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Judge: brain-dead pregnant woman to be removed from life support

I can agree with this. But I cannot help but think of a situation that would not not happen to either of us because of our universal medical system. Say this woman did not have health insurance, or that the insurance would not pay to prolong this woman's life... can a hospital force a family to pay for the care of a loved one when it goes against their wishes?

You're right, of course, that this would not happen here in Canada. The cost of care is seldom a determining factor in hospital care of the critically ill. We do, however, have cases where prolonged life support is challenged by hospitals in court when a family refuses to accept the advice/recommendation of doctors to remove artificial means. In a case like this, in Canada, I believe the hospital would have honoured the family's wishes and ended life support almost immediately or at least within days. But then, we don't have this big pro-life/pro-choice hornets nest of competing legislation/jurisdictions that they do in the US.
 
I'll look forward to your providing details to support your claim here. Earlier in this thread Removable Mind said that this was about a "pro-life" administrator, and I'll look forward to the details about this too.

A name would be a terrific start.

I think the misapplication of Texas law is pretty telling. Usually, when one side cites unrelated and irrelevant laws, there is a hidden ideological agenda. On the left, we have the extreme Vegan/ALF-types. They'll go as far as citing the UN Human Rights charter in order to justify their attacks on animal research labs. On the right, there are the extreme pro-life types who'll cite laws concerning fully developed, biologically independent and sentient human beings and apply them to zygotes. This forum is full of them. You'll catch fundy Christians going on and on about the UN Human Rights Charter applies to a clump of cells. After many such incidents, you start noticing a pattern.

What I think is far more telling is the kind of people this case has brought out of the woodwork. At no point did they consider any of the actual medical data, the emotions of the people around this woman and the very real possibility that this fetus would suffer horrible health conditions if it even made it to birth. All that mattered was that it be "given a chance" to live. It didn't matter the real world implications as long as the hospital could exercise what is clearly an anti-choice agenda. This brings the question: What kind of sick twisted mind supports incubating an egg inside of a zombie to maintain what is clearly religious-political stance? Doesn't matter now. The case is done, the judge has spoken and the hospital has been found to be in the wrong.
 
You're right, of course, that this would not happen here in Canada. The cost of care is seldom a determining factor in hospital care of the critically ill. We do, however, have cases where prolonged life support is challenged by hospitals in court when a family refuses to accept the advice/recommendation of doctors to remove artificial means. In a case like this, in Canada, I believe the hospital would have honoured the family's wishes and ended life support almost immediately or at least within days. But then, we don't have this big pro-life/pro-choice hornets nest of competing legislation/jurisdictions that they do in the US.

I think this is near the heart of the reason why the doctors failed to bring this case to the court immediately after they noted she died on November 28th 2013. There are political ramifications of going against pro-life or pro choice- must be overwhelming.
 
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1.)Life vs property, that's what it comes down to. That is fact. You choose property, I choose life. That's all there is to it. You're making an awful song and dance here to try to pretend it's something that it's not. You can just admit it, you take property over life.

yes i know you keep repeating this OPINION but thats all it is lol
let me know when this fact changes
 
1.)It's not a posted lie.
2.) The Texas law could not violate the rights of the woman as the woman is no longer a woman and corpses have no rights.
3.)But where's your proof in all this, I asked and got nothing but deflection. If inanimate objects have rights, then surely you can demonstrate this positive claim, yes?

1.) yes it was in fact as lie as i did give examples and you lied about it
2.) yes it can because the way the law is written it doesnt just apply to this lady who in this case is dead but other lades and this ladey had a husband who is the father and she has a family
3.) proof of what?!?!?!?!?! lol

youll have to be more specific, ONE OF MY VERY FIRST statements YOU ATTACKED and try to called wrong said THIS"
I couldnt care less about subjective morals yours or mine.

the contention is that it goes against RvW (and other rights as mention before and after)

i mean theres been no ruling on this so we'd have to see, its only my opinion but this is why i want this to go to court

i cant see any way to justify it in this case and say it doesnt go against rights and RvW.

that proof?

nice try but this is ALL opinion and this is why your posts keep failing because you are trying to claim facts in something thats never even gone to court to be challenged and theres no ruling on it.

