Update: mother fighting to keep a hospital from removing her infant son from the ventilator that has kept him alive since birth has won another temporary restraining order.
The 1st Court of Appeals reinstated the order keeping 4-month-old Sun Hudson on life support Wednesday, just hours after a probate court judge lifted the order.
An infant with an often-lethal skeletal disorder can be removed from life support against his mother's wishes, a judge ruled Wednesday. Wanda Hudson's 4-month-old son,has been on a ventilator since birth. Texas Children's Hospital officials have said no treatment can save him and wanted to remove him from life support. Hudson believes her son will recover and had fought to keep him on the ventilator.
The judge gave the hospital authority to remove the child from life support because a legal standard over hospital care cannot be met. Under Texas law, a hospital must continue care if there is a reasonable probability that another hospital will admit the patient. The mother's attorney argued there is a reasonable chance another hospital would take the infant, which would mandate continued care. Hospital lawyers said state officials have contacted almost 40 facilities and none have been willing to care for him. The law says patients in emergency situations cannot be denied medical care if they aren't in stable condition. The infant suffers from thanatophoric dysplasia, a genetic condition characterized by extremely short limbs, a narrow chest, small ribs and underdeveloped lungs. Infants usually are stillborn or die shortly after birth from respiratory failure. There have been rare documented cases of survivors, however. Last week, the judge extended a restraining order keeping Sun on life support to allow more time for arguments from Hudson.
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