Pregnant women in Texas and 11 states lose rights to DNR

[bookgirl14]

I'm just glad for the woman and her family that it is finally over.

[Stephanie66]

Now the conspiracy theories will begin. Operation Rescue or a similar organization will say they took the mother off life-support now because they didn't want the world to know the baby was fine or just minimally disabled. They will blame the father, liberals, the judge, etc. You know it's coming. Look for the strange comments emanating from Operation Rescue tomorrow.

It's not Operation Rescue's fetus.

[Lillybee]

I hope that Mr. Munoz is not stuck with the bill which could reach 2 mil. As for suing the hospital, Texas has a malpractice cap that is fairly low, IIRC it is 200K.

[Aggie2145]

I hope that Mr. Munoz is not stuck with the bill which could reach 2 mil. As for suing the hospital, Texas has a malpractice cap that is fairly low, IIRC it is 200K.

Texas's cap is low but it is not that low. Economic Damages (ex. hospital bills) are not capped, non economic damages are capped at $250,000 (ex. pain and suffering, emotional distress and mental anguish) and punitive damages are capped at the greater of $200,000 or twice economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000.

[salex]

I hope that Mr. Munoz is not stuck with the bill which could reach 2 mil. As for suing the hospital, Texas has a malpractice cap that is fairly low, IIRC it is 200K.

If I were he, given his age, if there were a huge bill from all this (on top of the attorney bills from having to go to court to let my dead wife die) I'd go bankrupt, publically, blaming the hospital and the state of Texas for passing a punitive law. Bankruptcy is not uncommon anymore, and frankly, if he owes 2 million, what else would he do?

Of course, if he has a willing attorney, suing after the bankruptcy might be a good thing to, or in liu of (ie, you eat the bill and pay me xyz.) But suing is painful and takes forever.

[sparkles]

I know that there are many frivolous law suits filed, many by money-grubbing people, but in the US suing is often the only recourse someone has to bring a negligent and/or horrific situation to light in an attempt for force change and set new precedents. I do hope Mr. Munoz sues for exactly these reasons.

[doggie]

well it has started

DALLAS (AP) - The removal of a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman from life support has four influential Republicans running for lieutenant governor agreeing again, this time that a judge erred and they'd tighten state law so it doesn't happen in the future.

But the first statewide televised debate Monday night in Texas' most competitive primary also revealed new distinctions - and new attacks. It comes with fewer than six weeks left in a race among four big-name Republicans, all of whom are almost ideologically identical.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and state Sen. Dan Patrick all say a state judge made a mistake by ordering Marlise Munoz and her 23-week-old fetus off life support.

It was the first statewide televised debate. The primary is March 4.

[RosyDaisy]

UNCONSCIONABLE! This is a private family matter that has turned into a media and political feeding frenzy. Both are most likely twisting the facts to suit their agenda! Fuck them!

[Childless]

If I were Mr. Munoz, the first thing I would do is move the fuck out of Texas.

[doggie]

If I were Mr. Munoz, the first thing I would do is move the fuck out of Texas.

hell yes. I mean he can't even have a funeral because of the idiots anti logicer's.

[sparkles]

If ANYTHING should be done to "save" the fetus after the freaking DEATH of the mother--and I'm not saying it should--then it should involve delivering said fetus with the hope that it's viable, ONLY if it doesn't violate the individual's wishes and only then with the consent of the surviving parent. Otherwise, the idea that a dead woman can be forced to become an incubator is ghoulish in the extreme. The zombie apocalypse is here, thanks to these fucking right-to-life zealots.

[SamuraiKatz]

well it has started

DALLAS (AP) - The removal of a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman from life support has four influential Republicans running for lieutenant governor agreeing again, this time that a judge erred and they'd tighten state law so it doesn't happen in the future.

But the first statewide televised debate Monday night in Texas' most competitive primary also revealed new distinctions - and new attacks. It comes with fewer than six weeks left in a race among four big-name Republicans, all of whom are almost ideologically identical.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and state Sen. Dan Patrick all say a state judge made a mistake by ordering Marlise Munoz and her 23-week-old fetus off life support.

It was the first statewide televised debate. The primary is March 4.

What the ever loving fuck! This was a twisted gruesome experiment to see if a full term healthy baby could grow to full term in a corpse! These "influential" politicians make me sick.

[Stephanie66]

There are reasons why I would never live in Texas.

