WASHINGTON — A judge heard arguments Monday in the case of a 12-year-old boy who was declared dead by Children’s National Medical Center, but he held off making a decision until he can hear from the family and medical experts Thursday.
The parents of Motl Brody, who remains in the hospital’s intensive-care unit, did not attend the hearing in D.C. Superior Court. Motl has brain cancer and has been in the hospital since June 1. The hospital says that he has no brain activity, meeting the legal definition for death in the District of Columbia. Doctors declared him dead last Tuesday.
The hospital is asking Judge William Jackson to affirm its judgment that the boy can be taken off life-sustaining equipment. Monday, the hospital supplied medical records to the family’s attorney. At issue is the definition of brain-dead and the hospital’s position that nothing more can be done for the boy.
Motl’s parents, Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn, are challenging the hospital’s pronouncement of death based on the absence of brain activity. Their faith does not define death in that way, and they note that Motl has respiratory and circulatory functions, albeit with mechanical assistance.
