Texas Has Death Panels, but Not for Long if a Bill Succeeds

The state's "medical futility" law, which is what I call Futile Care Theory, permits hospital bioethics committees to order patients off wanted life-sustaining treatment based on the belief of the committee or doctors in the value of the patient's life and their opinions about the subjective "appropriateness" of the treatment.

In other words, saving life -- when that is what the patient wants -- can be vetoed legally in Texasby what can accurately be labeleddeath panels.

Efforts to repeal th...