[Angelahh]

Ironic this is a law in such a kill-em-all death penalty state

[Jere]

i wouldn't want to grow up knowing thats what my mum had to go through this crap...

[Pyramid_Head]

Originally Posted by Kelseecat65 ↗

I wonder if when the mother put together her wishes, she ever contemplated being pregnant?
That certainly puts a different spin on this.

Personally, I think it's crappy that her family would even consider taking her off life support and basically killing that baby. That baby is the only living part of their now dead mother, and you would think that family would be so happy to have some part of their daughter/wife left to carry on.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

[K9Grip]

This is a tough one. I don't want to be kept alive artificially, but if I was pregnant I'd at least want my child to have a shot at life.

[Pigeon]

Marlise Munoz's family should sue the hospital, which could at least force them to disclose whether she is brain-dead or in a vegetative state (I can't believe they're still withholding this information).

I hope the family gets a good lawyer, because they might be able to make a case for theft of a corpse or forced organ donation.

[Shakey]

I'm fine with it. As long as the doctor who made this decision pays for all treatment and supports this kid until it's 18.

[Clubhouse]

Originally Posted by Kelseecat65 ↗

I wonder if when the mother put together her wishes, she ever contemplated being pregnant?
That certainly puts a different spin on this.

Personally, I think it's crappy that her family would even consider taking her off life support and basically killing that baby. That baby is the only living part of their now dead mother, and you would think that family would be so happy to have some part of their daughter/wife left to carry on.

This^^^^^



The baby is the next generation of the mother, I don't see how her parents could justify the death of her baby.....In fact out of tragedy is born a miracle...Literally.

[Azimuth]

Another stupid law.

In tx it's illegal to withdraw life-sustaining treatment to a pregnant woman. Okay fine.

But if she's brain dead, she IS DEAD. I'm guessing she's not brain dead, just in coma or vegetative state, otherwise what's being done would be highly unethical.

Then again that didn't stop the brain dead girl's parents from finding "doctors" to keep her on machines, did it?

[bigjoe]

Originally Posted by Pigeon ↗

Marlise Munoz's family should sue the hospital, which could at least force them to disclose whether she is brain-dead or in a vegetative state (I can't believe they're still withholding this information).

I hope the family gets a good lawyer, because they might be able to make a case for theft of a corpse or forced organ donation.

I'm thinking the demand for organs and the perceived "worth" of the patient determines the level of life saving care applied to the individual patient.

I will never donate my wife or children's organs, and I told my wife never to give into pressure from doctors to donate. I know this makes me an asshole but I don't care.

There are many people making money at every step of the organ transplant process. The incentive is too great to let someone die who could have been saved.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by Pigeon ↗

Marlise Munoz's family should sue the hospital, which could at least force them to disclose whether she is brain-dead or in a vegetative state (I can't believe they're still withholding this information).

I hope the family gets a good lawyer, because they might be able to make a case for theft of a corpse or forced organ donation.

They are, Pigeon! I agree with you.


DEBORAH HASTINGS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2014

The loved ones of a pregnant woman being kept alive by a ventilator have hired lawyers to fight a Texas law that is keeping them from removing the young mother from life support.

Marlise Machado Munoz, who is 20 weeks pregnant and the mother of a 15 month old son, has been brain dead since collapsing on her kitchen floor in November, her family says.

Hospital officials refuse to take her off machines that are breathing for her, citing a state law requiring pregnant women to be kept alive by artificial means until a fetus can be delivered.

"We do plan on filing some litigation, and it will be filed soon," Texas family law attorney Heather King, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She declined to elaborate. A phone message left by the Daily News, was not immediately returned.

Munoz, 33, remains tethered to life-support equipment in the Intensive Care Unit of John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

Erick Munoz stands before a photo of him and his wife, Marlise, after the birth of their first son, Mateo. She was 14 weeks pregnant with their second baby when she collapsed at the couple’s Texas home in November and is now brain dead, her family says.

She was 14 weeks pregnant with their second baby when she collapsed at the couple’s Texas home in November and is now brain dead, her family says.

Hospital officials say they are bound by law to keep the woman alive until a viability test can be conducted on the fetus — a procedure that can't be carried out until approximately the 24th week of pregnancy.

Texas is one of at least 31 states that have laws curtailing doctors from removing life support in terminally ill women who are pregnant.

Erick Munoz, 26, has said his wife would not want to be kept alive by a machine, but the woman did not have a living will.

He found his wife, who is a paramedic, passed out in their home on November 26. She has been in the hospital ever since and has no brain activity, the family says.

The husband has been barred from removing Marlise from life support after a lung clot left her brain dead some 14 weeks into her second pregnancy.

The husband has been barred from removing Marlise from life support after a lung clot left her brain dead some 14 weeks into her second pregnancy.

The fetus has a heartbeat, but Munoz says more than an hour may have gone by before his comatose wife was hooked to a ventilator. The husband, who also is a paramedic, has said he wants to remove the machine and let nature take its course.

Her parents, Lynne and Ernest Machado, both 60, agree.

"Thank you for all the prayers being said on the Machado/Munoz' family. Please don't confuse our thoughts re: the law. Marlise FIRMLY requested not to be put on Life Support, her mother wrote on the Facebook page of a local television station.

"Her wishes are not being honored. This is NOT a forum for Pro Choice/Pro Life. This issue is about a little known law, (we have yet to meet someone who has heard of it), and we want to educate everyone so NO ONE has to go through the heartache and pain we're experiencing," wrote Lynne Machado.


Photo 1 - Erick Munoz stands by a photo of he and his wife Marlise, both paramedics, hold their son, Mateo, who is now 15 months old.
COURTESY MUNOZ FAMILY/MCT/LANDOV/MCT /LANDOV

Photo 2 - Erick Munoz and his wife Marlise, both paramedics, hold their son, Mateo, who is now 15 months old. (Facebook)

Photo 3 - Doctors say 33 year old Marlise Munoz likely suffered a blood clot in her lung in November. Her husband, Erick Munoz, seen here, wants to remove his pregnant, brain-dead wife from machines keeping her alive. (CNN)

I cannot help but think of poor Terry Schiavo kept alive for all those years in a vegetative state due to the selfishness of her parents! No one wants to lose their baby/child, no matter what his or her age, but, things happen and sometimes you need to respect their wishes.