A 2-year-old at the center of a Texas brain-death dispute is taken off
life support and dies
[August 08, 2026]
HOUSTON (AP) — A 2-year-old girl whose parents sued a Texas hospital to
prevent it from testing if she was brain-dead after she drowned in a
hotel pool on Memorial Day has been removed from life support and died,
her family said this week.
Annelise Camp “is now with Jesus,” her parents Johnston and Joy Camp
said in a statement, weeks after a judge granted a temporary injunction
in their favor. “While our hearts are broken, we trust in His perfect
love, His faithfulness, and His promises.”
The family had long said she still showed signs of life and wanted more
time for her to recover and explore treatment.
Breathing tubes were removed from Annelise on Monday, her grandfather
Steve Camp posted online. “When this procedure was done, she passed very
quickly.”
A church service for Annelise is scheduled for next Wednesday in
Houston.
The Texas Right to Life organization supported the family's case.
“This victory gave the Camp family two extra months with Annelise and
provided her a chance to recover from her injury,” the organization
posted online.
Annelise was discovered unconscious in the hotel pool and was brought to
Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. Several days later, her parents
petitioned the judge, requesting that she not be tested for brain death
as advised by doctors.
Court documents said Annelise’s heart was beating, although she was
dependent on a ventilator, The Texas Tribune reported.
The Camps also asked that Annelise be transferred to another hospital to
explore other treatment options. However, Texas Children’s stated it
wanted to conduct testing to determine next steps in her medical care
and that it had no imminent plans to end care for Annelise.
Texas Children’s officials said in court documents they had contacted
medical facilities to ask about accepting Annelise, but 35 of the 36
have declined and the one pending hospital said it needed her to undergo
brain death testing to consider transfer, the Tribune reported.
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A portion of the Texas Children's Hospital campus is seen on Friday,
Aug. 7, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The Camps eventually were able to transfer Annelise to a hospital in
Louisiana.
A state legislator, Rep. Steve Toth, told The New York Times that
Annelise was brought back to Texas about a week ago and had been treated
at Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler. Messages seeking comment
were sent to Roth and the hospital.
The Camps did not say why Annelise was removed from life support.
Messages seeking comment were sent to the family.
Texas law defines brain death as the irreversible cessation of brain
function. Under the law, once a patient is declared brain-dead, a
hospital can withdraw life-sustaining measures.
“The big common denominator is time,” Johnston Camp told KRIV-TV in
June. “And so when you have time, I know scientifically you can see a
certain reading, but she is showing progressive results from her body or
complexions, her vitals.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also supported the family.
“Annelise Camp is fighting for her life and deserves a medical team that
will fight just as hard,” he posted on X in June.
In July, the Camps had posted on a GoFundMe site that Annelise continued
to show “encouraging signs” at the Louisiana hospital.
“We are pursuing every available option, including specialized and
exploratory treatments that show promise,” they added.
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