Judge orders Texas hospital to remove life support from pregnant, brain-dead woman

[Tripper11]

Last edited Sat Jan 25, 2014, 12:22 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNN

The Associated Press ‏@AP 1m

BREAKING: Judge orders Texas hospital to remove life support from pregnant, brain-dead woman.

Updated with link & excerpt

Fort Worth, Texas (CNN) -- A Texas judge ordered a Fort Worth hospital to remove a pregnant and brain-dead woman from respirators and ventilators on Friday, perhaps ending a wrenching legal debate about who is alive, who is dead and how the presence of a fetus changes the equation.
Erick Munoz, husband of Marlise Munoz, broke down in tears after Judge R.H. Wallace told John Peter Smith Hospital to act on his order by 5 p.m. Monday.
Munoz and other family members had been fighting to have the body released for burial. Hospital officials resisted, saying they were trying to obey a Texas law that says "you cannot withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment for a pregnant patient," in the words of the hospital spokesman.
Munoz left the courthouse without talking to reporters, but the family's lawyers spoke out. Jessica Janicek argued that the hospital was "utilizing (Marlise Munoz's) body as a science experiment."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/24/health/pregnant-brain-dead-woman-texas/

---

updated per mods with link

[SoapBox]

1. Let the battle begin.

Speaking of...what happened to the body of the little girl that had the tonsillectomy?

[hamsterjill]

12. I was wondering the same thing.

As to the young girl.

And yes...the battle will begin as I'm sure the other side will seek a TRO.

I sincerely hope that this battle ends here and that this family will be allowed to grieve their loss privately. This should NEVER have escalated to this point. It's ludicrous that they had to go to court to allow their wife/daughter to pass with dignity.

[PasadenaTrudy]

18. Jahni McMath...

It's been radio silence on her since she left the hospital. I keep checking for news, and not a thing. Strange.

[Sheldon Cooper]

2. Thank the gods.

Now this poor woman's family can finally get some peace.

[BigDemVoter]

3. About Goddamn time!!

They've been treating that poor woman like an "incubator."

For Christ's sake, she is DEAD and has been!

[jeff47]

4. May she rest in peace. And may the hospital eat the bill. (nt)

[modrepub]

11. shouldn't the state pay the hospital bill?

It was their law that kept her life support anyway. NPR had one of the authors of the TX bill (Tom Mayo) that the hospital had interpreted as requiring them keep her on life support against her husband's wishes. He said that "in his interpretation" the statute didn't apply (a cop out). Have no idea why he would say that other than even he was appalled at this situation.

NPR Interview: [link:http://www.npr.org/2014/01/23/265358241/the-law-behind-the-texas-life-support-controversy|

[Progressive dog]

19. I think it's a public hospital

whatever that means in Texas.
May the family now be able to begin to recover.

[LuvNewcastle]

24. I wish we could make the Texas Republican Party pick up the bill.

This whole situation was disgusting. They were keeping a fetus alive by making a corpse suck air. I can't even express my revulsion by all of this bullshit. Fucking monsters. I just hope this poor family is able to get over it without having nightmares for the rest of their lives. I think they certainly have grounds to sue the state and I hope they win so much that Texas has to raise taxes because of it. May God be with the family. I hope this horror is over soon.

[jsr]

30. Most likely Tarrant County homeowners.

[ralps]

5. Here's a link to the article about the judge's court order

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/texas-womans-family-asks-end-life-support-21647348

A judge has ordered a Texas hospital to remove life support for a pregnant, brain-dead woman.

Judge R. H. Wallace Jr. issued the ruling Friday in the case of Marlise Munoz. John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth has been keeping Munoz on life support against her family's wishes.

Munoz was 14 weeks pregnant when her husband found her unconscious Nov. 26, possibly due to a blood clot.

Erick Munoz says he and his wife are paramedics who were clear that they didn't want life support in this type of situation. His attorney argued that keeping the woman alive would set a dangerous precedent.
snip

[JustAnotherGen]

9. I'm glad he was able honor his wife's wishes

Last edited Fri Jan 24, 2014, 07:12 PM - Edit history (1)

And commitment and promise to do right by her.

