Supreme Court rejects plea from Fort Worth hospital to remove child from life support
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a preliminary plea from Cook Children’s Medical Center to remove life support for a toddler at the Fort Worth hospital.
Tinslee Lewis’ medical treatment has been the 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 keeping her on life support is causing needless suffering.
The case will now return to the lower court for a final ruling. If the 48th District Court rules in favor of Tinslee’s mother, the ramifications would reach far beyond Tinslee and her family.
The hospital’s legal basis for removing Tinslee from life support comes from the Texas Advance Directives Act, which allows hospitals to stop treatment of a patient if a panel determines further treatment is causing unnecessary suffering without hope of recovery. 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.
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 October, the Texas Supreme Court denied the hospital’s petition to take Tinslee off life support.
With the federal Supreme Court denying the hospital’s petition, Tinslee will remain on life support.
Tinslee’s mother, Trinity Lewis, says her daughter is not suffering and experiences joy just like other children, like when her nails are painted or when her favorite movie is playing.
“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 previously said.
The hospital says Tinslee experiences “ongoing, daily agony” and “pain and suffering at the unwilling hands of her doctors and nurses.”
In a petition to the Texas Supreme Court to expedite its review of Tinslee’s case, Cook Children’s argued that 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.”
In the first trial over Tinslee in January 2020, a Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief sided with the hospital. A judge ruled that the baby could be taken off life support against the family’s wishes, leading to a series of appeals by the family and the hospital.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 11:26 AM.
