“It was an honor for the IMA to stand beside the Camp family, offering our support every step of the way. Today, we grieve with them as they navigate this profound loss.” — Dr. Joseph Varon, IMA President and Chief Medical Officer
The Independent Medical Alliance (IMA), a national coalition representing more than 12,000 independent physicians, researchers, and clinicians, today mourned the loss of young Annelise Camp, the two-year-old at the center of the Texas “Right to Try” case.
“The Independent Medical Alliance mourns the passing of Baby Camp and extends our deepest condolences to her family,” said IMA President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Varon, who was one of many medical professionals assisting the Camp family. “Throughout this unimaginable journey, her parents demonstrated extraordinary love, courage, and determination, leaving no stone unturned in their effort to give their daughter every possible chance. That unwavering devotion is what will define this story far more than its heartbreaking ending. It was an honor for the IMA to stand beside the Camp family, offering our support every step of the way. Today, we grieve with them, remember Baby Camp with love, and keep her family in our thoughts and prayers as they navigate this profound loss.”
In early June, IMA issued an urgent statement demanding Texas Children’s Hospital cease its pressure campaign against the parents of Annelise Camp, a two-year-old near-drowning patient currently fighting for her life, and honor the family’s right to pursue every available avenue for their daughter’s recovery.
Controversy arose when Texas Children’s Hospital indicated it intended to pursue a brain death determination for Annelise, over the explicit objections of her parents, who were seeking access to alternative treatments and supportive care in accordance with the state’s Right to Try law. The IMA joined others in calling that effort premature, medically unsound given the patient’s age and circumstance, and a direct violation of the principles that Texas’s Right to Try legislation was designed to protect.
Although Annelise did not recover, there are many documented cases of toddlers and young children who have regained consciousness, relearned to walk and speak, and gone on to live full lives after near-drowning events and extended coma.
