It Is Legal For Hospitals to Refuse to Give Ivermectin
The Claim
A Texas hospital engaged in medical malpractice or even homicide by refusing to administer ivermectin to a coronavirus patient who later died.
News posted on
Emerging story
A number of news sources recently reported that a Vietnam War veteran had died of coronavirus. These reports noted that the hospital had refused to administer a court-ordered prescription of ivermectin for the individual.
Soon, a number of articles and posts began sharing this news, with some claiming that the hospital was engaging in homicide by refusing to administer the ivermectin. Social media posts of this story have gained thousands of interactions, with one Facebook user commenting, “This is basically murder.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's investigation found that the hospital acted in a legal manner by refusing to administer ivermectin to their patient. Harvard Law School recently discussed the implications of a hospital refusing to administer ivermectin, even with a court order, and concluded that the hospital is both legally protected and ethically bound to refuse to administer ivermectin to coronavirus patients.
The Federal Government has followed the American Medical Association’s advice in passing a short-term law that shields healthcare providers from legal liability of coronavirus treatment decisions that were made in good faith. It is also common for hospitals to rewrite prescriptions for patients once they are admitted. According to the Harvard Law article, U.S. healthcare institutions have a fiduciary duty to act in their patients’ best interests regarding the patients’ health, and that a court ordering a medical institution to act against this duty, “is new and frightening ground which raises a host of legal questions.”
Both the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization have advised against treating coronavirus patients with ivermectin, and the hospital was obliged to follow this guidance.
Lopez's family did not reveal whether or not he was vaccinated. Studies have shown that the vaccines are all incredibly effective at preventing hospitalization and death from coronavirus.
