The hospital won’t take action for another seven days to allow the baby’s mother to decide if she would like to appeal the ruling.
Despite a mother’s requests, a Texas judge ruled a hospital can remove her 11-month-old daughter from life support, giving her only seven days to live.
Tinslee Lewis was born prematurely and suffers from a rare heart defect, chronic lung disease and severe chronic pulmonary hypertension. She has been hospitalized since birth, reports ABC.
Tinslee’s family has been fighting to continue medical treatment while Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth has planned to stop providing care.
On Thursday, Judge Sandee B. Marion of the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals denied a temporary injunction filed by the family which would have kept her on life support for several more weeks.
The hospital decided to stop treatment after doctors said Tinslee is suffering and her conditions are irreversible, determining their efforts to keep her alive are only doing more damage.
“Cook Children’s has been devoted to this precious baby her entire life, providing compassionate, round-the-clock, intensive care and attention since she arrived at our hospital 11 months ago,” a statement from the hospital read. “Her body is tired. She is suffering. It’s time to end this cycle because, tragically, none of these efforts will ever make her better.”
The hospital had previously contacted about 20 facilities located all over the country, but they all agreed that there isn’t anything more that can be done, reports CNN.
