Texas Patient Rights

Would you believe the biggest contributors to the legislature are health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, law firms and of course, lobbying firms that represent all of these interests and others?

We found this worrisome data on the Vote Smart website revealing legislators endorsed by the Texas Hospital Association, a political action committee that represents Texas hospitals' legislative interests. Look at all those members of the Public Health Committee that scored THA's endorsement! How VERY convenient (and GENEROUS!) for Texas hospitals who are fighting desperately to hold onto 166.046.

Does it leave you with a sick feeling in your gut to think that your hospitalized family member's best interests could be sold out to the lobbyists that throw cash at legislators? The Texas Legislature belongs to we, the people of Texas. But would you willingly vote to have a hospital usurp end of life decisions from you and your family members? Would you agree that a hospital, not you or your family members, has the right to decide over a patient's wishes when to remove life sustaining treatment? Would you ever consider it moral for a hospital to tear your loved one off life support if you can't find another facility to accept them as a patient? Of course you wouldn't and neither would most moral, responsible citizens of Texas.

The medical community has a god complex that distorts their moral clarity on this issue and the dollars they wave before lawmakers doesn't encourage legislators to listen to their consciences, nor their constituencies. It is up to us as responsible citizens and outraged victims of the immoral Advance Directives Act of 1999, to stand up and let our legislators know that we will not allow the lives of our precious loved ones to be sold to the highest bidder, that will will not allow our family members to be killed because they've become an inconvenience to the medical and insurance communities. It is time to voice your outrage and to shout it louder than even the torrents of cash lobbyists rain down upon our lawmakers.

This website is brand new and there is much work to be done. For now you can click on the links at the right to begin investigating the ways in which members of your legislature might have been influenced by cash. Then you can go to www.followthemoney.org to find out even more.

Keep checking this site for continuous updates, stories of the victims of this law, proposals to the law, phone and letter-writing campaigns, as well as information about responding to the latest "death by ethics committee" emergencies. Please tell everyone you know about this law, and let your legislators know that you want it amended so that hospitals NEVER have the right to overrule patients or their families regarding removal of life support.