Judge rules spouse may remove life support

LOS ANGELES» A judge has ruled that a spouse in California is the presumptive health care decisionmaker when the partner is in a persistent vegetative state.

Ruling in the case of a San Gabriel Valley man, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Thornton House said that in the event that there is no advance directive for someone in a vegetative state, their partner can decide for them. California law, House noted in her ruling, has left “a gap” when it comes to this issue.

The case involves Juan Fernando Romero, who suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain in May 2015 that left him in a persistent vegetative state at a San Gabriel Valley hospital.

His wife, Ana, in 2016 sought to remove his life support and feeding tube, saying he would never return from the vegetative state again. But his sister sued to gain control of the end-of-life decision from his wife.

The sister’s attorneys argued in legal papers the wife did not have the right to make the decision under the law and lawmakers in setting out the law had emphasized family consensus. Her attorneys argued that her brother did not want to die and it was against his Roman Catholic belief that life is sacred.

But House ruled the wife did have the right to make the decision for the father of their two young children, who is unresponsive to physical and psychological stimuli. “As his spouse, Ana is the presumptive health care surrogate for Juan Fernando in light of his incapacitation.” House wrote.

The case is reminiscent of the Terri Schiavo case in Florida in which her husband sought to disconnect life support and her parents fought him for years in the courts.