Allen, Texas – September 26, 2016: Texas Right to Life has partnered with the Pro-Life Healthcare Alliance (a program of the Human Life Alliance) to present a one-day conference educating Texans on crucial topics related to their healthcare and end-of-life decisions. As the state with the most draconian hospital care laws in the entire nation, Texas faces uniquely challenging obstacles to patient autonomy and human dignity.
The goal of the Healthcare In Crisis conference is to educate Texans about the current state of patient rights in Texas. Presentations from a range of experts in the field will inform Texans about their options – and lack thereof – in regard to medical planning and unexpected hospitalization. All Texans are invited to Allen, Texas, where the conference will be held on Saturday, September 24, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Presenters including Texas Right to Life Director, Elizabeth Graham, will join with attorney Kassi Marks to educate attendees about medical futility and the Texas Advance Directives Act. Graham will share her experience advocating for countless Texans who have turned to Texas Right to Life for support and counsel in the midst of hospital treatment crises. Julie Grimstad, executive director of Life is Worth Living, Inc., will examine what has happened to healthcare in the wake of pervasive anti-Life legislation, especially in Texas. Other experts will explore stealth euthanasia, “brain death” and organ donation, and outreach to families dealing with difficult prenatal and antenatal diagnoses.
Because of the Texas Advance Directives Act (TADA), a crippling state law codified in 1999, no Texan today possesses the ability to make his own decisions about hospital treatment, end-of-life care, or his basic Right to Life. The highly publicized case of Chris Dunn in 2015 is emblematic of the discrimination that has quietly become ubiquitous in the Lone Star State. But the vast majority of Texans have no idea that their wishes – even those contained in legal wills – can be thwarted by the signature of a hospital employee who deems a Texan’s care futile for any reason.
Texas Right to Life has advocated for thousands of Texans and their families over the years as they navigate the legal labyrinths of hospitals across the state. These patients and families are shell-shocked to learn that the TADA utterly eradicates their patient rights and that there is little legal recourse available in the wake of a hospital’s decision to cease even the most basic medical care. But our team is committed to saving the Lives of these vulnerable Texans and, in many cases patients once sentenced by their hospital to an imposed hospital death proceed to make a full recovery.
For more information about the Healthcare In Crisis conference, including accommodation details and registration instructions, visit ProLifeHealthcare.org.