By Jos Truitt • @jostruitt • 10 years ago

Texas finally let Marlise Muñoz be taken off life support

lead-abortion-rallyA Texas state district judge has ruled that a state law was wrongly applied in the case of Marlise Muñoz, allowing her to be taken off life support. We’ve written before about Muñoz, who has been brain dead since November but was pregnant at the time of her death and was kept alive by the county-owned John Peter Smith Hospital, citing a Texas law that says they cannot withdraw “life sustaining-support… for a pregnant patient.” This decision was backed by local lawmakers, despite Muñoz’s clear wishes, expressed to her husband, not to be kept on life support.

Of course, doctors found that the fetus was not viable. On Friday the judge ruled this law did not apply because Muñoz was medically and legally dead. Hopefully this precedent will at least prevent future cruel applications of this law in the cases of brain dead patients.

Marlise Muñoz was taken off life support on Sunday, finally ending the cruel ordeal the Muñoz family has been subjected to. From Salon:

“The Muñoz and Machado families will now proceed with the somber task of laying Marlise Muñoz’s body to rest, and grieving over the great loss that has been suffered,” lawyers Heather King and Jessica Janicek said in a statement. “May Marlise Muñoz finally rest in peace, and her family find the strength to complete what has been an unbearably long and arduous journey.”

Jos Truitt Jos Truitt is glad Texas can’t bully the Muñoz family any more.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

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