Hospital asks Texas Supreme Court for swift decision on Fort Worth baby on life support
Cook Children’s Medical Center urged the Texas Supreme Court to make a swift decision in the life of a Fort Worth baby who has been on life support at the hospital.
Tinslee Lewis’ medical treatment has been a subject of multiple trials. The 1-year-old was born in February 2019 with a rare heart condition. Her family has fought for her continued treatment while the hospital argues Tinslee’s condition will never improve and treating her is causing needless suffering.
In July, after months of deliberation, the Second Appellate District of Texas in Fort Worth sided with the family and ruled that Tinslee could remain on life support. The decision was a reversal of a judge’s ruling in January that she could be taken off life support.
In August, the hospital appealed and asked the Texas Supreme Court to review the case, arguing that Tinslee continues to suffer, and that the appeals court’s decision unlawfully declared a central provision of the Texas Advance Directives Act unconstitutional.
In a response on Sept. 14, Tinslee’s family and attorney Joe Nixon filed a response to the hospital’s request for review. In it, Tinslee’s mother, Trinity Lewis, said she “acknowledges that certain medical procedures, such as IV insertions, can cause (Tinslee) pain, but (Tinslee) is not in agony.”
“(Tinslee) is deeply loved by her family and experiences joy living,” the court document said.
In a statement, Lewis said Cook’s court filing are wrong.
“Cook’s recent court filings don’t tell the truth about my little girl’s condition and show Cook’s will say anything to have my daughter’s life ended,” she said.
On Tuesday, the hospital asked the court to expedite its review of Tinslee’s case due to her “ongoing, daily agony” and “pain and suffering at the unwilling hands of her doctors and nurses.”
The hospital says Tinslee’s “suffering has only increased, as her incurable disorders, combined with the effects of forced paralysis for months on end, have ravaged her small body.”
While the family and Cook Children’s are at odds about what is best for Tinslee, they are also debating the constitutionality of the state law the hospital is using to try to take Tinslee off life support.
When doctors believe a patient’s care is futile and causing harm, a hospital can invoke the Texas Advance Directives Act and choose to stop treating the patient. While doctors have the right to deny care under common law, the act outlines a dispute-resolution process and protects the hospital from legal ramifications.
The hospital argues that the appeals court cannot force Cook Children’s, a private medical center, to continue treating Tinslee, and the court “wrongly invalidated a Texas statute and flouts controlling federal authority.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 8:05 PM.
