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General News Brain-Dead Pregnant Texas Woman Finally Taken Off Life Support

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by AwesomGaytheist, Jan 26, 2014.

  1. AwesomGaytheist

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    After a two-month long legal fight between a grieving husband and the Texas Republican Party, Marlise Munoz was taken off life support at around 11:30 this morning.

    It all started on November 26, when Munoz's husband, Erick Munoz, found her unconscious on the kitchen floor. She was 14 weeks pregnant with her second child, and her family members stated that she did not want to be kept alive artificially. The hospital stated that while the fetus was severely damaged by the oxygen deprivation, they stated that they were compelled by state law to keep the woman alive and use her body as an incubator until the fetus was born. Two days ago, a judge ruled that Munoz must be taken off life support, and after appeals were exhausted, the hospital finally complied.

    The case drew national attention from both sides, with the anti-abortion crowd decrying the fact that Texas' law had been struck down, allowing both the woman and the fetus to perish, as well as the "Death With Dignity" crowd, who believes that end-of-life decision rights aren't strong enough.

    Twelve states have laws banning a pregnant woman from being taken off life support, and Texas has the most restrictive. The male Texas Republicans, who have repeatedly stated that want absolutely no government involvement in health care, wrote the law stating that if a pregnant woman goes into a coma or vegetative state, then her advance directive (a legal document stating end-of-life wishes in the case that the person in question is unable to dictate his or her wishes) is invalid, and she must be kept alive until she gives birth.

    Three states have passed "Death With Dignity" assisted suicide laws, and most states allow a person with an advance directive to be removed from life support. The case is reminiscent to the Terri Schiavo saga, where both Republican lawmakers in Florida, as well as the Republican-controlled Congress and President George W. Bush attempted to pass legislation to keep Terri Schiavo alive against her wishes.
     
    #1 AwesomGaytheist, Jan 26, 2014
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2014
  2. Gallatin

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    I was thinking the exact same thing. What a mess that was. I remember it became such a divisive issue among people here.

    Though IIRC, I don't think Schiavo had a living will. Didn't they bring in people to testify to try and ascertain what she would've wanted?
     
  3. AwesomGaytheist

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    You're right, however Florida law that stated that if the "guardian" of a brain-dead person made the decision to remove the feeding tube, it could be removed. Her parents were opposed to the removal of the feeding tube, and after 11 years of experimental therapy, in 2001, Mike Schiavo, the husband, applied to a judge to have the feeding tube removed, in accordance to the state law. This was granted, and the hospital was ordered to remove the feeding tube by a certain date.

    The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature then passed "Terri's Law," which gave the Governor of Florida, at that time Jeb Bush, the authority to veto any effort to remove a person from life support. That law was declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court. Finally after more legal wrangling, the date the feeding tube was to be removed by was again set.

    Republicans in Congress, as well as President Bush then began working on a plan to use the US Congress' power to overrule the Florida law. On Palm Sunday in 2005, the US Senate passed the Palm Sunday Compromise 3-0, where three Senators, Rick Santorum (R-PA), Mel Martinez (R-FL), and Bill Frist (R-TN) wrote and passed an Act that would have moved the case to Federal Court, instead of having Congress just make the decision and that being the end of it, which would have carried serious political consequences. Later that evening, it was passed by the House of Representatives, and signed into law by Bush at 1:00 AM.

    Finally, when the US Supreme Court refused to take the case, the parents' legal options had ended, but there was still one possibility, and that was the State of Florida taking custody of Terri Schiavo and having her feeding tube reinserted after the hospital had already removed it. Finally, after a judge prevented the state from doing so, she finally died a week later, on March 31, 2005.
     
  4. phoenix89

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    Reasons like this is why I have an Advanced Directive. I need to get it up dated, but I still have one, and I carry it with me in my wallet everywhere I go.