[LongTomH]

6. Here are some links:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/24/22433012-texas-judge-orders-brain-dead-pregnant-woman-off-life-support?googleplus

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/texas-womans-family-asks-end-life-support-21647348

Stay tuned for Mike Huckabee's demagoguery on this......

[TexasTowelie]

7. Another link.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/latestnews/ci_24979919/texas-family-asks-take-pregnant-brain-dead-woman

[Tx4obama]

8. An AP link below...

Here: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/judge-orders-texas-hospital-remove-life-support-pregnant-brain-dead-woman

p.s. not much there yet, but they will be updating soon.

[IcyPeas]

10. the poor family. now they can grieve.

[ailsagirl]

13. Yes, after the heartbreak they'd undergone

with the hospital telling them they were going to keep her "alive," whether the family wanted it or not. Hasn't the family been through enough? Very sad all around.

I just read this:

More than 30 states have laws like that (which) restrict hospitals' ability to withdraw life-saving medical treatment from pregnant patients, according to legal experts.

That's terrible

[blkmusclmachine]

14. What a ghastly, indecent, inhumane, & cruel ordeal to put that poor family through, courtesy of TX

forced birthers!

[tabasco]

23. Exactly.

Well said.

[cosmicone]

15. This will be over fast

No party has standing to appeal the judge's ruling unless the state appeals and argues compelling interest on the part of Texas citizens. I don't think the latter would go far.

[Niceguy1]

26. I don't think anybody wants to appeall it

[ellenfl]

29. that's my take. once the judge basically overturned the law keeping her on life support,

no one else should have standing to continue. i'm not an attorney but that would be my guess . . . unless texas has a different criteria for 'standing'. wouldn't be surprised. it could be terri schiavo all over again, just a different state.

[Archae]

16. Terry Schiavo's husband had a court order to remove the feedng tube too.

I took MONTHS after for the politicians to finally be told no more interference.

I have a hunch this will happen again.

[NYC Liberal]

22. Remember Shrub rushing to DC in the middle of the night

while he was at the pig farm to sign that bill? I'd never seen him act so quickly on ANYTHING. Not even on 9/11, and not even with Katrina.

[WillyT]

17. K & R !!!

[Solly Mack]

20. Good

[cynatnite]

21. It hasn't happened yet. They have until 5pm Monday...

I'm not celebrating until they've followed the family's wishes.

[davidpdx]

25. Good news in a very sad case

One thing I wanted to point out from an article that was linked:

But in a joint affidavit stipulating the facts of the case filed shortly before Friday's hearing, it said that "at the time of this hearing, the fetus gestating inside Mrs. Munoz is not viable."

The hospital is saying they agree with the husband that the fetus is not viable. If it is not viable, then using the fact that she is pregnant to keep her on life support goes out the window.

[Tx4obama]

27. The judge gave the hospital until 5 p.m. CST Monday to remove life support.

01/24/14 05:48 PM ET (AP)

Marlise Munoz Case: Life Support For Brain Dead Pregnant Woman To Be Removed

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A judge on Friday ordered a Texas hospital to remove life support for a pregnant, brain-dead woman whose family had argued that she would not want to be kept in that condition.

Judge R. H. Wallace Jr. issued the ruling in the case of Marlise Munoz. John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth has been keeping Munoz on life support against her family's wishes. The judge gave the hospital until 5 p.m. CST Monday to remove life support.

-snip-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/marlise-munoz-life-support_n_4661938.html

[freshwest]

33. More than enough time for Reverend Rick Perry to intervene since he loves the unborn so much... n/t

[kdmorris]

28. Finally!!!

How awful for the family to have had to go through this.

[liberal_at_heart]

31. finally. I hope there is no hold up. The family needs to bury her and be able to grieve their loss.

[Hekate]

32. Thank God. May it soon be over, for their sakes. nt