Brain-Dead Texas Woman Removed From Ventilator

At 11:30 this morning, the dead body of Marlise Munoz was disconnected from mechanical ventilation. Munoz, who has been brain dead for weeks, was being kept ventilated by a Texas hospital, over her family's objections and against her own previously-stated wishes, on grounds that she was pregnant. On Friday a court found that the Texas Advance Directives Act, which prohibits removal of "life support" from any pregnant "patient," did not apply to a dead person; the judge gave the hospital until Monday at 5 to appeal or to remove the mechanical supports from Munoz's body. As of the close of business yesterday, hospital officials were still saying they weren't decided; but apparently the decision was made this morning, much to the relief of the Munoz family.

My coverage of the court decision, with greater legal detail and links to court documents, here. Earlier coverage here, here and here.

Court Orders Vent Removed From Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman

A Texas judge has ordered a hospital to remove Marlise Munoz, a brain-dead pregnant woman, from mechanical ventilation. Munoz was being kept ventilated against her husband's, her parents' and her own previously-expressed wishes because the hospital believed it was legally obligated to provide life-support to her fetus under the Texas Advance Directives Act. The Act prohibits removal of "life support" from any pregnant "patient." The court found that the Act did not apply to persons who are legally dead. The court's order is here. The parties' stipulation of facts, including that Munoz is brain dead and that her fetus is not currently viable, is here.  Munoz's husband filed an affidavit with the court, describing his wife as rigid-limbed, smelling of death, and having a soulless look in her eyes. His attorneys had earlier described the fetus as developing abnormally, and today in court accused the hospital of using Marlise Munoz as "a science experiment" and as a "dysfunctional incubator."

The hospital, which has until Monday at 5pm to comply with the order or file an appeal, is considering its options.

Earlier posts on the Munoz matter are here, here and here.

Ventilating the Dead, Continued

Though she is brain-dead, Marlise Munoz is being kept ventilated against her husband's, her parents', and her own previously-expressed wishes. The Texas hospital where she is being kept argues that this course of action may be required by the Texas Advance Directives Act, which makes it illegal to disconnect any "patient" from "life-support"--if that patient is pregnant. Munoz was 14 weeks pregnant when she died; her fetus is now 22 weeks old. A hearing tomorrow should determine whether ventilation of the dead counts as "life support" under the Act, and whether a dead person is a "patient." Meanwhile, her husband's attorneys point out that the fetus suffered from the same lack of oxygen that destroyed Munoz's brain:

"According to the medical records we have been provided, the fetus is distinctly abnormal," the attorneys said. "Even at this early stage, the lower extremities are deformed to the extent that the gender cannot be determined." The attorneys said the fetus also has fluid building up inside the skull and possibly has a heart problem.

"Quite sadly, this information is not surprising due to the fact that the fetus, after being deprived of oxygen for an indeterminate length of time, is gestating within a dead and deteriorating body, as a horrified family looks on in absolute anguish, distress and sadness," the attorneys said.

 Previous posts on Munoz here and here.