Your support powers the Texas Right to Life patient advocacy team’s fight for families and their loved ones.
Through the many cases Texas Right to Life has been involved in, one need has kept surfacing: emergency guardianship.
Disturbingly, we have seen hospitals take advantage of the guardianship courts to supersede the medical directives of patients and the instructions of their surrogate decision-makers. Most often the dispute arises because the hospital wants to remove life-sustaining treatment against the wishes of the surrogate.
Hospitals have attorneys and medical professionals on hand to easily reach the court. Families are left scared and uncertain how to fight back in a court process they know nothing about.
Our patient advocacy team has found it increasingly difficult to locate guardianship attorneys who can immediately jump into action and are not intimidated by the hospitals’ bad faith.
To better fight for these families, Texas Right to Life has begun taking on these guardianship battles ourselves. Texas Right to Life General Counsel, Emily Cook, became certified to represent guardianship clients in Texas state courts. Our paralegal, Miranda Willborg, has become an expert in all things guardianship.
Throughout 2021, our team has focused on serving uncontested cases of patients who we helped to defeat the 10-Day Rule and brain death diagnosis. A few of those examples are below.
Ryan C – A Houston area hospital attempted to declare Ryan brain dead after he suffered an anoxic brain injury. Ryan’s parents called Texas Right to Life for help. Our team was able to show the hospital how their diagnosis did not follow the standard of care. The hospital then rescinded the diagnosis! Now, Ryan is living at home in the care of his mom and dad. But both parents needed to obtain guardianship rights in order to adequately address Ryan’s medical and financial needs. Emily Cook represented the family in the Harris County Probate Court so that a judge granted permanent guardianship to both parents.
Patient U – In May, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital started the 10-Day countdown on the life of Patient U, a Southwest Airlines engineer from India. Our legal team successfully stopped the countdown and got him transferred to another facility. To make the best use of their financial resources so that they could continue caring for their two children and avoid falling into debt, Patient U’s wife had to become his legal guardian. We filed an emergency application for guardianship in Collin County, which was granted by the judge earlier this month.
Frank W – Because she did not have access to legal counsel, a Nevada hospital managed to supersede the claims of Frank’s wife to grant guardianship to a third-party organization. With the consent of the third-party guardian, Frank was transferred to a long term care facility in Texas. Frank’s wife went with him, where she remains every day. She reached out to Texas Right to Life for help. We are now working to help her regain control over her husband’s medical care.
The purpose of Texas Right to Life’s patient advocacy team is to be equipped and ready to take action for you in your most desperate hour. Every person who calls our advocacy team is experiencing the most terrifying and heartbreaking days of their life. These families don’t know where to start. All they know is that they need to fight for their wife, for their son, for their sister.
Your financial gifts connect these families to a team that has the knowledge, courage and heart to help them.
Will you help lay the foundation for a strong 2022 patient advocacy team by giving a financial gift today to the Texas Right to Life Patient Advocacy Fund?