Sun Hudson (September 25, 2004 - March 15, 2005) was an infant male allowed to die contrary to the wishes of his mother and legal guardian Wanda Hudson, via removal of his breathing tube.
Biography
Sun was born to Wanda Hudson and an unknown father on September 25, 2004 at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas, with thanatophoric dysplasia, a typically fatal form of congenital dwarfism.
His mother Wanda was informed that Sun was most likely unable to survive, and should be removed from his breathing tube pursuant to Chapter 166 of the Texas Health & Safety Code, the Advance Directives Act. Under this act, a doctor's recommendations to withdraw support must be cleared by a hospital's ethics committee. Wanda Hudson was given 10 days from written notice to find a new facility to accommodate Sun, but was unable to do so. Texas Children's Hospital states that it attempted to contact 40 facilities but was also unable to find one willing to accomodate Sun.
Legal delays prevented the removal of the breathing tube, which would have occurred on November 28, 2004. However, a judge ruled that the removal of the tube contrary to the wishes of Wanda Hudson was legal. On March 15, 2005, Texas Children's Hospital personnel removed Sun's breathing tube. Official reports state that he was sedated for the process and that he asphyxiated in under a minute. Wanda Hudson disputes this, telling reporters "I wanted y'all to see my son for yourself, so you could see he was actually moving around. He was conscious." The media was previously blocked by the hospital from seeing Sun despite Wanda's invitation to do so, with privacy concerns cited as the official reason.
It should be noted that the hospital lacked confidence in Ms. Hudson's mental competence; she was quoted by the Dallas Morning News as saying that she didn't seek prenatal care "because I trusted in the sun", whom she claimed fathered the baby.
Bioethics implications
Bioethicists note that Sun's case is the first time a U.S. hospital has been allowed to remove life sustaining support contrary to the wishes of the legal guardian and lacking advance directives from the patient themselves. This, they claim, makes the issue precedent-setting in further cases where it may be applied. Early speculation as to its application was the case Spiro Nikolouzos, however Mr. Nikolouzos was accepted at a nursing facility on March 21, 2005.
Comparisons to the Terri Schiavo case
Critics of the federal government's involvement in the Terri Schiavo case in March 2005 note that the Advance Directives Act was partially drafted by the National Right to Life Committee, which promoted the cause of Terri Schiavo's so-termed "right to live". Furthermore, they note that the Act was passed without opposition bicamerally in the 76th session of the Texas Legislature and was signed into law by then Texas Gov. George W. Bush. They claim that these actions, and the subsequent consequences to Sun Hudson, are contradictory to the positions of Republicans (especially Texas Republicans, but also specifically Tom DeLay), Democrats, and especially the President who supported the Palm Sunday Compromise, and that they were merely grandstanding to associate themselves with a high-profile case to appeal to a select interest group of voters.
Conversely, despite the similarities and differences of the case, the Houston Chronicle writes that commentators have stated that Terri Schiavo would not have been affected either way from the Texas law. It is noted that the feeding tube kept Terri alive, and was therefore not futile care. However, it is not stated why Sun Hudson's or Spiro Nikolouzos' continued mechanical respiration was and is futile when it had and has kept them alive in both cases.
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