A GOP Governor’s race has put a 20-year-old Texas cerebral palsy lawsuit in the spotlight for the first time in nearly two decades.
In 1990, Mark and Karla Miller were expecting a baby. When Karla went into labor four months early and medical complications required that doctors deliver her infant prematurely, the couple was devastated. Knowing that such an early birth would come hand in hand with dire medical problems, including blindness and mental retardation, the couple asked to deliver the baby and not subject the child to experimental and expensive medical interventions.
However, to the couple’s shock, the Houston hospital refused to give the baby to her mother and instead kept her alive despite severe brain bleeding and other problems. Twenty years later, Sydney Miller can’t see, walk, or speak, suffers from cerebral palsy and requires around-the-clock care. She is quadriplegic.
The Millers sued the hospital for going against their wishes for their daughter’s medical treatment and a Harris County jury awarded them $29.4 million to pay for Sydney’s lifetime of medical costs as well as $13.4 million in damages. However, the Texas Supreme Court overturned the ruling.
This Texas cerebral palsy lawsuit is now being used as part of a right to life campaign by GOP candidates Rick Scott and Bill McCollum. While both are using the story, and Scott’s involvement with Columbia/HCA, to solidify their  platform on abortion, the central idea of this story seems to be lost: the Millers had their right to decide on the medical treatment of their baby taken away.

Seven-year-old cerebral palsy patient Kristen Spears, a resident of Texas, died in November of 2007 after having an adverse reaction to the large doses of Botox she was receiving. The drug, which is more popularly known to reduce signs of aging and wrinkles, was being used to treat the Texas girl’s cerebral palsy.
This week, a jury found that the Botox manufacturer, Allergan, Inc., was not responsible for the girl’s death.
In the Texas cerebral palsy lawsuit, Allergan argued that Spears died of her cerebral palsy condition, not of a Botox overdose. Spears’ mother argued that Botox does not contain a warning regarding the dangers of the drug in large doses. Just months before the trial began, the Food & Drug Administration required that Allergan add a black box warning to the drug regarding the dangers of large doses, such as those used to treat children with cerebral palsy. Doctors believe that in some cases, Botox can help children with cerebral palsy to regain some control of their spastic limbs.
While the jury agreed that Botox was dangerous – and that those using Botox for non-traditional uses are surely unaware of the side effects – they also agreed that Allergan was not responsible for Spears’ death. However, another similar lawsuit has already been filed and Allergan must continue to defend its drug. Until then, cerebral palsy victims using Botox as treatment may not be aware of the dangerous side effects of the drug – and the dangers of a suppressed respiratory system and death.