Claim: Brain-dead Canadian woman kept on life support to save fetus.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Death of Marlise Muñoz
text: a paramedic like her husband, had previously told him that in case of brain death, she would not want to be kept alive artificially. While she had been declared dead, the condition of her fetus was unknown. It was unclear whether the fetus sustained any injuries from her fall or the intervening time period before her body was stabilized at the hospital. Erick Muñoz petitioned for Marlise to be removed from all life-sustaining measures once brain death had been declared. The hospital refused, citing a Texas law which required that lifesaving measures be maintained if a female patient was pregnant—even

title: Maternal somatic support after brain death
text: effort to save the fetus can be considered a medical experiment that requires ethics committee or IRB-approval before a facility can perform this work. Keeping a medically declared 'brain dead' woman on life support to sustain a potentially viable fetus is a topic of considerable debate and controversy. Such circumstances involve considerable moral, ethical, biological and legal issues. There is heavy discourse between biomedical and legal experts regarding whether a dead person is "a dysfunctional incubator" to an unborn fetus. And, further deliberation surrounds a woman's rights under the 14th Amendment to make medical decisions about her own body. There

title: Texas Alliance for Life
text: hardline Texas Right to Life PAC "has thrown its weight behind ultra-conservative newcomers." Pojman argued for continuation of artificial life support for the body of Marlise Munoz. She was 14 weeks pregnant when her husband found her unconscious in November, possibly from a blood clot. Munoz subsequently died from brain death. Prior to her death, Munoz had indicated that she would not like to be kept artificially alive if brain dead. The fetus had suffered from oxygen deprivation and was suspected to be non-viable; the fetus's lower extremities were deformed to the extent that the gender couldn't be determined, had

title: John Peter Smith Hospital
text: November 2013, possibly from a pulmonary embolism. She was subsequently declared brain dead after her arrival at JPS Hospital. Munoz had previously indicated to her husband that she would not like to be kept artificially alive if brain dead. The fetus had suffered from oxygen deprivation and was suspected to be non-viable. Fetus' lower extremities were deformed to the extent that the gender couldn't be determined. Fetus also had fluid building up inside the skull (Hydrocephalus) and possibly had a heart problem. A 2002 study estimated the cost for an ICU bed in an average U.S. hospital is $2,000 to

title: Maternal somatic support after brain death
text: Maternal somatic support after brain death Maternal somatic support after brain death occurs when a brain dead patient is pregnant and her body is kept alive to deliver a fetus. It occurs very rarely internationally. Even among brain dead patients, in a U.S. study of 252 brain dead patients from 1990–96, only 5 (2.8%) cases involved pregnant women between 15 and 45 years of age. In the 28-year period between 1982 and 2010, there were "30 [reported] cases of maternal brain death (19 case reports and 1 case series)." In 12 of those cases, a viable child was delivered via

title: Maternal somatic support after brain death
text: pregnant woman becomes brain dead, the mother can no longer acknowledge the fetus; as such, the mother no longer has a moral responsibility for keeping the fetus alive. Without an advance directive stating that the woman wishes to be kept alive to save her unborn child, prolonging life is unethical. Finally, some ethicists have argued that there are no ethical dilemmas inherent in the case of a pregnant woman who is declared brain dead. They argue that because the brain dead patient is no longer alive, he or she ceases to be a patient; the continuation of ventilation in an

title: Susan Torres
text: for a perforated intestine. Susan Torres Susan Michelle Rollin Torres (November 23, 1978 – August 3, 2005) was an American woman known for giving birth to a baby girl while brain dead and on a life support machine. Torres had suffered a stroke on May 7, 2005 as a consequence of her undiagnosed Stage IV Malignant Melanoma, and was taken to the Virginia Hospital Center, where it was determined that cancer had spread to her brain. At the hospital Susan Torres was diagnosed as being brain dead and her husband, Jason, decided that as she was 14 weeks pregnant at

title: Maternal somatic support after brain death
text: of several states that have laws that pertain to pregnant women and advance directives or Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) directives. Specifically, 26 states have laws that ignore advance directives when a woman is terminally ill, but pregnant. This recent situation involving Marlise Muñoz raised a host of questions related to unborn fetuses, patient and family preferences, and hospital discretion in interpreting state laws that involve advance directives. The cost of maintaining a brain dead mother on life support depends on the number of days spent in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). One might consider that every day (after viability) that

title: Susan Torres
text: Susan Torres Susan Michelle Rollin Torres (November 23, 1978 – August 3, 2005) was an American woman known for giving birth to a baby girl while brain dead and on a life support machine. Torres had suffered a stroke on May 7, 2005 as a consequence of her undiagnosed Stage IV Malignant Melanoma, and was taken to the Virginia Hospital Center, where it was determined that cancer had spread to her brain. At the hospital Susan Torres was diagnosed as being brain dead and her husband, Jason, decided that as she was 14 weeks pregnant at the time and their

title: Baby M (Australia)
text: and she was suffering from brain malformation marked by hydrocephalus that meant she was most likely retarded and would suffer seizures. Within days she developed severe breathing issues. Neonatal physician Peter Loughnan informed her parents of their daughter's poor outlook and the low quality of life she would face if she survived. He recommended the parents consider a "conservative treatment, in which Allison would be cuddled, fed and relieved of any pain," with no life-saving measures performed. He consulted with other specialists, including fellow neonatal physician Peter McDougall, who "strongly supported" Loughnan's assessment of the infant. They believed any surgery

