Assignment: Read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper article at “Family of baby on life support at Cook Childrens files appeal to keep her alive” https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article239358418.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Article Summary: This article addresses a Texas state court legal battle between the family of 10-month-old baby Tinslee Lewis and the Cook Children’s Hospital when the hospital’s Medical Ethics Committee acted to remove the childs life-sustaining care after determining her medical conditions are terminal and continued care is only causing unnecessary suffering. Texas law, specifically Section 166.046 of the Texas Advance Directives Act, allows an ethics committee to choose to end treatment if doctors determine care is futile or medically inappropriate. Tinslee Lewis’ mother is challenging this state law as a violation of the baby’s Due Process rights under the federal Constitution. While the hospital ethics committee had sufficient state law legal authority to act the way they did, it raises significant ethical (as well as personal moral) issues and concerns.
Questions:
1. Should the costs of continued, but potentially futile, medical care be a factor in a hospitals ethics committees decision-making process? Why or why not?
2. Does the State of Texas (or any state) have a legitimate interest in reducing healthcare costs and making services available to others? State why and be specific.
3. What three Universal Values in Ethical Decision-Making relevant to this decision-making process should the MEC have considered and why?
4. What two ethical decision-making model(s) should the MEC considered by the ethics committee and why?
5. In your opinion, did the hospitals MEC get it right in this case? Why or why not?
