Marlise Munoz to Be Removed from Life Support

A Tarrant County District Court judge has ordered John Peter Smith Hospital to pronounce Marlise Munoz dead and remove her from life support by 5:00 p.m. Monday.

Siding with Erick Munoz and Marlise’s parents, Judge R.H. Wallace Jr. ruled that the state law preventing the hospital from withdrawing “life-sustaining treatment” from a pregnant patient did not apply in this case because Marlise was dead.  The Monday deadline gives lawyers for the hospital time to consider an appeal.

See Manny Fernandez, Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Life Support from Pregnant Woman, The New York Times, Jan. 24, 2014.