Texas Right to Life
Builders of a Pro-Life Texas

Patient Advocacy

Need help in a hospital?

GET HELP

¿Está el hospital amenazando con desconectar a su ser querido?

CONSIGUE AYUDA

About Patient Advocacy

The Texas Right to Life Patient Advocacy Program, operated by our in-house legal department, is designed to help individuals and families facing threats to medical decision making in Texas hospitals.

We work with a network of Pro-Life attorneys and a Pro-Life nurse consultant to advocate for vulnerable patients in hospitals across the state. Our services, fully funded by donations to our Patient Advocacy Fund, are free to every patient we assist.

A hospital may be pressuring you to sign a DNR, challenging your authority to make healthcare decisions for your loved one, or threatening to remove your loved one’s ventilator or other life sustaining treatment. You may be confused about some paperwork the hospital handed you, have trouble accessing a loved one’s medical records, or want to learn more about your rights under Texas law.

If you have questions or need legal assistance with these or similar issues, our team of rapid response patient advocates are here for you!

Stories

A hospital tried to prompt Tinslee’s death when she was just 9-months old. Today, she’s 3 and even went home from the hospital! Read Tinslee’s Story
Jose was given 10 days to live in 2020, but he’s still alive today! Watch Jose’s Story
When Jonathan suffered a brain injury in 2018, his estranged wife tried to remove his life-sustaining treatment. He miraculously survived and lived years after. Read Jonathan’s Story
A hospital planned to take away Chris’ ventilator after a 10-day countdown. Thanks to legal action, Chris continued to fight until he passed away naturally a month later. Read Chris’ Story
Carolyn didn’t die when her hospital took away her ventilator and dialysis against her family’s will, but the team had to pull off an emergency escape to save her life. Read Carolyn’s Story
Bill faced a 10-day countdown in 2021 after the hospital wanted to hasten his death. Bill passed away naturally before the countdown expired. Read Bill’s Story
Virginia’s doctors believed her life was not worth living. The hospital withdrew life-sustaining treatment against her husband’s will, and Virginia died six hours later.
Read Virginia’s Story
Michael was starved and left untreated because doctors said he had no quality of life as a disabled man. He passed away from denial of treatment in June 2020.
Read Michael’s Story
Four-year-old Clifton suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2012. Despite showing signs of improvement, doctors pulled the plug on Clifton against his mother’s will and he died in her arms. Read Clifton’s Story

Videos

Issues

Medical Power of Attorney – Learn more

10-Day Rule – Learn more

Brain Death – Learn more

Organ Donation – Learn more

Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders (DNR) – Learn more

News

  • Application: Brain Death in Practice

    (This is the third article of our brain death series. Make sure to read Article 1 and Article 2, and be on the lookout for the next article in the series!) On paper, the concept of brain death seems relatively simple: apply a legal definition of brain death to a patient’s clinical condition and issue

    Read More

  • A Difference That Matters: The Distinctions between Brain Death, Biological Death, and Legal Death

    (This is the second article of our brain death series. Make sure to read Article 1: (Is Brain Death a New Way of Defining Death?) and be on the lookout for the next article in the series!)  Only a handful of stories have appeared in the mainstream media of the uncomfortable dichotomy and fights over

    Read More

  • Is Brain Death a New Way of Defining Death?

    You’ve probably known someone, perhaps a loved one, who was declared brain dead. An estimated 15,405 patients in American hospitals were diagnosed and declared brain dead in 2016. That’s about 42 every day. But what exactly is brain death? First coined in 1968, brain death (BD) is considered the neurological standard for determining death.  In

    Read More

If you support our mission, give a life-saving donation today!

The Patient Advocacy Fund is part of the Texas Right to Life Educational Fund (501(c)3). This allows your gift to be tax-deductible.

DONATE