A Lawyer, A Life, A Lie

Lawyer Wesley Smith has done good work in the past on end of life issues, but he is once again lying in order to score political points.

In his January 7, 2020 op-ed column for National Review, Smith accuses the doctors in the Tinslee Lewis case of wanting her to die, writing, “continued life is precisely what the doctors/bioethicists don’t want.”

Smith laughably misnames Texas’ Attorney General, Ken Paxton:

(He’s also evidently unaware that Tinslee’s “parents” are actually a single mother. Which would be irrelevant other than the fact that he refers to the “parents,” so often.)

Mr. Smith is so wrong. The doctors do not want Tinslee to die. They want to stop causing her near death several times a day.

They want to do for Tinslee,  not to her.

Tinslee’s doctors report that due to the delicate balance of Tinslee’s lung capacity and heart function she has 2-3 “death events” every day, each of which requires aggressive resuscitation efforts.

The difference between doctors and this lawyer in the tragic case of Tinslee Lewis is that the doctors are at the bedside all day, every day.

The doctors are the ones putting their hands on and minds to work for Tinslee while  Smith sits in his office calling them murderers and writing about coercing them to act against their best medical judgment. Her medical records submitted to  the court report that her doctor and nurses often spend time educating and counseling Tinslee’s single mother.

Shame on lawyer Smith for once again distilling months of highly competent, complicated and excellent care down to an accusation of murderous intent.

That’s a lie.