Texas boy on life support dies; case prompted debate on medical care

Published: 2007-05-22

AUSTIN, Texas (CNS) -- Emilio Gonzales, a 19-month-old boy whose care became the focus of a debate over what constituted proportionate medical care, died May 19 at Children's Hospital of Austin. Emilio, who had been blind and deaf since birth, was admitted to the hospital Dec. 27 with a collapsed lung. He was also diagnosed with Leigh's disease, an incurable disease which causes the central nervous system to break down. Emilio's mother, Catarina Gonzales, had obtained a restraining order forcing Children's Hospital of Austin to keep her son on a respirator. He was on life support when he died. Bishop Gregory M. Aymond of Austin, in Rome for a meeting, said in a May 20 statement: "I join with Catarina and her family in accompanying Emilio with prayer as he goes home to the Lord. I pledge my prayers for Catarina and her family in this time of loss and as I pray at the tomb of Pope John Paul II this week in Rome, I will ask him to accompany Emilio and his family with his prayers."

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