!!!!

Blood Pool

Health & Science

Texas Alliance for Life Supports DEATH PANELS?

Bearded Wayne November 25, 2015

Earlier this month, we shared a Texas rabbi’s expose’ on the Texas Alliance For Life’s questionable funding from the political fund of Texas House Speaker (and GOP establishment strongman) Joe Straus. In turn, the Texas Alliance for Life puts its “pro-life” support to GOP establishment candidates (who are less pro-life and less conservative than other Republicans running for office). This seemed somewhat like a Clintonesque “pay for play.”

In that article, Rabbi James Trimm wrote:
Joe Pojman is the Executive Director of Texas Alliance for Life. The claimed mission of this organization is to “protect innocent human life from conception through natural death through peaceful, legal means.” And there was a time when this organization was true to its mission, but today the organization exists largely to give cover to politicians that are weak on pro-life issues. While they are a pro-life, or at least anti-abortion group to an extent, they also often fight conservatives on end of life issues. For example, Pojman has empowered the healthcare lobby and hospitals to end the life of a patient without family permission.

Well, the Texas Alliance for Life is at it again. They are doing exactly what Rabbi Trimm said: “Pojman has empowered the healthcare lobby and hospitals to end the life of a patient without family permission.”
In a recent blog post, Rabbi Trimm elaborated on that point. He first provided some background:

Back (in) 1999, The Texas Legislature unanimously passed the draconian Texas Advance Directives Act (TADA). Under TADA, when a doctor and a patient (or his/her surrogate) disagree about appropriate end-of-life treatment, the disagreement is taken before an ethics review committee.

Rabbi Trimm Points Out Texas Alliance for Life’s Support for Death Panels

Rabbi Trimm Points Out Texas Alliance for Life’s Support for Death Panels

TADA only provides a ten day period for the patient’s family either to find another facility to accept the patient or to obtain a court injunction to extend their life. If no other facility will accept the patient within the period of time and the family is unable to obtain a court injunction, then the hospital is legally permitted to withdraw life sustaining-treatment from the patient, and simply let them die, regardless of their wishes, their living will, or the wishes of their family. Folks, this is one of those “death panels” about (which) you have been warned.

Earlier this year during the 84th Texas Legislative session (2015), Texas Alliance for Life actually supported House Bill 2351. This bill purported to be a bill to reform those death panels, but the reality? House Bill 2351 only perpetuated the death panels.

An actual Pro-Life organization, Texas Right to Life, analyzed this legislation and made the following report in an article entitled “Committee to Hear Dangerous Bills Masquerading as Pro-Life”:

Rather than actually reforming the draconian ten-day law, HB 2351 instructs the hospital committees to write and circulate their own regulations about conflicts of interest for their own ethics committees about their own decisions on withdrawing treatment from patients. HB 2351 also instructs facilities to write and implement policies for withdrawing treatment from patients with disabilities. However, this section establishes yet another dangerous loophole through this provision by adding: “unless the disability is relevant in determining whether a medical or surgical intervention is medically appropriate.” HB 2351 does not actually provide specific details about what the policies should be, just that hospitals should adopt policies on these topics.

Now, the fruits are these Death Panels are about ready for harvest. Texas Right to Life reports Houston Methodist Hospital planned to begin denial of treatment to a sedated patient under TADA, but against the patients expressed wishes in his Medical Power of Attorney and against the wishes of family members. They planned to end treatment on this past Monday, November 23rd. The family won a temporary restraining order extending the countdown an additional 14 days.
While the additional time marks a temporary victory, the patient is still in danger of the hospital withdrawing his healthcare and thereby speeding, if not causing, his death.
Because of its legislative support of continuing Death Panels, does the Texas Alliance for Life have blood on its hands?

*********