THANK YOU for pointing this out since its EXACTLY why your posts have failed, you are claiming facts where there are . . . . . . .wait for it . . . . wait for it . . . . NONE
Keep trying though its great
 
1.)All you have here is opinion
2.) and emotion.
3.) You are more than free to exercise both
4.) but emotion has no place in law.
5.) The "wife" has no rights, it is no longer a wife, it is no longer human, it is a thing. Things do not have rights. Less you want to demonstrate that inanimate objects have rights, I await your argument for it. But until then
6.) it will be filed right next to "The earth is 6000 years old".
7.) So with your inability to demonstrate your positive claim that inanimate objects have rights, we are left with just one situation.
8.) The fetus, a living human life9
9.) and the property rights of the husband over the corpse of his wife.
10.) As such, till you can demonstrate your positive claim
11.) rationally we acknowledge that it is life vs property.
12.)The thing is, you just seem like you do not want to admit the side you're on.
13.) There's no opinion on life vs. property, that is fact. Less you can demonstrate otherwise. But you can't, or at least haven't.
14.)Keep running your mouth, but you're not putting forth an argument.
15.) Dead is dead, the dead have no rights.
16.)What's alive is the fetus
17.) and the husband (please don't say something like "you don't think that there are other people alive other than the husband and fetus" because that would just be dishonest tripe and we don't need any more of that from ya)
18.), so the life of the fetus vs. the property rights of the husband.
19.) That's functionally what this comes down to.
20.) You can at least admit that you take property over life instead of trying to do this little song and dance to make it look otherwise.

1,) correct as do you thank you for admitting this again since its what i said from the begining and also why you are wrong trying to falsly and dishonestly claim facts
2.) nope this is another posted lie, theres ZERO emotion on why i want it to go to court, this strawman fails again
3.) i know but im factually only doing one
4.) good thing its a fact i never said it did nor am i using emotion then
5.) earlier examples already prove this false, there are still rights and laws that protect the dead and her husband and family still matter to and there rights, this fact will never change
6.) well that would be a mistake because what i pointed out was factually true and this if factual false
7.) another failed strawman and lie
8.) correct it is
9.) nope there the wifes, husbands and family's rights and laws that protect them all. This wont magically go away.
10.) already done see above and the examples pages ago
11.) who is we? lol you mean YOUR OPINION because thats all it is
12.) another posted lie
13.) proven by WHAT? LMAO this is where your post goes into complete dishonesty mode, this is not a fact, its your opinion, if its a fact state the case that made it so, state the law the makes it so, this hasnt been challenged yet, This case hasnt gone to court yet so WE, me and you, dont know. YOU ARE GUESSING lol and this is why your posts fail. DId marty McFLy tell you how the case will turn out or something? lol sorry when you call it a fact you are 100% factually wrong since this hasnt gone to trail yet, its just your OPINION and nothing will change that fact until theres a trial :) nothing
14.) LOL remind me whos emotional again? hehehe thats it get tough. My argument was put further with examples and i called it my opinion and it is and we wont know unlees it gets challenged and goes to trial. So until then you lose and all you have is opinion also. I love that this angers you.
15.) see 5# your point loses again
16.) correct
17.) opinion
18.) opinion
19.) opinion
20.) cant cause thats not what im doing nor is it my argument its your failed strawman and opinion as already proven since theres no trial or case decision yet. Its hilarious watching you get so mad over me simply not sharing your opinion and pointing out that what you are saying is in fact opinion. Why?
Cases has happened therefore its your opinion, just like mine, just like i said pages ago lol
 
I can agree with this. But I cannot help but think of a situation that would not not happen to either of us because of our universal medical system. Say this woman did not have health insurance, or that the insurance would not pay to prolong this woman's life... can a hospital force a family to pay for the care of a loved one when it goes against their wishes?

