Third Medical Futility Case in Texas Courts

In addition to the cases of Tinslee Lewis (pending before the Texas Supreme Court) and Berman De Paz Martinez (pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit), there is now a third medical futility case in the Texas courts.

Last week, 10-month old Nick Torres drowned or nearly drowned. He is now in the Texas Children's Hospital ICU. To prevent clinicians from removing life-support, the family sought and obtained an injunction from the Harris County District Court.

Unlike the other futility cases, Torres is apparently dead on neurological criteria. Therefore, the conflict may not be the typical dispute over the appropriateness of life-sustaining treatment. It may instead concern the legitimacy of brain death as a diagnostic category.