The Texas state Legislature will consider dueling bills over a woman's rights in determining medical treatment during pregnancy if she is incapacitated.
Rep. Elliott Naishtat of Austin filed HB 3183 in Texas March 11, aiming to repeal the exclusion preventing pregnant women from employing an advance directive. This bill directly contrasts with one Rep. Matt Krause of Fort Worth filed HB 1901 in February, which sought to amend the law involving life-sustaining treatment for pregnant patients.
An advance directive is a written statement detailing a patient's wishes about medical treatment. It is made to ensure that an individual's requests are carried out in the event that they are not able to communicate their own terms. This protection is offered to all in Texas, except for pregnant women. The current law nullifies a pregnant woman's advance directive, which may refuse life support, for instance.
"Being pregnant should not prohibit a woman from having her personal decision respected. This bill would give women assurance when delineating their wishes regarding extraordinary medical interventions during end-of-life care that their wishes will be followed," said Naishtat, a Democrat.
HB 3183 is also called Marlise's Law, named after Marlise Muñoz from Fort Worth, Texas. In 2014, Muñoz suffered a severe blood clot which killed her. But as she was pregnant at the time, the hospital followed the law and put her on life support for two months. Only after the court declared the move as unconstitutional as she was already legally dead was Muñoz finally laid to rest by her family.
According to Naishtat, his bill will prevent other families from unnecessarily going through the same tragic ordeal the Muñoz family had to go through. However, it also does not prohibit a woman from selecting treatment choices that include extraordinary measures for continued life-sustaining treatment if she is incapacitated while she is pregnant.
While Krause's HB 1901 legislation doesn't necessarily attack pregnant women, it cares more for the interests of the unborn child, stipulating that a woman should be kept on life support or undergo other life-sustaining treatments for as long as the unborn child is still maturing and developing.
HB 1901 would also assign a guardian ad litem (for the term of the lawsuit) for the unborn child, who will be tasked with ensuring the judge is provided with all the information necessary about the child's condition to aid in their ruling. Should the bill be passed, it will require the pregnant woman's family to have a judge's permission before ceasing life-sustaining treatments, even if the pregnant woman is determined to be brain dead.
"Our Constitution clearly states that no person shall be deprived of life without due process of law. I will continue to defend that unalienable right for the voiceless," said Krause, a Republican.
The bills will be referred to committee for discussion. Bills must pass both the Texas House and Senate before they go to the governor for approval or are vetoed. A bill also may become law if enough state legislators vote to override a veto.
Photo: Tatiana Vdb | Flickr
