clipped from news.galvestondailynews.com

GALVESTON — The University of Texas Medical Branch is considering a policy that would deny cancer care to indigent, undocumented immigrants

Turning away undocumented cancer patients undoubtedly would pull the oldest medical school west of the Mississippi into a fierce contemporary debate about the legality and fairness of treating undocumented immigrants with tax dollars when millions of uninsured legal residents can’t afford health care.

It also will force the institution to face thorny questions about simple compassion and the limits of a physician’s duty to treat the ailing.

“Certainly it’s not a decision we’re taking lightly,” said Karen Sexton, vice president and CEO of hospitals and clinics at the medical branch.

“This is not UTMB’s problem,” Sexton said. “It’s the nation’s problem; we’re trying to do the best we can to help our physicians and others with a decision by making it not so subjective. We’re trying to put up some parameters, but it hurts my heart.”