A baby boy in Texas who was born without skin has been denied a chance at life-saving treatment by his insurance company, according to his family.
Ja’bari Gray was born Jan. 1 with a rare skin condition called aplasia cutis. He does not have skin from the neck down, and his mother, Priscilla Maldonado, of San Antonio, said doctors gave him little chance of survival, Fox News Antonio reports.
Maldonado said the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston can treat her son’s rare condition, but her insurance company will not pay for him to be transferred or treated there. She said they told her the hospital is “out of network.”
“Lost, confused, hurt, you know, it’s a child’s life that’s on the line. It should be no questions asked. It should be approved how it is,” she told the local news.
Ja’bari currently is three months old and on life support.
Maldonado said she had a healthy pregnancy until near the end, when doctors noticed that her son was not growing, and they decided to induce labor. He was born on Jan. 1 weighing 3 pounds. Most of his skin was missing and his eyes were fused shut, the family said.
“From day one, they said he had no chance of surviving and I would hate to give up or everybody else to give up on him when he’s made it this far in life,” his mother told the local news.
The pro-life group Americans United for Life is working with the family to raise awareness and funds for Ja’bari’s treatment. To donate, visit the family’s GoFundMe page.
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Meanwhile, Texas lawmakers are debating a bill that could affect families like Ja’bari’s. State Senate Bill 2089 would repeal the state 10-day rule, which allows hospitals to remove a patient’s life support against their or their family’s will.
According to Texas Right to Life:
Family after family pleaded with the committee to end the 10-Day Rule, sharing hours of testimony of their loved ones being hastened to their deaths against their will. Evelyn Kelley, Bonita Davis, Steve Oates, Diana Rountree, Stephanie Dye, Sandra Hollier, and many more courageously shared the tragic sagas of their hospitalized family members attacked by the 10-day countdown. Evelyn spoke passionately of her son Chris Dunn whose life she successfully protected after being notified that Chris’s care would be forcibly withdrawn two days before Thanksgiving. Sandra recounted that while the health of her 4-year-old son, Clifton, had improved, his ventilator was still removed despite her protests, and Clifton suffocated to death, dying in her arms. Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schindler Schiavo, reminded the committee how Terri was treated unethically and inhumanely. Bobby also shared with the committee that the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network fields calls from families in Texas who are facing the 10-day countdown and asked the committee to reform the law.