If the doctors are complying with a law that says they must keep the woman alive, yes, the hospital can charge. Wouldn't it be convenient when you got tired of granny, just to take her to a hospital as say, 'just go ahead and kill her?'
 
I can agree with this. But I cannot help but think of a situation that would not not happen to either of us because of our universal medical system. Say this woman did not have health insurance, or that the insurance would not pay to prolong this woman's life... can a hospital force a family to pay for the care of a loved one when it goes against their wishes?

that would be mentally insane IMO and if they try that i hope the family sues over that too

life support at 3-11k a day for 2 months???

if insurance doesn't pay that should be on the state, hell IMO it should be on the state anyway since its thier law and not anything medical/scientific.
 
This person who you claim is not dead would never ever be able to function without any artificial help. That is dead.

That's what they said about Karen Quinlan. But she lived another 10 years after the life support was stopped.

Karen Ann Quinlan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm really sorry to burst your little bubble, but you simply don't have the ability to call those absolutes. And certainly not based on something you read. A person on life support still has vital signs. The person may be brain dead (flat EEG), but unless and until the life support is disconnected the person is not dead and, like Karen Quinlan, may not even die at that point. The person who wrote out her death certificate with her still on life support should lose his medical license. That was one of the most unethical things I've ever heard of.
 
The hospital has acknowledged that she was dead (brain dead) November 28th 2013, but did not formally pronounce her. It would have been medically correct and accurate to do. In medicine you do not misdiagnose to suit a law. You diagnose correctly (in this case death) and if you need to seek clarification of what to do, then you seek an immediate remedy from a judge. It is this lack of placing a known diagnosis (or pronouncement) that makes this case seem like there were possibly other motivations.



I think you need to study up on the Uniform Determination of Death Act. Properly diagnosed brain death is death. A patient on a ventilator can be dead with a pulse. Not unusual.

Determination of Death Act Summary

I hope that helps.

Perhaps you should read the link before you post it. FWIW about mid way down it says this:


The Uniform Brain Death Act simply established that the "irreversible cessation of all functioning of the brain, including the brain stem" is death. It then prescribed that determination of death be made in accordance with "reasonable medical standards." The ULC assumed that the traditional criteria would stand automatically alongside the brain-death standard described in the uniform act, and so did not mention those criteria in the act itself. But this omission proved confusing for states trying to adopt comprehensive legislation on the subject.

Those 'traditional criteria' are vital signs.


I hope that helps. Or you might want to just go to law school.
 
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You're right, of course, that this would not happen here in Canada. The cost of care is seldom a determining factor in hospital care of the critically ill. We do, however, have cases where prolonged life support is challenged by hospitals in court when a family refuses to accept the advice/recommendation of doctors to remove artificial means. In a case like this, in Canada, I believe the hospital would have honoured the family's wishes and ended life support almost immediately or at least within days. But then, we don't have this big pro-life/pro-choice hornets nest of competing legislation/jurisdictions that they do in the US.

What you simply refuse to understand is that this is not a simple case of 'honoring' or 'not honoring' the family's wishes. There is a law in that state which mandates a pregnant woman be maintained on life support until the fetus is viable.
 
I think the misapplication of Texas law is pretty telling. Usually, when one side cites unrelated and irrelevant laws, there is a hidden ideological agenda. On the left, we have the extreme Vegan/ALF-types. They'll go as far as citing the UN Human Rights charter in order to justify their attacks on animal research labs. On the right, there are the extreme pro-life types who'll cite laws concerning fully developed, biologically independent and sentient human beings and apply them to zygotes. This forum is full of them. You'll catch fundy Christians going on and on about the UN Human Rights Charter applies to a clump of cells. After many such incidents, you start noticing a pattern.

