"It was against our will to unplug her. We never wanted that.”
Daniel Salvi and his family surrounded his sister’s bedside at Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, TX and watched doctors take the 27-year-old off life support. Habtegiris had abdominal cancer that spread to her lungs. Eventually, she was on a ventilator and her cousin took care of her.
The family said doctors told them they would have to remove her from life support in 10 days.When the family disagreed, the hospital's Clinical Ethics Committee met and decided to take Habtegiris off the ventilator.
The hospital said in a statement they "contacted 12 facilities including hospitals, long term acute care facilities and nursing homes, all of whom declined to accept the patient.”
Salvi believes this would not have happened if his sister had health insurance."If you don't have money in this country, you're nothing. You're not a human being."
I don't know all the facts of this case, but it begs the question... when is life overpriced and death becomes a financial option? With so many living without insurance, it's a question many quietly face.
CBS 11
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