70-year-old Rosemary fought for her life in a Temple, Texas, hospital. She was receiving dialysis treatments, breathing with the assistance of a ventilator, and receiving food and water. Despite her many health complications, Rosemary was conscious. When her husband, Chris, looked into her eyes and said, “I love you,” Rosemary cried.
Tragically, the hospital decided to remove Rosemary’s life-sustaining treatment against Chris’ wishes. This was legal under the former Texas 10-Day Rule, now known as the 25-Day Rule.
Rosemary’s husband, Chris, contacted our frontline Patient Advocacy team for help. When the hospital held a committee meeting to decide whether they would take away Rosemary’s care, our Patient Advocates and a Pro-Life attorney traveled to Temple to defend her.
The hospital ultimately decided to remove Rosemary’s treatment and started a 10-day countdown after the meeting, planning to prompt her death in a matter of days.
Racing against the clock, we sought other facilities willing to provide the care she needed before the countdown on her life expired.
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Three care centers said they could care for her, and little by little, the Temple hospital agreed to give Rosemary more time while we straightened out insurance and paperwork.
Then we ran into a roadblock: Rosemary’s insurance hadn’t responded on whether they would cover the costs of a new facility, and we were only hours away from the hospital being legally allowed to take away her treatment. We filed an emergency lawsuit to win Rosemary more time.
Finally, her insurance company approved the transfer, and late at night, she arrived safely at the new hospital in Arizona. Her husband finally breathed a sigh of relief. He told us, “She is not on death row anymore.”
Rosemary passed away naturally seven days later, at peace and without the hospital removing her treatment.
Thank you for standing with Texas Right to Life. Please pray for patients like Rosemary and her family who are victimized by this horrible law.
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