---
title: O.C.G.A. § 31-39-3. Presumption of consent to cardiopulmonary resuscitation; order not to resuscitate; expansion of facilities not required.
collection: code
id: 31-39-3
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 31-39-3 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-39-3
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-39-3.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-39-3/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t31-(v23)-2025-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=da7ded69_0#page=1008
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-39.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/31-39-2.md
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia
heading_path: HEALTH / CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION
---

# O.C.G.A. § 31-39-3. Presumption of consent to cardiopulmonary resuscitation; order not to resuscitate; expansion of facilities not required.

(a) Every patient shall be presumed to consent to the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest, unless there is consent or authorization for the issuance of an order not to resuscitate. Such presumption of consent does not presume that every patient shall be administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but rather that every patient agrees to its administration unless it is medically futile.

(b) Every adult shall be presumed to have the capacity to make a decision regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation unless determined otherwise in writing in the patient’s medical record pursuant to this Code section or pursuant to a court order. When an order not to resuscitate is requested by an adult with decision-making capacity, such order shall be presumed, unless revoked pursuant to Code Section 31-39-6, to be the direction of such person regarding resuscitation.

(c) Nothing in this chapter shall require a health care facility, any other facility, or a health care provider to expand its existing equipment and facilities to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

## History

Code 1981, § 31-39-3, enacted by Ga. L. 1991, p. 1853, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 672, § 1.