Brain-dead pregnant woman's life support is turned off after her husband wins fight against Texas hospital to let his wife and unborn child die
- A judge ordered life support be turned off for brain-dead patient Marlisa Munoz
- The Texas hospital she was staying in had kept her body alive because she was carrying a child
- Before her death, Munoz had made it clear to her husband that she would not want to be kept on life support
- But the hospital argued that they had to keep her on life support in an attempt to save her unborn child
- The hospital complied with the judges order and Munoz died sometime after 11:30am
The family of a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman says she has been removed from life support following a judge's ruling that a Fort Worth hospital was misapplying state law in the case.
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| Mother: Munoz was already a mother of one. She was a few months pregnant when she suffered a blood clot and went brain dead |
A statement sent by lawyers for the husband of Marlisa Munoz on Sunday afternoon says she was disconnected from life support about 11:30am.
It says her body was released to her husband, Erick Munoz, and that the family is now looking to lay her to rest.
A judge had given John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth hospital until 5pm Monday to comply with his ruling to remove Marlisa Munoz from life support, which Erick Munoz says is what his wife would have wanted.
J.R. Labbe, a hospital spokeswoman, issued a statement earlier Sunday saying the hospital would follow the order.
She was 14 weeks pregnant when her husband found her unconscious November 26, possibly due to a blood clot.
Both the hospital and family agreed before Wallace's ruling that Marlise Munoz meets the criteria to be considered brain-dead - which means she is dead both medically and under Texas law - and that her fetus, at about 23 weeks, could not be born alive this early in pregnancy.
Her attorneys revealed last week that the fetus was not developing normally, after being deprived of oxygen.
J.R. Labbe, a hospital spokeswoman, issued a statement earlier Sunday saying the hospital would follow the order.
She was 14 weeks pregnant when her husband found her unconscious November 26, possibly due to a blood clot.
Both the hospital and family agreed before Wallace's ruling that Marlise Munoz meets the criteria to be considered brain-dead - which means she is dead both medically and under Texas law - and that her fetus, at about 23 weeks, could not be born alive this early in pregnancy.
Her attorneys revealed last week that the fetus was not developing normally, after being deprived of oxygen.
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| What she would have wanted: Husband Erik Munoz says his wife wouldn't have wanted to keep living in her condition |
'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.
The case has raised questions about end-of-life care and whether a pregnant woman who is considered legally and medically dead should be kept on life support for the sake of a fetus. It also has garnered attention on both sides of the abortion debate, with anti-abortion groups arguing Munoz's fetus deserves a chance to be born.
Erick Munoz and his wife are both paramedics familiar with end-of-life issues and knew they did not want to be kept alive by machines in this type of situation.
Munoz described in a signed affidavit Thursday what it was like to see his wife now: her glassy, 'soulless' eyes; and the smell of her perfume replaced by what he knows to be the smell of death. He said he tried to hold her hand but can't.
'Her limbs have become so stiff and rigid due to her deteriorating condition that now, when I move her hands, her bones crack, and her legs are nothing more than dead weight,' Munoz said.
But the hospital argued it was bound by Texas law that says life-sustaining treatment cannot be withdrawn from a pregnant patient, regardless of her end-of-life wishes.
Legal experts interviewed by The Associated Press have said the hospital was misreading the law and that the law doesn't have an absolute command to keep someone like Munoz on life support.
Larry Thompson, a state's attorney arguing on behalf of the hospital Friday, said the hospital was trying to protect the rights of the fetus as it believed Texas law instructed it to do.
'There is a life involved, and the life is the unborn child,' Thompson said.
But on Sunday, the hospital said it would respect the judge's order and back down.
'The past eight weeks have been difficult for the Munoz family, the caregivers and the entire Tarrant County community, which found itself involved in a sad situation,' the hospital's statement says. 'JPS Health Network has followed what we believed were the demands of a state statute.'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
The attorneys said the fetus also has fluid building up inside the skull and possibly has a heart problem.
The case has raised questions about end-of-life care and whether a pregnant woman who is considered legally and medically dead should be kept on life support for the sake of a fetus. It also has garnered attention on both sides of the abortion debate, with anti-abortion groups arguing Munoz's fetus deserves a chance to be born.
Erick Munoz and his wife are both paramedics familiar with end-of-life issues and knew they did not want to be kept alive by machines in this type of situation.
Munoz described in a signed affidavit Thursday what it was like to see his wife now: her glassy, 'soulless' eyes; and the smell of her perfume replaced by what he knows to be the smell of death. He said he tried to hold her hand but can't.
'Her limbs have become so stiff and rigid due to her deteriorating condition that now, when I move her hands, her bones crack, and her legs are nothing more than dead weight,' Munoz said.
But the hospital argued it was bound by Texas law that says life-sustaining treatment cannot be withdrawn from a pregnant patient, regardless of her end-of-life wishes.
Legal experts interviewed by The Associated Press have said the hospital was misreading the law and that the law doesn't have an absolute command to keep someone like Munoz on life support.
Larry Thompson, a state's attorney arguing on behalf of the hospital Friday, said the hospital was trying to protect the rights of the fetus as it believed Texas law instructed it to do.
'There is a life involved, and the life is the unborn child,' Thompson said.
But on Sunday, the hospital said it would respect the judge's order and back down.
'The past eight weeks have been difficult for the Munoz family, the caregivers and the entire Tarrant County community, which found itself involved in a sad situation,' the hospital's statement says. 'JPS Health Network has followed what we believed were the demands of a state statute.'
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| Filing suit: Erick Munoz filed suit against John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas to force the hospital to remove the life support keeping his pregnant brain dead wife alive |
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
