Section 4650 Of Chapter 2. General Provisions From California Probate Code >> Division 4.7. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2.
4650
. The Legislature finds the following:
(a) In recognition of the dignity and privacy a person has a right
to expect, the law recognizes that an adult has the fundamental
right to control the decisions relating to his or her own health
care, including the decision to have life-sustaining treatment
withheld or withdrawn.
(b) Modern medical technology has made possible the artificial
prolongation of human life beyond natural limits. In the interest of
protecting individual autonomy, this prolongation of the process of
dying for a person for whom continued health care does not improve
the prognosis for recovery may violate patient dignity and cause
unnecessary pain and suffering, while providing nothing medically
necessary or beneficial to the person.
(c) In the absence of controversy, a court is normally not the
proper forum in which to make health care decisions, including
decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment.