§ 2994-e. Decisions about life-sustaining treatment for minor
patients. 1. Authority of parent or guardian. The parent or guardian of
a minor patient shall have the authority to make decisions about
life-sustaining treatment, including decisions to withhold or withdraw
such treatment, subject to the provisions of this section and
subdivision five of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this
article.

2. Decision-making standards and procedures for minor patient. (a) The
parent or guardian of a minor patient shall make decisions in accordance
with the minor's best interests, consistent with the standards set forth
in subdivision four of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this
article, taking into account the minor's wishes as appropriate under the
circumstances.

(b) An attending practitioner, in consultation with a minor's parent
or guardian, shall determine whether a minor patient has decision-making
capacity for a decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining
treatment. If the minor has such capacity, a parent's or guardian's
decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment for the minor
may not be implemented without the minor's consent.

(c) Where a parent or guardian of a minor patient has made a decision
to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment and an attending
practitioner has reason to believe that the minor patient has a parent
or guardian who has not been informed of the decision, including a
non-custodial parent or guardian, an attending practitioner or someone
acting on his or her behalf, shall make reasonable efforts to determine
if the uninformed parent or guardian has maintained substantial and
continuous contact with the minor and, if so, shall make diligent
efforts to notify that parent or guardian prior to implementing the
decision.

3. Decision-making standards and procedures for emancipated minor
patient. (a) If an attending practitioner determines that a patient is
an emancipated minor patient with decision-making capacity, the patient
shall have the authority to decide about life-sustaining treatment. Such
authority shall include a decision to withhold or withdraw
life-sustaining treatment if an attending practitioner and the ethics
review committee determine that the decision accords with the standards
for surrogate decisions for adults, and the ethics review committee
approves the decision.

(b) If the hospital can with reasonable efforts ascertain the identity
of the parents or guardian of an emancipated minor patient, the hospital
shall notify such persons prior to withholding or withdrawing
life-sustaining treatment pursuant to this subdivision.