Bouvia Drugs Cut; Lawyer Assails Move

An attorney for quadriplegic Elizabeth Bouvia charged late Friday that doctors have begun weaning her from morphine in a move that he called “the epitome of tyranny.”

Bouvia’s attorney, Griffith Thomas, who is also a physician, said the move came two days after an appellate court ruled that his client has the right to demand termination of force-feeding.

“This is the epitome of the tyranny of the medical bureaucracy,” said Thomas. “The appellate court decision comes down on Wednesday, so Friday they’re going to withdraw the morphine.”

Pleaded With County

Thomas said Bouvia is administered morphine for generalized pain, and that her legal team had pleaded with attorneys for Los Angeles County not to allow the hospital to begin weaning her from the drug.

“They’ve told her they’re going to pull the morphine pump, and we’re going to have to go to court (to stop it),” he said. “There are no medical indications (for stopping the morphine).”

A spokeswoman for the county health department, however, said Bouvia was informed the day before county attorneys learned of the court ruling that she would be weaned from morphine.

“Doctors have been considering alternative pain control for months,” said Toby Milligan. “They felt the use of a hard narcotic was not commensurate with the pain she is experiencing. . . . It is highly unusual to treat arthritis with morphine.”

Will Appeal Ruling

Earlier Friday, county attorneys said they will appeal the appellate court ruling to the state Supreme Court.

In the wake of Wednesday’s ruling by the 2nd District Court of Appeal, physicians at a county hospital in Lancaster removed a force-feeding tube from Bouvia, a 28-year-old with cerebral palsy who wants to starve herself to death.

Senior Deputy County Counsel Dan Mikesell said the county will argue that the appellate court ruling, which held that Bouvia has an absolute right to refuse any unwanted medical treatment “even if (it) creates a life-threatening condition,” went too far.

Mikesell said the county will ask the state high court to rule that artificial feeding devices and other artificial life-support systems can be withdrawn “only in cases where the person is suffering from a fatal or terminal illness or where the patient is in a coma. That was the law in this state prior to this (appellate court) ruling.”

He said the county will also ask the Supreme Court for a stay of the appellate court ruling in order to immediately reinsert the feeding tube if Bouvia resumes fasting. Since the tube was forcibly inserted last January, her weight had risen from 67 to 83 pounds. She now promises to eat a minimal liquid diet until she can transfer from the county’s High Desert Hospital to another institution that will not oppose her wish to die.