title: Stephen Broden
text: possibly from a blood clot and subsequently died from brain death. Prior to her death she had indicated that she would not like to be kept artificially alive if brain dead. The fetus had suffered from oxygen deprivation and was suspected to be non-viable. The fetus' lower extremities were deformed to the extent that the gender couldn't be determined. The unborn child also had fluid building up inside the skull (Hydrocephalus) and possibly had a heart problem. A 2002 study estimated the cost for an ICU bed in an average U.S. hospital is $2,000 to $3,000 per day. An attorney

title: Jahi McMath case
text: whole brain death. On December 12, 2013, her doctors declared her brain-dead. Her family was informed that she was legally dead, and that as a result, life support systems would be discontinued. Her family refused to accept the medical declaration of death by neurological criteria, said that McMath was not dead, and initiated legal proceedings in an effort to require the hospital to continue treatment. On December 20, 2013, McMath's family filed a lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court, petitioning the court to require Children's Hospital Oakland to keep McMath on life support. In a pretrial conference on December 23,

title: Maternal somatic support after brain death
text: health are unknown. According to Esmaelilzadeh, et al., "[a]t present, it seems that there is no clear lower limit to the gestational age which would restrict the physician's efforts to support the brain dead mother and her fetus." However, the older a fetus is when its mother becomes brain dead, the greater its chance for survival. Research into preterm births indicates that "a fetus born before 24 weeks of gestation has a limited chance of survival. At 24, 28 and 32 weeks, a fetus has approximately a 20–30%, 80% and 98% likelihood of survival with a 40%, 10% and less

title: Texas Alliance for Life
text: fluid building up inside the skull (hydrocephalus); and possibly had a heart problem. An attorney who had helped rewrite the Texas state law being used to keep her body on life support at John Peter Smith Hospital said that there was a problem with the application of the law to a patient that was no longer alive. Her husband Eric, with the support of her family, successfully sued the hospital for withdrawing treatment. Numerous states have adopted laws restricting the ability of doctors to end artificial life support for terminally ill pregnant patients with 12 of those states (including Texas)

title: Abortion in Canada
text: to be Canada's only stated pro-life federal political party, but has never had a member elected to parliament. Motion 312 was introduced by Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth in 2012, calling for a House of Commons committee to determine when human life begins, but was defeated 203–91. On October 19, 2012, anti-abortion protester Patricia Maloney expressed concern over 491 cases of live-birth abortions between 2000 and 2009. The finding reported to Statistics Canada did not include detailed information on how long each fetus survived after removal or how many would have been possible to save. Further complicating the issue is the

title: Beating heart cadaver
text: cadavers have subsequently become organ donors. Since 1981 there have been 22 recorded instances of keeping a mother declared brain dead in a beating heart cadaver state until the baby is delivered. A review of 11 of these unique circumstance pregnancies was conducted in 2000. Four of these cases involved a persistent vegetative state of the mother and in 7 maternal brain death was diagnosed. The women that underwent these gestation periods all delivered preterm an average of 30.5 weeks, where a normal pregnancy is around 35 weeks for full term. The mothers were observed to have severe hypotension once

title: Sandra Schmirler
text: her legacy lives on. The lives of countless babies born premature and critically ill have been, and continue to be saved, with life-saving equipment the Foundation has funded in her name. Millions of dollars have been given to hospital NICUs in every province, the Yukon and Northwest Territories to fund life-saving equipment for babies born too soon, too small or too sick. This list continues to grow every year with the generous support of our many donors. Sandra reached out to her country in sickness and in health and made us understand what really matters in life. While we mourn

title: Maternal somatic support after brain death
text: not issued a rule to implement that provision. It is uncertain if government or private health insurance would pay for extended somatic support for a brain dead pregnant woman and how much of care costs a family may have to pay. In the death of Marlise Muñoz at John Peter Smith Hospital, the hospital declined to reveal who would pay for the extended medical care provided. Ethical decisions to prolong somatic survival for a brain dead pregnant woman take on several views, with decisions often influenced by the gestational age of the fetus at the time the woman sustained injury.

title: Death of Marlise Muñoz
text: Death of Marlise Muñoz Marlise Nicole Muñoz (August 20, 1980 – November 28, 2013) was an American woman at the center of a medical ethics controversy between November 2013 and January 2014. She suffered a suspected pulmonary embolism and was declared brain dead. Because she was pregnant, doctors at a Texas hospital kept her body on a ventilator in the intensive care unit despite the determination of brain death. Muñoz's husband entered a legal battle to have her removed from organ support. A Texas law restricts the application of advance directives in pregnant patients, but Muñoz's husband argued that the

title: Maternal somatic support after brain death
text: a report to help clinicians, healthcare administrators, and families evaluate the ethical considerations surrounding women's health. Within this report the committee establishes that healthcare providers are first responsible to the woman, and then to the unborn fetus. The report concludes by stating, "Women have the right to die in dignity. The goal of fetal rescue does not exonerate healthcare givers from the duty to respect this right of the primary patient—the woman." A third view considers the cognizance of the mother. The mother is responsible for the well-being of her fetus as long as she recognizes its existence. When a