A new state law increases the amount of notice doctors are required to give family members before taking a patient off life support.

According to the Texas Advance Directives Act, physicians can remove life support from a patient when they deem further medical interventions would be “futile,” The Texas Tribune reported.

Under the previous law, life support could be withdrawn 10 days after the patient’s family receives notification. HB 3162 increased that period to 25 days.

The bill was authored by Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth), who said she spent months drafting and developing the bill to make it agreeable to all.

“Quite frankly, we got way more in the way of reforms than I was expecting,” Klick said, per The Texas Tribune.

“But the stakeholders, they worked hard. We put hundreds of hours in on that bill. The public, when they see how quickly it passed on the floor with very little debate, that’s because we’ve been working for nine months,” she added.

The increased period of time allows families to explore their options, like transferring their loved one to another facility that may agree to continue the patient’s care.

If the family decides to pursue other medical options, the medical facility will assist “in trying to find a physician and facility willing to provide the requested treatment,” the new law states.

The initial facility will be required to provide “life-sustaining treatment until the patient can be transferred to a willing provider.”

HB 3162 adds other requirements to the process as well.

The law requires hospitals to file a report with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission when a physician decides to stop providing care. Additionally, families are now allowed to participate in meetings of the ethics review committee that evaluates the physician’s decision to end care.

John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, voiced his support for the bill.

“While 25 days is not anywhere close to where we want to be, this package also had other meaningful reforms of the process that are going to be good for Texas,” he said, as reported by The Texas Tribune.

“We were also talking about other good changes to make the process more pro-patient and pro-family,” Seago added.