On Tuesday, Eugenia Costea was informed by Baylor Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Texas, that the hospital plans to pull the plug on her husband, Bill, against her will. Though he is awake and communicates, the hospital has decided to remove treatment and hasten Bill’s death.
The 10-Day countdown started on Tuesday and the hospital plans to take away Bill’s life-sustaining treatment on June 4.
Bill was hospitalized in mid-April in order to see a cardiac specialist due to heart complications. He is normally a very active fellow who absolutely loves traveling with his beloved wife of 33 years.
Bill is awake, communicates, nods to questions, follows some commands, and reports no pain.
The hospital committee asserts that Bill may not have more than a few weeks to live. Despite this, the hospital plans to end Bill’s life in 10 days. Instead of letting a grieving family grieve, the hospital is taking away Eugenia’s decision-making power and attempting to impose death on her husband.
“Why can’t they just let me be with my husband in peace?” Eugenia asks. The hospital’s actions are legal under the deadly 10-Day Rule, a provision of the Texas Advance Directives Act, which forces everyday Texans to race against a countdown.
The hospital committee did not argue the treatment is “medically inappropriate,” and the treatments they are planning to remove—his ventilator and blood pressure medication—do not harm him. In fact, removing the ventilator and blood pressure medication would prompt Bill to suffer multi-organ failure. Clearly, the goal is to hasten his death.
Although Bill is awake and responsive, the 10-Day Rule can still be used to provoke his death.
“I love my husband,” says Eugenia. “Together we have endured so much. I will fight for his life; I know he would do the same for me.”
Eugenia has been by her husband’s side day and night since the beginning of his hospitalization in mid-April.
Texas Right to Life is committed to protecting the Right to Life of all persons, most especially vulnerable patients such as Bill. For this reason, the Texas Right to Life Patient Advocacy team is doing everything within their power to defend Bill’s Right to Life.
People who want to help Bill and Eugenia should call Baylor Scott & White – Temple at (254) 724-2111 and ask them to stop their attack on Bill’s life.
18 Comments
Sending prayers. This is absolutely ridiculous! This law surely needs clarification.
This is so wrong! Remove the Socialists from our government! PLEASE!!!
The precious nature of life is to be able to discern a hospice condition from a truly end of life condition. I am not opposed to families deciding to stop certain acts of palliative care but I am not a supporter of institutional decisions. Can the family member be taken home and cared for or moved to a hospice home? If so then they need to leave the hospital and release themselves from institutional decision making.
Hospital—-I PRAY YOU SAVE PATIENTS LIFES
??❤️??❤️??????❤️
The murdering of the elderly is becoming an every day offense!
Defend Bill’s right to life!!!!
These laws to allow hospitals decide when to stop a life go against the natural order prescribed by God. Only He must decide when a person’s life ends.
If Bill Costea is transferred out of Baylor hospital to a Catholic one would that avoid the attempt to end his life?
This is against the pledge that drs make.
Praying for yall. Getting more people involved to stop this crazyness. May God Bless.
This is something beyond infuriating.
Dear Baylor Scott Wife staff,
Your Hippocratic Oath includes a Vow to “Do no harm.” By pulling Bill’s life support you are in violation of your own professional oath.
Please reconsider your plan and honor the wishes of his wife in allowing him to remain on life support measures. I bled to death and was in a coma, and I am asking you to not take his life into your own hands and leave room for an answer from his maker. You arbitrarily deciding “it’s time” is an affront to his right to life, liberty (his wife’s in this case), and any potential for a turn around in his ability to pursue happiness. If you are a Baylor facility one would expect you to not violate his basic constitutional rights, or the Bible. God knows the number of his days. If you violate your Hippocratic oath and intentionally insist on actions to limit his days that is not entirely different from a person murdering you or me because they will gain better financial standing by doing so. Please do not put yourself or your staff in that position.
Honor his wife’s directive and leave room for God.
So now it appears these corporations known as hospitals are actively and openly murdering people.
This is barbaric! This man’s fighting for his life! Please reconsider this case and let him live!
That is murder!!! Let’s put your life on support, conscious, and pull the plug in 10 days. Everything you try to put people through, remember, you will be next in line to suffer the same thing.
Don’t play God. Let God decide. Not you.
Many times it takes more than 10 days for the body to heal. So let it heal. What you are suggesting is selective murder. Who do you think you are Bill Gates?
I’m against abortions it’s against my moral values & l consider it as premedated murder