The battle is over for the family of Marlise Munoz, 33, who has been brain dead since November 2013 and carrying a fetus with "distinctly abnormal" condition. An order from a Texas judge had her released from the life support which she never wanted in the first place.
On Friday, the doctors from John Peter Smith hospital finally detached Marlise from the ventilator at 5 p.m. Erick Munoz, her husband, had fought for her wife's wish to not be attached on a machine if ever something happens to her.
"We talked about it. We're both paramedics," Erick told WFAA. "We've seen things out in the field. We both knew that we both didn't want to be on life support."
However, the hospital declined to grant his request because her wife was 19 weeks pregnant at the time. The hospital's decision is based on a Texas law that prohibits them to follow a family directive when there is pregnancy involved.
The situation has placed Erick Munoz in a personal conflict with himself, as a father who wanted a second child now that their first child is 14 months old, and as a medical professional who didn't know the survival rate of the fetus or how much pain it had endured. He decided to take matters into court.
To make things worse, the legal counsel of the Munoz family Heather King and Jessica Janicek released a statement on Wednesday that the fetus seemed "distinctly abnormal" due to oxygen deprivation. "Even at this early stage, the lower extremities are deformed to the extent that the gender cannot be determined. The fetus suffers from hydrocephalus. It also appears that there are further abnormalities, including a possible heart problem that cannot be specifically determined due to the immobile nature of Mrs. Munoz's deceased body," they said.
On Friday, the family strengthened their case by reasoning that the hospital is using Marlise's body as an experiment. However, the hospital denied it and argued that they were just following the state law.
Erick and his family broke down into tears after Judge R.H. Wallace favored them. The family can now claim Marlise's body for burial.
The hospital can still file for an appeal but did not mention if they have plans to do so.
