The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth will hear oral arguments this morning at 10, in the Baby Tinslee Lewis case. A three-judge panel will hear the appeal, including Justice Lee Gabriel, Justice Wade Birdwell, and Justice Mike Wallach.
The appeals court will consider whether Baby Tinslee can have a temporary injunction, which would prevent Cook Children’s from pulling the plug on Tinslee before a full trial could be held.
Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have joined Texas Right to Life's fight to not have the plug pulled on Baby Tinslee. They join state leaders filing an amicus brief for the appeals court.
Texas Right to Life and Protect TX Fragile Kids have worked around the clock since November to save Baby Tinslee.
The three-judge panel could also temporarily enjoin the entire statute that has attacked Tinslee and countless other patients.
The family's lawyer, Joe Nixon, is pleased the court took on the case so quickly.
"The hospital has maintained life-sustaining care and we are thankful that it has done so," said Nixon.
He hopes the appellate court will identify how the law violates Baby Tinslee’s due process rights by terminating the parent-child relationship, revoke her death sentence, and help strike down the deadly 10-Day Rule.
"It is the statute that allows Cook to discontinue care. The culplrit in this case is the statute, it is not the hospital," said Nixon.
If Tinslee's injunction is denied, the hospital will be able to legally remove her ventilator, killing her against her family’s wishes.
Baby Tinslee turned one year old on Saturday, February 1.She receives treatment for her congenital heart disease at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.
The Texas 10-Day Rule (a provision of the Texas Advance Directives Act allows a hospital committee to pull the plug on the child against her mother's will.
The hospital originally planned to take Baby Tinslee's life-sustaining treatment on November 10, 2019, but the family won a temporary restraining order.
On January 2, 2020, a San Antonio judge ruled against Tinslee, stating that the hospital could pull the plug.
The following day, the Second Court of Appeals granted a motion to protect the child until the family's appeal is decided.
In a previous press conference, Tinslee's mother, Trinity Lewis, stated, “I’m not going to say my biggest fear is losing her because I know that everybody has to pass away, but my fear is them pulling the plug on her… without me being able to make that decision for her.”