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April 6, 2007

Texas Futile Care Case Continues

Topics: Futile Care Laws

A federal judge rejected a request by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) for a temporary restraining order that would allow 16-month-old Emilio Gonzales of Texas to continue to receive life-saving treatment:

Doctors believe Gonzales has Leigh's disease, which causes degeneration of the central nervous system and could eventually kill him. Experts say someone with the disease can live to be 7 years old.

"Some days he will hear you, some days he won't," Catarina Gonzales said of her son.

She knows Emilio will die young, but wants doctors to recognize the value of his life and to give him the best care possible.

Even so, an ethics panel at Brackenridge Children's Hospital deemed his situation "futile" and told his mother they planned to end treatment, a move that likely would result in his death.

Under Texas law, once a patient's condition is determined to be futile, a hospital is required to wait 10 days before discontinuing treatment.

Joshua Carden, an ADF-allied attorney, said it's all about the money while Texas Right to Life continues to work quietly to find a medical care facility to treat Emilio.

"We have some new leads," Graham said, "but we only have until Tuesday before they start withdrawing treatment - so we're praying some of these leads come through."

Posted by tim at April 6, 2007 6:58 AM

Articles Related to Futile Care Laws:

• Futile Care Law Dies - May 25, 2007
• Emilio has passed away - May 20, 2007
• Futile Care Theory - May 11, 2007
• Update on Emilio - May 11, 2007
• Texas mom fights to save her young child's life - Mar 20, 2007
• Who gets to make decision on end of life? - Sep 18, 2006
• Another Futile Care Case in Texas - Jul 02, 2006
• A Disaster Waiting to Happen - May 24, 2006
• Yenlang Vo - A Letter from Andrea Clark's Sister - May 15, 2006

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