Texas law allows pulling the plug on you or your loved one against your will after invoking a deadly 10-day countdown.
The Texas 10-Day Rule takes life-or-death decisions away from patients and families.
What if this happened to you? Could you escape the deadly 10-Day Rule?
Donald and Carolyn Jones are among the few to actually accomplish this.
In 2019, a hospital used the 10-Day Rule to take away Carolyn’s life-sustaining treatment against Donald’s will.
Carolyn was 61-years-old, was conscious, and received dialysis treatment and had a ventilator to help her breathe. Donald and Carolyn were married for 39 years, lived in Beaumont, and enjoyed spending time with their adult daughter. Carolyn suffered a stroke in December 2017 and was transferred between different rehabilitation facilities since, landing in a Houston hospital in November 2018. Donald stayed by her side throughout her recovery and setbacks.
But after the 10-day countdown, Donald watched powerlessly as his wife was removed from the ventilator.
Then… something UNBELIEVABLE happened…
Carolyn didn’t die!
She continued to breathe on her own even without the ventilator. Donald had hope!
But Carolyn needed her regularly-scheduled dialysis, and the law took that from her too.
So, Donald and Texas Right to Life planned an emergency escape.
Together, we discharged Carolyn from the first hospital and raced her in a private ambulance to a different hospital to secure her desperately-needed dialysis.
Against all odds, Donald rescued his wife from a death sentence under the 10-Day Rule.
Donald and Carolyn’s story ends in triumph, and Carolyn passed away naturally on God’s time. But this is not the case for many.
Without the funds to hire a private ambulance we would not have been able to save Carolyn.
The anti-Life 10-Day Rule is still state law and continues to threaten the lives of ALL Texans.
Testifying against the 10-Day Rule before the Texas Senate Donald reminded senators:
“How can I care for my wife when I’m forced into this 10-day situation? This could actually happen to anyone.”
We have been fighting for the lives of vulnerable patients like Carolyn for years, and as long as they are in danger we will never stop.