What I think is far more telling is the kind of people this case has brought out of the woodwork. At no point did they consider any of the actual medical data, the emotions of the people around this woman and the very real possibility that this fetus would suffer horrible health conditions if it even made it to birth. All that mattered was that it be "given a chance" to live. It didn't matter the real world implications as long as the hospital could exercise what is clearly an anti-choice agenda. This brings the question: What kind of sick twisted mind supports incubating an egg inside of a zombie to maintain what is clearly religious-political stance? Doesn't matter now. The case is done, the judge has spoken and the hospital has been found to be in the wrong.

You are right, they considered none of that. The only consideration was the LAW that states a pregnant woman MUST be maintained on life support until the fetus is viable.

And if they had NOT considered that, they would all be in jail and/or without their license to practice. You don't just shirk off the law and do what you damn well please.
 
That's what they said about Karen Quinlan. But she lived another 10 years after the life support was stopped.

Karen Ann Quinlan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm really sorry to burst your little bubble, but you simply don't have the ability to call those absolutes. And certainly not based on something you read. A person on life support still has vital signs. The person may be brain dead (flat EEG), but unless and until the life support is disconnected the person is not dead and, like Karen Quinlan, may not even die at that point. The person who wrote out her death certificate with her still on life support should lose his medical license. That was one of the most unethical things I've ever heard of.

She was not fully brain dead.

Bubble burst averted.
 
You are right, they considered none of that. The only consideration was the LAW that states a pregnant woman MUST be maintained on life support until the fetus is viable.

And if they had NOT considered that, they would all be in jail and/or without their license to practice. You don't just shirk off the law and do what you damn well please.

Judge gives hospital until Monday to remove brain-dead pregnant woman

Hospital officials have said they were bound by the Texas Advance Directives Act, which prohibits withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a pregnant patient. But in his brief ruling, Wallace said that “Mrs. Munoz is dead,” meaning that the hospital was misapplying the law. The ruling did not mention the fetus.

The hospital has not pronounced her dead and has continued to treat her over the objections of both Erick Munoz and her parents, who sat together in court Friday.

Just so you understand, at no point was the hospital following the law. It misapplied the law. For you to continue to state that what the hospital was doing was somehow following the law is absolutely ridiculous given the ruling given. The hospital is driven by an anti-choice agenda.
 
Judge gives hospital until Monday to remove brain-dead pregnant woman



Just so you understand, at no point was the hospital following the law. It misapplied the law. For you to continue to state that what the hospital was doing was somehow following the law is absolutely ridiculous given the ruling given. The hospital is driven by an anti-choice agenda.

Well, that's nice for hubby so he can be rid of her. But they might want to wait until all appeals are exhausted before they pull the plug. Just sayin'.

Here is the Texas Advance Directive. It contains a disclaimer which invalidates it if the woman is pregnant:

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE CHAPTER 166. ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

"I understand that under Texas law this directive has no effect if I have been diagnosed as pregnant."

And that is what the patient signed if she had an advance directive. It really doesn't get more plain than that. The judge can say what he wants, his 'say' may not be the final say.

Texas is one of 12 states that bar disconnecting a pregnant woman from life support:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/08/newser-pregnant-life-support/4370971/

Just so you understand........
 
Well, that's nice for hubby so he can be rid of her. But they might want to wait until all appeals are exhausted before they pull the plug. Just sayin'.

Here is the Texas Advance Directive. It contains a disclaimer which invalidates it if the woman is pregnant:

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE CHAPTER 166. ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

"I understand that under Texas law this directive has no effect if I have been diagnosed as pregnant."

And that is what the patient signed if she had an advance directive. It really doesn't get more plain than that. The judge can say what he wants, his 'say' may not be the final say.

Just so you understand........

You can't possibly be serious. You do realize that life sustaining treatment is for people who are... you know... alive? This is why the law was being misapplied to begin with:

Compassion and Support - End-of-Life and Palliative Care Planning, MOLST for New York State

Life sustaining treatment replaces or supports ailing bodily function. When people have treatable conditions, life support is used temporarily until the illness or disease can be stabilized and the body can resume normal functioning. At times, the body never regains the ability to function without life support or life-sustaining treatment.

