Baby Emilio died on Saturday. From
the AP story:
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A 19-month-old boy whose terminal illness started a contentious legal and ethical debate over who decides when life-sustaining treatment should cease has died.
Emilio Gonzales died in his mother's arms Saturday night at Children's Hospital of Austin, family attorney Jerri Ward said....
Emilio, who had been on a respirator since December, was believed to have Leigh's disease, a progressive illness which destroys brain functions. His mother had fought in court to continue his medical care while doctors, saying there was no hope of recovery, sought to remove him from the machines keeping him alive.
Doctors wanted to invoke a state law allowing the hospital to stop life support after a 10-day notice for patients deemed medically futile.
Emilio's mother, Catarina Gonzales, said she knew her son would die but wanted doctors to continue care, pointing out that he smiled and turned his head when he heard voices. Her lawyer argued the state law was unconstitutional. In April, a judge agreed to temporarily block the hospital's move to end life support....
The state Senate approved legislation this month to change the law and give patients' families more time before ending life-sustaining treatment.
via
FRIDA:
We of FRIDA offer our sincere condolences to Emilio's family and are thankful that he was able to pass without being under denial of treatment. We hope that his mother finds comfort in thinking of the many disability rights allies, including many readers of this blog, who sought to aid in whatever ways they could.
We encourage you to leave your comments and thoughts on this website, or post on other websites, and most especially we encourage you to write your thoughts to your local papers to make sure that the nation thinks long and hard about why this family had to fight this fight with the State of Texas and the medical establishment.
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