tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212666452011-07-14T14:32:06.479-07:00"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-36201662236530281382007-03-03T10:20:00.000-08:002007-03-03T10:40:18.960-08:00

This story is disturbing on many levels. A mentally retarded man was hospitalized for a critical illness. He was an organ donor whose organs were to be harvested after the removal of his respirator.The problem was, he didn't die fast enough after the respirator was removed. This led to the physician to order and have administered massive amounts of morpine and sedatives. He still did not die and

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1169864992402801552007-01-26T18:21:00.000-08:002007-01-26T18:29:52.410-08:00

Here is a story about a little boy who might have been written off by futiliarians. Although Texas has been on the forefront of futility theory, this includes a story about a Christian Texas physician who saw Levi's worth.

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1165534225168484422006-12-07T15:27:00.000-08:002006-12-07T15:30:25.180-08:00

Lanore Dixon, Andrea Clark's sister, and I were interviewed on NPR. The show aired last Tuesday. You may listen to it here.

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1164499551950644882006-11-25T12:48:00.000-08:002006-11-25T16:05:52.026-08:00

In 1949, an article by Dr. Leo Alexander entitled Medical Science Under Dictatorship was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Alexander participated, as a prosecution medical expert, in the trials of Nazi physicians at Nuremberg. He wrote the article, in part, to illuminate the reasons that German physicians participated in the euthanasia of incurables and the disabled as well

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1164139377540352272006-11-21T11:39:00.000-08:002006-11-21T15:40:32.973-08:00

Wesley J. Smith blogs about the recommended guidelines adopted by a Bioethics think tank in Great Britain in light of the British Medical Society's coming out in favor of euthanizing disabled newborns. The good thing is that the think tank disagrees with the concept of euthanizing newborns. The bad part is this:The Council also suggested that infants born at 22 weeks gestation or earlier not be

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1163779887512897762006-11-17T08:05:00.000-08:002006-11-17T08:13:18.910-08:00

Today, I will be appearing on Voice for Life at 10 AM Pacific time to discuss Futile Care Theory and the Texas Futile Care Statue. The show is carried on Immaculate Heart Radio.To listen live over the internet click here. Then, click on one of the streaming audio options. It will ask you to run an MP3 file, or something similar. Your media player should come up so that you can listen. You

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1161564321062248102006-10-22T17:40:00.000-07:002006-10-22T17:45:21.073-07:00

Read about it here and here and here.

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1161013625425256112006-10-16T08:35:00.000-07:002006-10-16T08:49:27.103-07:00

The pro-cloning forces are attempting a fakeout of the citizens of Missouri--which I understand to be a mainly pro-life state. The above video showing Cathy Ruse of Missourians Against Human Cloning, reveals the facts.According Bob Novak, in his column published in the Chicago Sun-Times:But Amendment 2 is identified for many Missouri voters by the language at the beginning of the five-page,

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1157394822843178372006-09-04T11:24:00.000-07:002006-09-04T13:13:51.666-07:00

I found a great opinion piece written in 1997 by Miguel Faria, Jr.. It's entitled On the Moral Virtues and Evolving Professional Ethics: A Message to Physicians . Here is an excerpt (but go read the whole thing)"Medical Ethics Why is all of this relevant to the present plight of medicine? Because the ancient ethical foundations of medicine laid down by our predecessors from Hippocrates (460-370

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1155916541415625242006-08-18T08:36:00.000-07:002006-08-18T08:58:17.876-07:00

Robert Bennett, an attorney out of Gilmer, Texas, has filed a constitiutional challenge to the Texas Futile Care Statute. The patient is in the Regency Hospital in Carrollton, Texas--which is in Denton County, Texas.Robert was able to get a Bowie County probate judge to issue a TRO against the hospital by establishing a guardianship there. Good thinking. You can bet that judges in the smaller

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1155416091505764302006-08-12T12:29:00.000-07:002006-08-12T14:07:00.783-07:00

This is an issue that I testified about at the Public Health Committee Hearing this past week. As I wrote here, the Texas Legislature is revisiting the Texas Futile Care Statute. I testified within the context of a family I helped where the hospital was going to withdraw life-sustaining treatment. You can read about it in this article. (free registration required)I am blogging about this because

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1155407292020296832006-08-12T11:01:00.000-07:002006-08-12T11:30:42.813-07:00

The Public Health Committee of the Texas House held hearings this past Wednesday, August 9, 2006 on the Texas Futile Care Statutes. It lasted from 10 in the morning until 11:30 at night.You can watch it by clicking here:You can hear my testimony by moving the little clip postion to about 6 hours 10 seconds.But, the testimony that you should really go listen to is the priest on the pro-futile care

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1155401867601876692006-08-12T09:34:00.000-07:002006-08-12T10:47:23.530-07:00

Last week, I got a call from the son of a hospital patient located in Beaumont, Texas. His mother, Daisy M. Conner, had been subjected to the futile care protocols of the hospital. She suffered from spinal meningitus that had gone undiagnosed, twice, at the emergency room of a different hospital.The family member called me on Tuesday or Wednesday prior to the deadline of that coming Saturday.

