A hospital in the United States is allowed to terminate life support measures for an eleven month old girl against the mother's will. Trinity Lewis had applied for an injunction against the Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. A Texas court has now rejected this.
The doctors at the hospital had originally planned to take Tinslee Lewis from life support on November 10. They had relied on the so-called ten-day rule. The law can be applied in Texas if a family disagrees with doctors' decision to discontinue life support. Treatment can therefore be discontinued after ten days if there is no other facility to accommodate the patient. The prerequisite is that the hospital's ethics committee agrees with the doctors.
In the case of Tinslee Lewis, those responsible for the hospital said that they had contacted more than 20 facilities. Everyone agreed that further childcare was hopeless.
Tinslee Lewis has been in the hospital since she was born premature. According to the doctors, she has a rare heart defect, a chronic lung disease and severe chronic high blood pressure. Among other things, she needs permanent breathing and heart support and is sedated. The doctors assume that Tinslee is suffering.
Tinslee's mother, Trinity Lewis, said at a hearing last month that despite sedating her daughter, she had a sense of the girl's likes and dislikes, and described it as `` cheeky. '' "I want to be the one who makes the decision for her," said Trinity Lewis.
'' We are very concerned about Tinslee "
One of the attending doctors, Jay Duncan, said that in the first five months of Tinslee's life, they had hope that the child could eventually come home. However, there was a point at which the doctors found that the medical options were exhausted and the treatment no longer benefited Tinslee. The girl would probably die within six months and was in pain.
There have been many discussions with Tinslee's family about their dire condition, Duncan said. '' We are very concerned about Tinslee. We are very concerned about their family. ''
A district court had issued an injunction to stop the end of life support measures on November 10. However, the judge responsible was withdrawn from the case after the hospital questioned its impartiality.
Before the decision was made, both sides had agreed that the hospital would wait at least seven days before the machines were switched off. According to the Texas Right to Life anti-abortion organization, Trinity Lewis plans to take legal action against the decision.
