Cook Children’s motion granted for new judge in 10-month-old baby’s life support case
A Texas judge granted a motion Wednesday to remove another judge from the case of a 10-month-old baby whom Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth has sought to take off life support.
Family Court Judge Alex Kim signed a temporary restraining order against Cook Children’s on Nov. 10 and extended the order on Nov. 19, giving the family of Tinslee Lewis until at least Dec. 10 to find another hospital for the baby.
Cook Children’s moved to end Tinslee’s treatment under the Texas Advance Directives Act, which grants physicians the power to end life support treatment if an ethics committee deems the treatment futile.
The hospital filed a motion to have Kim recused from Tinslee’s case, saying the juvenile court judge is biased and he and the family’s lawyer violated legal procedure by handpicking Kim for the case.
Fourth Administrative Judicial Region Judge David Peeples granted the motion Wednesday, Cook Children’s spokeswoman Kim Brown confirmed Thursday.
“Today’s hearing is out of care and concern for Tinslee,” Cook Children’s said in a statement Wednesday night. “We believe she deserves to have a judge with the appropriate judicial oversight and experience to review and assess her case fairly.”
“We just want a judge who will hear the case fairly and make a decision based on Tinslee’s constitutional right to live,” Tye Brown, Tinslee’s cousin, said. “At birth, all children have the right to have their lives protected. We want to exercise Tinslee’s legal rights with a fair trial to protect her life.”
Joe Nixon, the Lewis family’s lawyer, said he understood why Peeples granted the motion, and the family is looking forward to having a new judge appointed. He said Kim was recused mainly because he spoke at an event about the case. While Kim did not go into specifics at the event, the fact that he spoke publicly about the case was cause for concern for Peeples.
Ultimately, the family is hoping another judge will grant an injunction against Cook Children’s, permanently blocking the hospital from ending Tinslee’s treatment.
Tinslee’s condition
Tinslee was born with several severe medical conditions, including a rare heart defect called an Ebstein anomaly, a chronic lung disease and severe chronic pulmonary hypertension. Her family contends she needs more time to get better, while the doctors say she will never improve and treatment is only causing her more suffering.
“We all share the same sense of compassion and concern for Tinslee and her family as they face a very difficult situation,” Cook Children’s said in a statement. “Our doctors and nurses have done everything humanely possible to save Tinslee’s life.
“As of today, we have reached out to more than 20, well-respected healthcare facilities and pediatric cardiac specialists who have the specialized training to continue Tinslee’s care — and have gone back to two of these organizations for a secondary review,” the hospital’s statement said. “Upon their review, each medical team declined to accept her as a patient and agreed that Tinslee’s condition, sadly, shows no signs of improvement and there are no treatment options available to help her get better.”
In the motion arguing for Kim to be recused, Cook Children’s said Texas Right to Life collaborated with State Rep. Tony Tinderholt — who spoke against Cook Children’s decision at a press conference on Nov. 10 — to find a judge who would sign the temporary restraining order.
In a previous statement, Texas Right to Life said Nixon contacted Kim — the group did not.
The law and what’s next
Hospital officials first told Tinslee’s family they were going to end the baby’s treatment in October, invoking what is known as the 10-Day Rule.
Under this section of the law, if a doctor deems a patient’s treatment is futile, an ethics committee of other hospital employees and community members has the ability to review the case and either agree or disagree with the physician. The hospital then must give the patient’s family 10 days to find another hospital before ending treatment.
In response to Kim being recused, Texas Right to Life said “the culprit in this case is the 10-Day Rule, which allows a faceless committee to pull the plug on a 10-month-old baby without any due process.”
“The only thing that happened in the case yesterday is that a different judge will hear the temporary injunction next week,” the statement said.
Texas Right to Life also emphasized that Attorney General Ken Paxton called the 10-Day statute unconstitutional in a statement on Nov. 22.
Nixon said he and Tinslee’s family are also aiming to have the statute declared unconstitutional.
“We’re prepared to argue the merits at an injunction hearing and demonstrate how this statute violates not just Tinslee’s constitutional rights, but the rights of any patient in a Texas hospital,” Nixon said.
Once a new judge is appointed to Tinslee’s case, an injunction hearing will be scheduled.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 10:28 AM.
