Texas hospital starving patient against family wishes

Texas Right to Life denounced the decision by physicians to allegedly eliminate hydration and feeding of a patient under their care in a Texas hospital. According to the group, the hospital has refused to allow the patient and his family to take him to a nearby hospice for care. A March 20 news release from Texas Right to Life, “Willie breathed on his own through the night, but he is being dehydrated and starved to death. Because he hasn’t been fed or watered, his heart rate is dangerously low. After he breathed steadily last night, the hospital discussed hospice with the family. Now however, the facility is waiting for his heart to give out since his heart rate has diminished and will not revisit hospice care.”

Furthermore, declared the group, “They are now actively killing him, more so than yesterday.” The statement came from Elizabeth Graham, the director of Texas Right to Life.

Texas Right to Life says that the patient is a man named William, who as yet has not been further identified. The group said the hospital is located in northwest Houston, which is not yet further identified. The statement said, “Willie breathed on his own through the night, but he is being dehydrated and starved to death. Because he hasn’t been fed or watered, his heart rate is dangerously low. After he breathed steadily last night, the hospital discussed hospice with the family. Now however, the facility is waiting for his heart to give out since his heart rate has diminished and will not revisit hospice care.

The statement continued, “They are now actively killing him, more so than yesterday.” The group alleged that the physicians “pulled the plug on a patient whose family called me at the 11th hour, pleading to me to save their father's life. Despite the family's desperation to save their father, and everything Texas Right to Life did for them, the hospital's death panel decided to proceed and kill him.”

Texas Right to Life says that the patient is suffering from leukaemia, complicated by pneumonia. Taken for emergency surgery, he told his daughter before being sedated, "Fight for me, baby; I ain't done living." The man’s family had medical power of attorney and instructed the medical staff to continue their father’s medical care and treatment.

However, according to the group, physicians at the hospital decided last week that the patient’s family should either take him to another hospital or they would suspend hydration and feeding.

Trusting that their father had adequate health insurance, they asked the social worker at the hospital to arrange for a transfer. However, as the deadline approached they were told that no other hospital in the area would accept him. The family determined that the social worker had described their father as “one who had no hope of meaningful recovery, one whose quality of life was gone, one with no dignity due to his illness and disability.” As of March 19, according to Texas Right to Life, hydration and other treatment had been removed, even while the patient is now breathing on his own and has adequate medical insurance. The patient has yet to be transferred to another hospital or to hospice care.

This patient (now murder victim) is anonymous, but so are many other victims of this practice.

In 1999, 10.4% of the severely cognitively impaired residents of the United States were starved and dehydrated to death.

In 2000, 11.0% of the severely cognitively impaired residents of the United States were starved and dehydrated to death.

In 2001, 11.4% of the severely cognitively impaired residents of the United States were starved and dehydrated to death.

I haven’t found data yet for other years, but I think it’s a fair guess that the killings continue to climb.

This doesn’t represent a percentage of patients who died (which would be bad enough). It doesn’t mean that 11.4% of the patients who died were starved and dehydrated. It means 11.4% of all the people living in the U.S.A. with severe cognitive impairments were killed this way. And it doesn’t include the ones who were killed using other methods, such as denial of antibiotics for simple infections, removal of breathing assistance, etc.

The standard used for determining severe cognitive impairment for the purpose of this study is a score of 5 or less on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Patients in a coma or PVS cannot possibly score 1, much less 5. You’ve probably seen people in the grocery store with a score of 5 or less. So these killings include a wide range of brain damaged people. I wonder how many thousands of people are living with a score of 5 or less. And for every 1,000 people living with a score of 5 or less in the year 2001, 114 of them were starved and dehydrated to death that year.

All I have before me are the percentages. I’d like to see the corresponding numbers. Or would I?

Following is the breakdown by state for 2001. Notice that Rhode Island tops the list, with just over a third of that population exterminated this way. That might have something to do with the fact that RI has appointed the pro-euthanasia group Choice in Dying the official State agency in charge of informing the public about “end-of-life choices.” They supply forms for “living wills” and “assist” the public in filling out those forms. This is what happens when you put the fox in charge of the henhouse.

Believe it or not, Florida and Texas are both below the national average. Every state is on the list. Georgia is at the bottom of the list, exterminating only 1.30% this way.

RI - 33.80%
OR - 32.50%
MI - 28.30%
MT - 28.00%
WI - 27.20%
CA - 23.40%
UT - 23.40%
AZ - 20.90%
PA - 17.40%
MN - 17.20%
AK - 17.10%
CT - 15.40%
WY - 14.90%
MD - 14.60%
NM - 14.20%
SD - 14.10%
WA - 13.20%
OH - 12.90%
ID - 12.30%
IA - 12.10%
MO - 11.90%
National Average - 11.4%
VT - 11.20%
HI - 11.10%
DE - 10.80%
ND - 10.80%
MA - 9.90%
IN - 9.70%
ME - 9.20%
NH - 8.70%
NY - 8.50%
NE - 7.70%
CO - 7.20%
AL - 7.10%
TX - 7.10%
IL - 6.70%
WV - 6.70%
KY - 6.60%
SC - 6.50%
TN - 6.30%
FL - 6.20%
NV - 6.20%
AR - 5.70%
NC - 5.20%
KS - 4.80%
NJ - 4.80%
OK - 4.10%
LA - 3.70%
VA - 3.60%
DC - 3.10%
MS - 3.00%
GA - 1.30%

Facts On Dying ~ This study was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, who adamantly opposes the rights of vulnerable people to continue living. So if any trolls show up, complaining that the data is skewed in favor of life, check the facts and get back to me.

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I’m temporarily HTML impaired. If you check my profile page, you’ll find this same info with relevant links. At the time that I compiled the above data, the focus was on patients with cognitive impairments, but if you follow the link to the study ( http://www.chcr.brown.edu/dying/feedtubedata.HTM ) you’ll see that it is by no means limited to them.

No, that only applies to medical staff. If this is really happening, a 3rd party such as a family member could tell a reporter, or the TRL all the details and it could be dissemination without running afoul of any laws. One would think that given the alleged situation, that family members would be screaming the details to high heaven, yet the article is full of nothing but vague allusions.

As a medical researcher, I have to take HIPAA training annually, even though I never see patient data. True, I don't take the training directed at caregivers, although I seem to recall that they cannot freely discuss patient details even with the family. Another possibility is that the family contacted the right-to-life group, TRL, for assistance, but did not want details publicized. In that case, TRL told as many details as they could while respecting the family's privacy.

I do agree, it is frustrating to not know the details. For all we know, the food and water were discontinued because the patient's body was shutting down... and the family did not understand that.

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