LAS VEGAS (AP) – A father’s bid to keep his 20-year-old daughter on life-support at a Reno hospital after doctors declared her brain-dead is pending before a Nevada state court judge. Beyond the family attorney’s claim on Wednesday that the cost of caring for Aden Hailu (AY’-dehn HEHL’-oo) is driving hospital efforts to pull the plug, the case raises key questions about Nevada’s interpretation of national end-of-life guidelines.
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Q: What’s the issue?
A: The Nevada Supreme Court wants to know whether Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center met state law when doctors declared Aden Hailu dead May 28, several weeks after she failed to regain consciousness following abdominal surgery.
Washoe County Family Court Judge Frances Doherty is revisiting the case because the state high court ruled Nov. 16 she was too quick to reject Hailu’s family’s request to keep Hailu on life-support. Justices say they want evidence that American Association of Neurology guidelines used by the hospital to determine Hailu’s brain had ceased to function met “accepted medical standards,” as required by state law.