This woman was not on life support for an illness or disease. She did not have a treatable condition. She was for all intended purposes: dead. Anti-choicers tried to turn her body into an incubation chamber under a law they misapplied.
 
If the doctors are complying with a law that says they must keep the woman alive, yes, the hospital can charge. Wouldn't it be convenient when you got tired of granny, just to take her to a hospital as say, 'just go ahead and kill her?'

Brain dead is dead.

I gave you a link to the Uniform Determination of Death Act.

She does not need to be "killed"

She is dead.


She has been dead since November 28th 2013 according to the hospital.
 
Well, that's nice for hubby so he can be rid of her. But they might want to wait until all appeals are exhausted before they pull the plug. Just sayin'.

Here is the Texas Advance Directive. It contains a disclaimer which invalidates it if the woman is pregnant:

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE CHAPTER 166. ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

"I understand that under Texas law this directive has no effect if I have been diagnosed as pregnant."

And that is what the patient signed if she had an advance directive. It really doesn't get more plain than that. The judge can say what he wants, his 'say' may not be the final say.

Texas is one of 12 states that bar disconnecting a pregnant woman from life support:

Texas hospital won't unplug brain-dead pregnant woman

Just so you understand........

The judge acknowledged that the law they were using to keep here plugged up to the machine is NOT APPPLICABLE because she is DEAD. She has been dead since November 28th 2013.
 
Define 'fully brain dead.'

Quinlin was PVS. Persistent vegetative state. Awake but not aware. Lights on, no one is home.

Not close to brain dead. Very damaged, not dead. She had the ability to breath - that negates (amoungst other criteria) the idea of brain death.
 
I'd like to see evidence that the hospital "is driven by an anti-choice agenda."
 
I'd like to see evidence that the hospital "is driven by an anti-choice agenda."

I think perhaps "driven by an anti-choice agenda" is overstating or misstating.

I am not sure of what, but I think it is possible that they succumbed to those perceived pressures.

No real "evidence"...but it does not make sense that they would not pronounce the woman dead back when they knew she died on November 28th 2013. Why would they fail to do what was proper medically and pronounce her? If the law applied to dead people like many (especially the pro-life people) were saying, then, let the court interpret. The bottom line is that these are highly educated individuals that know she was dead and the only medically proper thing was to pronounce her. They intentionally made a decision not to do what was medically appropriate.

Someone here equated this situation to organ donation - how they will leave the deceased on machines in harvest the organs. Well the time of death in organ donation is the time brain death is declared. Not the time the harvest the organs a few hours later. But the pronouncement comes first, then the harvesting.

These are not laypeople. These are internists, neurologists, obstetricians .......they likely knew better and should have told the hospital hierarchy that it was wrong to withhold the pronouncement of death. But my guess is the hospital administrators knew what was medically proper and succumbed to other pressures or perceived pressures.
 
What you simply refuse to understand is that this is not a simple case of 'honoring' or 'not honoring' the family's wishes. There is a law in that state which mandates a pregnant woman be maintained on life support until the fetus is viable.

I understand every aspect of this issue. I've been arguing for several days that the hospital is only following the law as they're required to do, so your accusation that I "refuse to understand" is just so much bunk and simply reflects that you haven't been following the discussion or my comments within it.

As for this law, it wouldn't occur in Canada because we have no laws related to abortion and/or the status of a fetus. We leave it to medical doctors and their patients to determine individual healthcare needs and requirements not, politicians and the religious dictating to others.
 
As for this law, it wouldn't occur in Canada because we have no laws related to abortion and/or the status of a fetus. We leave it to medical doctors and their patients to determine individual healthcare needs and requirements not, politicians and the religious dictating to others.

Oh the moral decay!;)

I may be personally against abortion, but it was never ever my place to get in between a decision between a woman and her doctor.

Good for Canada.
 
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