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1153873018451701322006-07-25T17:16:00.000-07:002006-07-25T20:29:45.416-07:00

Last week, I had the honor of guest hosting Mychal Massie's show, Straight Talk on Right Talk Radio. I had the double honor of interviewing Ramesh Ponnuru and Burke Balch about so-called "futile care" theory. As I stated in this post:Burke J. Balch, J.D. serves as Director of the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics which specializes in euthanasia-related issues and is associated with the

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1153686433112050122006-07-23T13:24:00.000-07:002006-07-23T13:44:30.003-07:00

As some of you may know, I have been volunteering my time to represent patients and their families in situations where physicians, hospitals and hospital ethics committees have made unilateral decisions to withdraw life-sustaining treatments based on subjective opinions about "quality of life". This is called "futile care theory" and it is protected and enabled by a Texas statute allowing

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1153236003418250622006-07-18T08:08:00.000-07:002006-07-18T08:20:03.436-07:00

It's being reported that a doctor and three nurses have been arrested and booked because of the deaths of patients at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans. (HT Drudge)A doctor and two nurses have been arrested in connection with the deaths of patients at a New Orleans hospital after Hurricane Katrina hit the city, the Louisiana attorney general's office said Tuesday. The three were arrested

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1153153207279639002006-07-17T09:19:00.000-07:002006-07-17T09:21:28.183-07:00

I will be guest-hosting my friend Mychal Massie's show Straight Talk on Right Talk Radio tomorrow, Tuesday, July 18. It will air at 1 pm ET (12 pm CT) My guests will be Burke Balch--who will be on the air the first segment and Ramesh Ponneru will appear the during the 2nd segment and 3rd segment. Burke J. Balch, J.D. serves as Director of the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics which

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1146624159119944002006-05-02T18:28:00.000-07:002006-05-02T20:20:15.373-07:00

For two weeks I have carried responsibility in the legal realm for the lives of two women whom attending physicians and ethics committees have decided should not receive life-sustaining treatment. This has been a heavy burden--although I cannot compare my ordeal to that of the families and patients.I filed papers with the court in one case and got close to doing that in the other case. In one,

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1146073315997941782006-04-26T10:05:00.000-07:002006-04-26T10:41:56.043-07:00

I represent Andrea Clark and the family. I came to represent the family because I signed up on the registry of health care providers and referral groups that have volunteered their readiness to consider assisting families in the situation where the present attending physician and hospital ethics committee decides to withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. As soon as I signed up, I got TWO cases.

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1141347830451473862006-03-02T16:20:00.000-08:002006-04-26T10:05:04.500-07:00

It is my position that there are many problems with the Texas Futile Care Statute. I discuss one of those problems in this post. In Texas, if an attending physician of a patient in a health care facility decides that continuing life-sustaining treatment is inappropriate, the law provides a procedure before the facility can withdraw the treatment.Hospital administrations will tell you that

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1140285418136380712006-02-18T09:44:00.000-08:002006-02-18T09:56:58.146-08:00

Wesley J. Smith at Secondhand Smoke writes about healthcare rationing in the UK,The case in question involves a woman who has a type of breast cancer that is susceptible to treatment by a drug called Herceptin. The drug is expensive and the patient, Ann Marie Rogers, was denied access to it by the NHS—not because of efficacy concerns, but apparently based on cost. (Only late stage breast cancer

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1138804976869124632006-02-01T06:38:00.000-08:002006-02-01T06:44:08.740-08:00

Why? Read this column by Wesley Smith. For a preview:How can this be? The simple answer is that tube-supplied food and water — often called "artificial nutrition and hydration" (ANH) — has been defined in law and in medical ethics as an ordinary medical treatment. This means that it can be refused or withdrawn just like, say, antibiotics, kidney dialysis, chemotherapy, surgery, blood pressure

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1138153147967973132006-01-24T16:58:00.000-08:002006-01-24T17:55:23.940-08:00

In Texas, when you sign an advance directive instructing that life-sustaining treatment be given to you in the event you become incompetent or unable to communicate, you may expect your wishes to be honored. You may be wrong. The Texas Statutes allow a physician to ignore your directive upon effecting a procedure. From the Health & Safety Code:§ 166.045. LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO EFFECTUATE

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1138065376579262612006-01-23T15:58:00.000-08:002006-01-23T17:37:02.703-08:00

Wesley J. Smith and Michelle Malkin are both reporting that Gov. Romney is appointing a panel to look into the case of 11-year-old Haleigh Poutre. Romney explained his reasoning by saying:Romney said he was appointing the panel because, "an individual is a child of God, and this is something that we care very deeply about and that's why were going to focus on this particular case."Assuming that

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1137876692772068052006-01-21T11:54:00.000-08:002006-01-21T13:02:51.193-08:00

In Texas, hydration and nutrition administered by a tube is included in the definition of "life-sustaining treatment.""Life-sustaining treatment" means treatment that, based on reasonable medical judgment, sustains the life of a patient and without which the patient will die. The term includes both life-sustaining medications and artificial life support, such as mechanical breathing machines,

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1137805787258963272006-01-20T16:56:00.000-08:002006-01-21T07:16:03.716-08:00

For the last thirty years, the focus of medical ethics has been patient autonomy. Because not every patient is competent to exercise choices in treatment, the law has evolved to allow "surrogates" to make choices for the incompetent. Of course, in the case of children, surrogates (parents, guardians, etc.) make treatment decisions. Surrogates are supposed to make such decisions in the best

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21266645.post-1137804392222704862006-01-20T16:30:00.000-08:002006-01-20T16:46:32.230-08:00

A utilitarian society is one in which small, crabbed, self-importantbureaucrats have won the day - wherein they have managed to dot every i andcross every t, and blot each entry before locking those valuable ledgers away. Autilitarian society may even have trains that run on time. But it is a societythat is essentially empty because balanced books, as satisfying to the eye asthey might be, do not

Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10097381893555114911noreply@blogger.com0