Houston Methodist Succeeds in Effort to Let Chris Dunn Die

Houston Methodist Succeeds in Effort 

to Let Chris Dunn Die 

By

James Scott Trimm

Those who know me are well aware I am a long time Sci Fic nerd.  One of my more unusual interests is an old “cult classic” the War or the Worlds TV series (1988-1990) the second season of which took place on a near future “almost tomorrow” anti-utopian future.  In one episode it was revealed that in this anti-utopian future hospitals would legally refuse to treat people without insurance.  In one scene a doctor explains to a patient that he won’t’ be treating her and saving her life, but can only move her to a floor where she would be made comfortable. He apologizes to her but tells here “it’s the law”.  I remember when I first saw this episode in 1991, how unbelievable it seemed.  But in Texas today, this sort of thing has become a reality!

It is called the Texas Advanced Directives Act (TADA-Chapter 166.046 of the Health & Safety Code) and it allows a Texas hospital to override medical directives of a patient and provide only ten days’ notice before withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. 

This morning, Texas Right to Life announced the passing of 46-year-old Chris Dunn. A Houston Methodist Hospital panel ( a so-called “death panel) determined that his life was not worth living and that his condition was not even worth diagnosing or treating, Chris has now succumbed to his untreated illness.

Just before Thanksgiving, the hospital gave ten days' notice that they would be removing Chris's breathing assistance, but because of legal intervention, breathing assistance was never removed.  Chris's lawyers were able to get a restraining order.  Then guardianship was contested by an employee of the hospital.  However in all of this the hospital did not treat Chris's actual illness, but simply let him die untreated, while they were fighting to remove his oxygen.

Back 1999, The Texas Legislature unanimously passed the draconian Texas Advance Directives Act (TADA). Under TADA, when a doctor and a patient (or his/her surrogate) disagree about appropriate end-of-life treatment, the disagreement is taken before an ethics review committee. Its the law!  Not just in some anti-utopian Science Fiction series, but right here in Texas today!

TADA only provides a ten day period for the patient's family either to find another facility to accept the patient or to obtain a court injunction to extend their life. If no other facility will accept the patient within the period of time and the family is unable to obtain a court injunction, then the hospital is legally permitted to withdraw life sustaining-treatment from the patient, and simply let them die, regardless of their wishes, their living will, or the wishes of their family.  Folks, this is one of those “death panels” about you have been warned.  

Texas Right to Life has been lobbying since 2005 has to end these death panels.  You would think that any real pro-life organization, would be working with them to end this “death panel” system in Texas.  But that is far from the truth.  When opportunities to reform this act have presented themselves, Pojman’s Texas Alliance for Life has run interference.  For example in the 84^th Texas Legislative session (2015) Texas Alliance for Life actually supported House Bill 2351, which was supposed to be a bill to reform these death panels, but in reality this Bill only perpetuated the death panels.  

Texas Right to Life wrote about this bill (Which Pojman and TAL supported):

HB 2351 by Representative Patricia Harless (R-Spring) will also be heard today in the House Committee on State Affairs.  The stated purpose of HB 2351 is to reform hospital ethics committees (death panels), which currently hold unlimited power to remove medical treatment from patients after providing ten days notice to the patient or family.  Under the current Texas Advance Directives Act, hospitals may remove life-sustaining treatments including a ventilator, dialysis, food, and hydration from patients, even if the patient or their family has expressed a desire to continue such care and treatment.  Treatment can be withdrawn from any patient for any reason, including discrimination against a patient who is elderly, terminally ill, or disabled.

Rather than actually reforming the draconian ten-day law, HB 2351 instructs the hospital committees to write and circulate their own regulations about conflicts of interest for their own ethics committees about their own decisions on withdrawing treatment from patients.  HB 2351 also instructs facilities to write and implement policies for withdrawing treatment from patients with disabilities.  However, this section establishes yet another dangerous loophole through this provision by adding: “unless the disability is relevant in determining whether a medical or surgical intervention is medically appropriate.”  HB 2351 does not actually provide specific details about what the policies should be, just that hospitals should adopt policies on these topics.

 (Committee to hear dangerous bills masquerading as Pro-Life, April 8, 2015)

Thanks to Joe Pojman and the Texas Alliance for Life, death panels are alive and well in Texas.  There is blood on their hands.

Now is the time to repeal this draconian law!