Pregnant, Brain-Dead Woman's Husband Sues Hospital

DALLAS (AP) — The husband of a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman is suing the hospital to have the woman removed from life support.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in state district court asks a judge to order John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth to remove life support for Marlise Munoz, a North Texas woman who fell unconscious in November while pregnant.

Her husband, Erick Munoz, says a doctor at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth has told him his wife is considered brain-dead. Munoz and his wife are paramedics who agreed they would not want life support in this situation.

But hospital officials say Texas law prohibits them from following Marlise Munoz's wishes because she is pregnant.

The lawsuit accuses the hospital of misapplying the law because Munoz is legally considered dead.

NOMAAN MERCHANT, Associated Press