There have been several cases like this in Texas in recent years. Texas has a futile care law which essentially states that if treatment isn't going to make the patient better, and there is no hope of recovery, treatment can be stopped. Well, what if the family doesn't want the treatment stopped? Usually the hospital wins anyway.
How Long Should Texas Docs Treat Untreatable Patients? The Debate That Won't Go Away.
Jordan Allen's case will become part of Texas' annual debate over medical futility.
Last week, just outside of Houston, a little boy's parents were scrambling. Doctors at Texas Children's Hospital had told them there was nothing more they could do for the boy, 14-year-old Jordan Allen, whose brain is dotted with inoperable tumors. He was on a ventilator and in a coma, and further treatment would have done him more harm than good, the doctors believed. They thought it was time to let him go.
The parents disagreed. And that disagreement guaranteed the family's place at the center of a decade-old fight pitting Texas doctors and hospitals against lawmakers and activists, over how long is too long to care for a patient who appears certain to die. more
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