[Benjamin]

A brain-dead woman kept alive by a hospital in Texas because she was pregnant has been taken off life support.

A court had ruled that John Peter Smith Hospital must stop life-saving measures for Marlise Munoz by Monday.

Mrs Munoz, 33, was 14 weeks pregnant when she fell unconscious in November. It is believed she had a blood clot.

Her family wanted to let her die, but the hospital had argued it had a legal duty to protect the unborn child.

'Against her wishes'
Her life support was turned off at 11:29 local time (17.29 GMT) Sunday, family members told News 8.

"May Marlise Munoz finally rest in peace, and her family find the strength to complete what has been an unbearably long and arduous journey," lawyers for the family said in a statement.

Mrs Munoz's husband, Erick, filed suit against the hospital on 14 January, arguing that keeping her on life support went against her wishes as a paramedic familiar with end-of-life issues.

The family's lawyers also provided medical records revealing that the foetus was "distinctly abnormal" as a result of oxygen deprivation.

The hospital in the city of Fort Worth had denied the family's request, citing a Texas law saying life-sustaining treatment cannot be withdrawn from a pregnant patient, regardless of her end-of-life wishes.

But on Friday, RH Judge Wallace ruled that Mrs Munoz, who was about 22 weeks pregnant, was legally dead. He ordered her life support to be removed by 17:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on Monday.

Mrs Munoz, 33, has remained unconscious since her husband discovered her on the kitchen floor on 26 November while pregnant with the couple's second child.

A blood clot has been listed as a possible cause.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25907874

That is so sad

[Shaun]

How awful, and shame on the hospital for making the man feel like he was a monster for respecting her wishes

[Benjamin]

I know, that poor man had enough to deal with without the hospital extending his pain.

[AnnieK]

What an awful decision to have to make...Tipton should never have been taken out of his hands, just prolonged his grieving process

[Z]

Brutal... poor guy must be devastated, that's so unfair on everyone involved!

[thesheriff443]

terrible situation, but the hospital was only up holding the law.

[the truth]

I will not make moral judgements here on such an unspeakably horrendous situation
youd need to know the very tinest and most miniscule detail on every facet including the exact wishes of the woman, the exact health of the unborn child, the exact state of the woman herself. did she state categorically that she would wish to have her life terminated if 14 weeks pregnant? I dont know. Its just tragic and one of the worst situations I have ever heard of. prayers and thoughts go to everyone concerned...xxxx

Originally Posted by the truth

I will not make moral judgements here on such an unspeakably horrendous situation
youd need to know the very tinest and most miniscule detail on every facet including the exact wishes of the woman, the exact health of the unborn child, the exact state of the woman herself. did she state categorically that she would wish to have her life terminated if 14 weeks pregnant? I dont know. Its just tragic and one of the worst situations I have ever heard of. prayers and thoughts go to everyone concerned...xxxx

I may be wrong, but I always thought that the fact you were being kept alive by machines, meant that your body was already shutting down, and organs failing, which means that it would be impossible to run a pregnancy with so long left to go.

[Ammi]

..that's such a sad story...

[Z]

Originally Posted by Jesus.

I may be wrong, but I always thought that the fact you were being kept alive by machines, meant that your body was already shutting down, and organs failing, which means that it would be impossible to run a pregnancy with so long left to go.

Yeah surely the only reason you would keep a pregnant woman alive in that case is if she was close to full term and you could realistically perform a Caesarean section and then switch off the life support? Just so odd and really horrible...

[Marc]

That's the right decision. I would have done the same if I were in that situation.

[Samm]

So sad