Readers of Secondhand Smoke know how adamantly opposed I am to futile care theory. Texas, as the moment, is the prime offender. The law permits hospital ethics committees to order the refusal of wanted life-sustaining treatment, at which point, the patient and family have a mere ten days to find another hospital to care for the patient—which may be more than a daunting task.
There have been at least 5 public futile care controversies since the law came into effect in 1999. Some of these have been reported about here. Now, it appears that the law is in well-deserved trouble. Not only is Governor Rick Perry moving toward seeking reform, if not outright repeal, but so too are the Democrat candidates for governor.
Let us hope that soon, the sickest patients will not be able to be coerced by hospital ethics committees and bioethicists into having wanted life support removed in Texas. If that law gets repealed or significantly reformed, it will be a tremendous setback for the medical futility movement.
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