2-year-old Israel Stinson’s life support will be removed Friday, May 20, if his family can’t find a new hospital to take his body.
Little Israel suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest following a severe asthma attack on April 1.
Israel was declared brain dead by a group of doctors who examined him independently at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Sacramento on April 14. The family says the brain scan tests were performed without their permission.
Israel’s mother Jonee Fonseca had placed sticky notes around the child’s room expressly prohibiting any brain scans.
Fonseca and Israel’s father Nate Stinson believe Israel is still alive and would like the chance to transfer him to a new facility.
The family believes that as long as his heart is beating he is alive.
Last week U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller granted the family one week (until Friday) to find another hospital before life support will be removed.
“The judge denied our petition for a preliminary injunction to keep Israel on life support until a transfer hospital could be found,” Life Legal Defense Foundation (LLDF) Executive Director Alexandra Snyder told LifeSiteNews. “Instead, she extended the current order to close of business on Friday.”
Snyder hopes to transfer the boy’s body to a longterm facility. She said her organization has a life flight on standby to take him anywhere in the country.
“We will do whatever it takes to facilitate the transfer,” Snyder told LifeSiteNews.
Israel’s case draws comparisons to Jahi Mcmath who was declared brain dead after having her tonsils removed at Children’s Hospital Oakland in 2014. After a long battle in the courts, Jahi was transferred to a facility that specializes in warehousing brain dead patients.
