Humboldt County Adult Protective Services v. Superior Court of Humboldt County

Opinion

BANKE, J.—

I. INTRODUCTION

The Health Care Decisions Law (Prob. Code, § 4600 et seq.) 1 recognizes and protects the “fundamental right” of adults to control decisions concerning their own health care, “including the decision to have life-sustaining treatment withheld or withdrawn.” (§ 4650, subd. (a).) Humboldt County Adult Protective Services (Humboldt) filed a petition under this law, ex parte and without notice, to effectively revoke Dick Magney’s written advance care directive (the validity of which has never been questioned) by removing his wife as his designated agent for health…