FORT WORTH, TX, January 28, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – He went to court to see that the life support systems keeping her alive would be disconnected. Now, Erick Munoz has given his unborn daughter a name before burying her.
“They think it was a female,” he told the Associated Press of the 23-week-old child, whose death became assured after Munoz secured a judge's order ending hospital care for his pregnant wife last Friday.
He named the baby girl Nicole, his wife Marlise's middle name. The first child, Mateo, is about a year-and-a-half old.
Munoz found his 33-year-old wife, who was 14 weeks pregnant, collapsed in their home on November 26. Shortly after being admitted to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, she was declared “brain dead,” which is the definition of legal death in the state of Texas.
But, recognizing the humanity of the unborn child, Texas law provides that a pregnant woman's body will be kept alive until her baby can be delivered.
Munoz sued on January 14, saying that his wife did not wish to be kept alive by artificial means.
“Since my wife's death on Nov. 26, 2013, I have had to endure the pain of watching my wife's dead body be treated as if she were alive,” he said in a court filing.
Judge R.H. Wallace Jr. ruled on Friday that the mother was dead, her unborn daughter was abnormal and not viable, and under Supreme Court rulings women had the right to end pregnancies if they wished.
There was no report that Marlise wished to end her child's life, nor had she left any written directive about end-of-life-care.
However, the hospital removed Marlie Munoz from life support at 11:30 Sunday morning.
The case riveted the attention of the nation's pro-life movement, both for the life of the child and the mother. In addition to exposing potential difficulties with the state's laws, the Munoz case has shown many the inexact nature of pronouncing a human being “brain dead.”
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The subject became a topic of discussion in last night's debate between four Republican hopefuls running for lieutenant governor of Texas, all of whom agreed the hospital should have given Nicole Munoz a chance to live.
Incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said, “I think we need to clarify the law on this and permit this baby to be born.” State Senator Dan Patrick said, “We are born in the image of God, and whenever we have the opportunity to preserve life, we should do that. That's our duty, as Christians. That's our duty, I believe, as legislators.” Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said, “We need to make certain that as a society we are protecting life.” Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said the law needs to change in 2015.
Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is seeking the governor's office being vacated by Rick Perry, said in a statement that he would “continue to work” to “protect both families and human life.”
His likely Democratic rival, Wendy Davis – who represents Fort Worth in the state Senate – dissented from the Republican consensus. The fate of both Marlise and Nicole Munoz “should be made by Mrs. Munoz's family, in consultation with her doctors,” she said in a statement.
The position is more in line with her record as a defender of abortion, despite her attempt to moderate her image in November when she told an audience, “I am pro-life.”