MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – A mother who lost custody of her terminally ill son to the state is fighting an effort to withhold life support measures and let the child die naturally.
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled in favor of the mother Tuesday and threw out a juvenile court order allowing a court-appointed guardian for the child, -identified in the opinion only as K.H. – to implement an end-of-life plan that would withhold resuscitation measures.
Because the case is in juvenile court, many of the details are unknown and it wasn’t clear what the next step might be. Court officials would not provide contact information for a lawyer for the mother, identified as R.H., citing confidentiality laws.
Appellate judges wrote that the guardian ad litem – who is an attorney appointed to look out for the best interest of the child during the litigation – Emery D. Massey, did not have the authority to act as the child’s representative in end-of-life decisions.
“The challenged order allows Massey to execute an (end of life) care order designed to withhold life-sustaining treatment from the child although Massey does not have any custodial power over the child. That error directly impacts the fundamental right of the child to life,” the appellate court stated.