Judge orders Texas hospital to remove life support from pregnant, brain-dead woman
Judge orders Texas hospital to remove life support from pregnant, brain-dead woman
FORT WORTH, Texas — A judge on Friday ordered a Texas hospital to remove life support for a pregnant, brain-dead woman whose family had argued that she would not want to be kept in that condition.
Judge R. H. Wallace Jr. issued the ruling in the case of Marlise Munoz. John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth has been keeping Munoz on life support against her family’s wishes. The judge gave the hospital until 5 p.m. CST Monday to remove life support.
Munoz was 14 weeks pregnant when her husband found her unconscious Nov. 26, possibly because of a blood clot. Both the hospital and the family agree that the fetus could not be born alive at this point. However, John Peter Smith Hospital had argued that it had to protect the life of the unborn child.
Erick Munoz says he and his wife are paramedics who were clear that they didn’t want life support in this type of situation. Her parents agreed. His attorney argued to the judge Friday that keeping the woman on life support would set a dangerous precedent for future cases of pregnant, brain-dead women.
Attorneys for the family declined to say what the next steps were, pending a potential appeal from the hospital.
Ukraine clashes resume, fireballs from burning barricades light up night sky
KIEV, Ukraine — As riots spread from Ukraine’s embattled capital to nearly half of the country, President Viktor Yanukovych promised Friday to reshuffle his government and make other concessions — but a top opposition leader said nothing short of his resignation would do.
Hours after the president’s comments, huge fireballs lit up the night sky in central Kiev and plumes of thick black smoke rose from burning tires at giant barricades erected by protesters.
Clashes resumed at the barricades, which are just yards from lines of riot police and also made up of bags of ice and scraps of furniture.
Angry demonstrators hurled firebombs, rocks and fireworks at officers. Riot police responded with tear gas and several dozen protesters were rushed to a makeshift medical triage area to be treated.
“We will force the authorities to respect us,” 27-year-old protester Artur Kapelan said. “Not they, but we will dictate the conditions of a truce.”
Hagel says ‘something wrong’ inside Air Force nuke missile corps, but it will get fixed
WASHINGTON — Vowing to look hard at problems inside the Air Force’s nuclear missile corps, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday it’s clear “something is wrong” and he is determined to restore public confidence in the nuclear force.
Hagel told reporters that he is sure the problems will get fixed and that the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons will remain safe and secure. He said he will convene a high-level meeting soon to probe the problems.
At a Pentagon news conference, Hagel said the issues are complex and derive from a post-Cold War mindset that has reduced the focus on the nuclear weapons mission and led people to “just take for granted” that it will function correctly.
“This is cultural,” he said, noting that the U.S. military has been intensely involved in fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade — conflicts with little direct relevance to the mission of nuclear warriors.
“Over the years I do think we have taken some focus off of the responsibilities of these very dedicated, very bright young officers” who operate intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, stationed in five U.S. states, he said.
By wire sources