The Region - News from Jan. 30, 1986

High Desert Hospital has been ordered to provide Elizabeth Bouvia with “the smallest feasible nasogastric tube necessary” for supplying nutrients to the quadriplegic cerebral palsy victim, pending a ruling on her request to halt the force-feeding altogether. A temporary restraining order, signed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Warren Deering, bars the hospital from confining Bouvia against her will in a special bed designed to prevent bedsores and from providing other medical care without her informed consent in compliance with California’s Patient’s Bill of Rights. The order also requires the Lancaster hospital to provide Bouvia’s consulting physicians with private access to her and her medical records. The 28-year-old woman, who two years ago unsuccessfully sought court permission to starve herself, has contended that the nasal tube and bed cause her physical agony. A hearing on her petition to halt the forced feeding is scheduled Feb. 12.