Husband of pregnant, brain-dead woman sues Texas hospital for keeping her on life support
Husband's lawsuit says hospital breaking Texas law by giving life support to pregnant spouse for sake of fetus against his and family's wishes
The husband of a pregnant, brain-dead woman has sued the hospital keeping her on life support, saying doctors are doing so against her and her family's wishes.
Erick Munoz's wife, Marlise, 33, suffered a pulmonary embolism the week after Thanksgiving and has been kept on life support ever since in John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.
"Although the hospital has not publicly released an official diagnosis of Marlise's condition, Erick has been informed by JPS, and from that information believes that Marlise is brain dead," says the suit.
Erick and Marlise's parents have been asking doctors to let her die, pointing to a Texas law that says her brain-dead condition fits the definition of death under Texas law. But doctors insist they can't take her off life support, pointing to another state law that says because the 14-week-old fetus still has a heartbeat, the mother must be kept alive.
It remains unclear whether the fetus also suffered "the same brain-destroying oxygen deprivation that ended Munoz's life and whether additional, irreversible damage was inflicted by the electric shocks and drugs administered to revive Munoz's body".
John Peter Smith Hospital spokeswoman J. R. Labbe has said the hospital was merely "following the law of the state of Texas" and that "this is not a difficult decision for us".
But several medical experts said they believed John Peter Smith Hospital was misinterpreting the law.