[SamuraiKatz]

Marlise's case is not the first. Angela Carder 26 years ago. Short story. Pregnant women gets cancer. Wants treatment. Is denied treatment...then the hospital intervenes to "save" the baby with a forced c-section. Mother AND baby die. I hope Mr. Munoz sues the hospital...this should not happen again ever.

http://www.advocatesforpregnantwomen.or ... angela.htm

At age 13, Angela was diagnosed as suffering from a rare and fatal form of cancer. Despite the odds, she survived and was cured after years of aggressive and often experimental chemotherapy and radiation. Ten years later, however, she developed another form of cancer. She bravely fought for life again, returning to chemotherapy and radiation and resorting to multiple surgeries. Ultimately, she consented to a hemipelvectomy, the surgical removal of her left leg and hip. After more chemotherapy and radiation, there were no signs of cancer anywhere. In 1986, three years into remission and confident in her ability to rob the grim reaper, Angela married and became pregnant. Because of her disability, she was eventually referred to the High Risk Pregnancy Clinic at GWUMC, where she was enthusiastically accepted as a teaching case.

According to her clinic obstetrician, Angela emphasized two points about her health care: she wanted to be watched closely for any signs of recurrence of cancer and, having struggled so long to survive, she wanted to be sure her own health was not compromised because of her pregnancy.

Unfortunately, during the 25th week of gestation, Angela was admitted to GWUMC and eventually diagnosed as having a lung tumor. Again, fighting to live, she wanted everything possible done to prolong her life. Surgery was ruled out, leaving chemotherapy and radiation as the only means of prolonging her life. Angela was informed that her baby was too small to be born, meaning too premature to have a good chance to survive, 2 and that her doctors did not consider intervention on behalf of the fetus appropriate until 28 weeks.3 She was also informed of the added risks to the fetus from chemotherapy and radiation, but Angela still decided to institute aggressive treatment of her cancer. This course was so clearly understood that her attending obstetricians did not consider, much less attempt, intervention for the fetus later that night when Angela's condition rapidly deteriorated, depriving Angela and the fetus of substantial amounts of vital oxygen for many hours.

The next morning, events took an unexpected turn. The hospital's administrators (who were also its liability risk managers) learned of the decision not to attempt delivery of the fetus. The administrator questioned the right of anyone but a court to make decisions affecting a potentially viable fetus, particularly in light of the political controversy over fetal rights. Although the decision was supported by Angela's parents and husband and by the obstetrical department as a whole, as consistent with the wishes of their patient, and despite the advice of legal counsel that the doctors should exercise their best medical judgment under the circumstances (which was not to deliver the - extremely premature and highly compromised fetus), the hospital required a court to decide what should be done for the fetus. Technically, the hospital sought a declaratory judgment as to "what it should do in terms of the fetus, whether to intervene and save its life."

Snippage

Despite her death, the Estate of Angela Carder, administered by her parents, Daniel and Nettie Stoner, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, pursued an appeal of the Caesarean section order to the entire Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The parties submitted legal arguments concerning the constitutional right to make health care decisions and the purported state interest in protecting a viable fetus. More than 120 civil rights groups, health care organizations and health care professionals, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists jointly filed amicus (friend of the court) briefs on behalf of Angela Carder, opposing the hospital's use of a court to resolve medical treatment issues.4

At the same time, the ACLU, on behalf of Estate of Angela Carder, instituted an unprecedented civil action against the hospital for damages, claiming discriminatory treatment of her cancer and pregnancy, hospital negligence, medical malpractice, the lack of informed consent arising out of the treatment of Ms. Carder and the decision to require a court to determine the course of medical care (Stoners U. George Washington University Hospital, et al., Civil Action No. 88-0M33 (Sup. Ct. D.C.)).

[docmom]

The removal of a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman from life support has four influential Republicans running for lieutenant governor agreeing again, this time that a judge erred and they'd tighten state law so it doesn't happen in the future.

Ahh, the Republicans. The party of limited government, right? What was it Rachel Maddox said "Sure, government that is just small enough to fit into our vaginas."

[artdecades]

aaaannnndddddd, as predicted, the hospital is charging him for the bills

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/01 ... xas-bills/ (not breaking because its a news site)

:pull-hair:

[doggie]

Send the bill to rick perry.

[Lillybee]

I am sure that this family had health insurance through their jobs but since Marilse was dead I bet that the insurance company will refuse to pay.

[doggie]

I am sure that this family had health insurance through their jobs but since Marilse was dead I bet that the insurance company will refuse to pay.

ya they can claim it was a pre existing condition.

[thoughtful]

Send the bill to rick perry.

Or Jim Leininger.