Reply #8: Here's one: [View All]

[MelissaB]

Th1onein (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-25-06 11:52 AM
Original message
UPDATE ON MY SISTER: PULLING THE PLUG
To all of you who responded to my original post about the hospital wanting to pull the plug on my sister:

First of all, in Texas, we have the "Medical Futility" law, which Governor Bush signed into law in 1999. This law states that if doctors determine that it is medically futile to continue treating a person, as long as they go through a procedure involving the meeting of an ethics committee and that committee concurs with their belief in the futility of treating that person, they are not liable either criminally or civilly for discontinuing treatment for that patient.

Let me make this very clear to you all: If this ethics committee meets and they think that there is a medical futility, then even if the family disagrees or EVEN IF THE PATIENT IS RESPONSIVE AND DISAGREES, they can discontinue treatment. Period.

My sister is RESPONSIVE. She knows what is going on and she is able to communicate by eye blinks her wishes. She does not want to die.

But, according to the Texas medical futility law, that does not matter. They can discontinue treatment anyway.

What our family did was this: We threatened to picket the hospital. We contacted the Houston police and found that we are not required to have a permit to picket. Then we called the hospital and offered a deal, the day before the picketing was to begin: We would agree to delay the picket if the hospital would delay the meeting of the ethics committee and find another place for my sister to go, for long term treatment. The hospital agreed.

We are in the process of physically going to the places that the hospital found for her long term treatment, and seeing if they are nice enough for my sister to stay in. But, one last thing: If that ethics committee had met and determined medical futility applied in her case, the possibility of finding a place to take my sister would be NILL. She would have been unable to be moved and treatment would be discontinued and she would have died.

Keep all of this in mind if you have a loved one in a hospital in Houston. Stand up and be willing to fight for your loved one.

Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=751913