 80.03 of the mental hygiene law; (b)

electroconvulsive therapy; or (c) the withdrawal or discontinuance of

medical treatment which is sustaining life functions.

3. Any person who is pregnant may give effective consent for medical,

dental, health and hospital services relating to prenatal care.

4. Medical, dental, health and hospital services may be rendered to

persons of any age without the consent of a parent, legal guardian or

person possessing a lawful order of custody when, in the physician's

judgment an emergency exists and the person is in immediate need of

medical attention and an attempt to secure consent would result in delay

of treatment which would increase the risk to the person's life or

health.

5. Where not otherwise already authorized by law to do so, any person

in a parental relation to a child as defined in section twenty-one

hundred sixty-four of this chapter and, (i) a grandparent, an adult

brother or sister, an adult aunt or uncle, any of whom has assumed care

of the child and, (ii) an adult who has care of the child and has

written authorization to consent from a person in a parental relation to

a child as defined in section twenty-one hundred sixty-four of this

chapter, may give effective consent for the immunization of a child.

However, a person other than one in a parental relation to the child

shall not give consent under this subdivision if he or she has reason to

believe that a person in parental relation to the child as defined in

section twenty-one hundred sixty-four of this chapter objects to the

immunization.

6. Anyone who acts in good faith based on the representation by a

person that he is eligible to consent pursuant to the terms of this

section shall be deemed to have received effective consent.

7. No person shall perform a pelvic examination or supervise the

performance of a pelvic examination on an anesthetized or unconscious

patient unless the person performing the pelvic examination is legally

authorized to do so and the person supervising the performance of the

pelvic examination is legally authorized to do so and:

(a) the patient or the patient's authorized representative gives prior

oral or written informed consent specific to the pelvic examination;

(b) the performance of a pelvic examination is within the scope of

care for the surgical procedure or diagnostic examination scheduled to

be performed on the patient and to which the patient has already given

oral or written consent; or

(c) the patient is unconscious and the pelvic examination is medically

necessary for diagnostic or treatment purposes, and the patient is in

immediate need of medical attention and an attempt to secure consent

would result in a delay of treatment which would increase the risk to

the patient's life or health.

Nothing in this subdivision diminishes any other requirement to obtain

informed consent for a pelvic examination or any other procedure.