John,
There are 24 days left in the Regular Session of the Texas Legislature and our Legislative team’s hard work is paying off.
Tomorrow, Saturday, May 6, a Pro-Life Priority Bill will be debated and voted on in the Texas House of Representatives in Austin. House Bill 3162 by Representative Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) reforms the Texas Advance Directives Act, including the anti-Life 10-Day Rule.
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Years ago, Texas Right to Life had to create a new ministry in our organization to handle the requests we received from families fighting for their loved ones in Texas hospitals. Our Patient Advocacy team assists patients and families when a hospital wants to remove life-sustaining treatment against their will.
We have seen firsthand the deadly law attack Texans time and time again.
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The Texas Advance Directives Act, which includes the 10-Day Rule, removes life-and-death decisions from patients and families and lets a hospital committee decide if you live or die. The law only gives you 10 days' notice before they take away life-sustaining treatment against your will, which too often causes or hastens the patient's death.
For 20 years, we have lobbied for repeal or reform of the 10-Day Rule. To the frustration of many Pro-Life advocates and families who have shared their stories in the Capitol, good legislation almost always dies because of political games and fearful politicians.
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This session is different: A reform bill is going to pass.
Pro-Life Champion Representative Stephanie Klick spearheaded the effort to bring all the political and advocacy groups together to negotiate and find common ground. Texas Right to Life was one of two groups invited that actually represents patients and assists their families.
This effort began in August 2022 and was not an easy process:
- A dozen “stakeholder meetings” with all the other groups;
- More than 40 hours of in-person negotiations over the bill;
- 11 policy goals of how to reform the law;
- 5 Texas Right to Life staff members writing, editing, and analyzing proposed changes (from our Legislative, Legal, and Patient Advocacy teams); and
- Countless drafts of proposals, amendments, and commentary.
The stakeholder group was made up of attorneys and lobbyists from several medical groups, hospital groups, and other political organizations that publicly defend the 10-Day Rule.
In our meetings, it was clear that there were fundamental disagreements about the Right to Life and who should ultimately have the authority to make life-and-death medical decisions for patients. However, with the leadership of Representative Klick (and her tireless staff), we reached an agreement on ways to give more power and rights to patients.
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A few main provisions of the bill include:
- Prohibiting the process from being used on a competent patient;
- Extending the notice of an ethics committee meeting from 48 hours to seven calendar days;
- Requiring hospitals to begin transfer efforts before the ethics committee meeting;
- Clarifying individuals representing the patient at the ethics committee meeting may speak, ask questions, and bring their own attorney, medical expert, and patient advocate;
- Clarifying the standards that the committee shall consider when determining whether treatment is medically inappropriate;
- Prohibiting quality-of-life judgments and consideration of a patient’s disability in the ethics committee meeting except in rare circumstances;
- Requiring medical procedures necessary for a transfer to be performed before the countdown begins after a committee decision;
- Increasing the amount of days allowed for a transfer after a committee decision to 25 calendar days;
- Requiring hospitals to report when they use this process and the government to publish annual statistics.
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HB 3162 is an important, incremental step to better protect Texas patients who currently face the anti-Life 10-Day Rule. This bill helps make the process more balanced and humane.
Please pray that this and every major Pro-Life Priority Bill will pass before the legislative session ends!
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P.S. Friend, we’re in the final stretch of the session and our Pro-Life voice is needed in the Capitol more than ever. Please consider supporting our legislative efforts with a life-saving donation today!
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