Under current Hawaii law, patients making a health care decision have the right to “informed consent.”[1] This includes the right to be supplied with information concerning “recognized alternative treatments” and their “recognized benefits.” Hawaii's Informed Consent Statute, HRS § 671-3(b), states:
The following information shall be supplied to the patient . . . prior to obtaining consent to a proposed medical . . . treatment . . . .
(4) The recognized alternative treatments or procedures, . . . and . . .
(6) The recognized benefits of the recognized alternative treatments or procedures. (Emphasis added).[1]Under SB 1129 SD 2, patients instead have the right to an “informed decision.” Instead of having the right to be told of recognized alternative treatments and their benefits, the patient will have the right to be told of “feasible alternatives,” all of which have to do with death and dying. SB 1129 SD 2, § -2, states: