Mother fights to keep baby on life support

A Texas judge gave a mother more time to find different doctors for her 10-month-old daughter before allowing a Fort Worth hospital to end the child’s life-sustaining treatment. Fourth Court of Appeals Chief Justice Sandee Bryan Marion said on Thursday she would decide by Jan. 2 if Cook Children’s Medical Center could withdraw the baby’s care, which doctors say is futile and prolonging her suffering.

Who is the little girl, and how sick is she? Tinslee Lewis was born prematurely on Feb. 1 and has been in the hospital since then with a rare heart defect, chronic lung disease, and severe high blood pressure. She stopped breathing in early July and has since required sedation, ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, in which a machine oxygenates the blood in place of the heart and lungs. Her mother said that despite her sedation, Tinslee smiles, stares, and squeezes her hand. Her care team does not think those actions are purposeful and says Tinslee is in constant pain.

Dig deeper: Read what Texas Right to Life has to say about the state’s 10-day rule in life support cases.