0 actually paid for a ticket to get into the stadium? >> you know, i've never actually paid for a ticket. i've never had a ticket for the actual game although i've stayed for quite a few. >> reporter: they pay him to enter at this gate. talk about long yardage. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> so now you know. "ac 360" starts right now. good evening, everyone. breaking news in the heart-breaking story of a brain-dead woman being kept on life support in texas against her and her family's wishes because she's pregnant. it's a major development that could change the way a lot of people see the case. also on the program tonight you already know that washington's broken. tonight when it comes to trading money and power you'll see how it got broken without anyone ever actually breaking the law. we're keeping them honest. also it is not over yet. millions digging out from the snow or hunkering down against brutal deadly cold. and later, a little boy who ran into a burning home. you should know about this little boy. his story is incredible. he went to save lives. he gave his own life. he was eight years old. we begin with breaking news. the story that has set off a national debate over life and death and whether being pregnant takes away a woman's right to have her end of life wishes respected. marlise munoz was 14 weeks pregnant when she collapsed with a brain clot. in any event, well before she fell ill, both she and her husband had discussed being in precisely this kind of situation according to her husband. neither wanted to be kept alive like this. they're both paramedics. however, under texas law, because she's pregnant the hospital is refusing to take her off life support until the baby can be delivered. tonight, though, the family is releasing new information about the fetus's condition. it is disturbing. ed lavendara, what have you heard from the attorneys representing the family? >> reporter: just a little while ago we had a lengthy statement. in part it reads according to the medical records the attorneys have received in the last few days, we have been provided the fetus is quote distinctly abnormal. even at this early stage, the lower extremities are deformed to the extent that the gender cannot be determined. the lawyers also go on to say that they have informing that suggests the fetus is also suffering from hydro encephalus. there appear to be other abnormalities including a heart problem that cannot be specifically determined because they're unable to move marlise munoz's body. all of this going on. this is exactly the kind of situation and details that the family says they do not feel like they should have been compelled to share with the world, but they say that in this case, because of all of the talk surrounding whether or not eric munoz, the husband of marlise munoz wanted this baby to come to term if there was any hope. they were saying all along they didn't think the fetus was in any condition. the attorneys are saying that does not matter. malmunoz is dead and because she was dead they should have honor odd her husband's wishes in november when she collapsed. >> her husband has filed an emergency motion. obvious lit clock is ticking on all of this. >> reporter: they did that about a we're week and a half ago, i believe. we just found out today as well that the emergency hearing has been scheduled for this friday afternoon in ft. worth. and this is an emergency motion. the family wants marlise munoz disconnected from the ventilating system there at the hospital at john peter smith hospital in ft. worth. they go on to say in this statement also tonight, anderson, that quite sadly this information is not surprising due to the fact that the fetus after being deprived of oxygen foran indeterminate length of time is gestating within a dead and deteriorating body, as a horrified family looks on in absolute anguish, distress and sadness. they are asking she be taken off the ventilators and turn her body over so she can be buried properly. >> has the hospital responded? >> reporter: we have reached out to the public hospital there in ft. worth. they are actually represented by prosecutors for the district attorney's office in ft. worth. we've reached out to both of them. they told us tonight they would have no comment before the hearing on friday afternoon. >> all right, ed, i appreciate the update as disturbing as it is. i want to bring in our legal analyst sonny hostin and mark geragos and obgyn host of the health and heels broadcast. dr. masterson, this is disturbing stuff but it may impact this court ruling. the fetus's lower extremities are deformed to the extent that gender can't be determined. apparently the fetus also suffers from water on the brain, hydro cephalus. and a possible heart problem. i think fluid on the brain not water. can you explain these issues how serious they are, what it means? >> they're very serious for the fetus. actually just the fetus. we don't have that many studies of fetuses living in mothers who are brain-dead that actually do well without any problems at all. usually because of the setting, it's very different to replicate the female physiology with machines. and so they're usually born with -- if they're born alive, they're usually born with some kind of deformities, anyway. so the fact that it's starting off with these things that they've seen, they can also do blood tests and they can also check the am knee niotic fluid. but even if the baby had no deformities at all, there's a very low chance that it actually would be born without some form of deformity. >> would these abnormalities that already exist, would they be the result of when she passed out and cutting off oxygen to the fetus? or to the mother's brain? do we know what would have caused them? >> no. no. because that's a very acute event. and hydrocephalus, those occur very early. and that could have been due to just a genetic aberration or exposure to certain materials. but that was not the cause of the blood clot, which is something that can occur in pregnancy because clotting is very -- it happens a lot more in pregnant women because of the high levels of estrogen. >> i want to turn to sonny and mark our legal analyst. sonny, all along you have said this belongs in a court. you have said that you don't believe this pregnant mother really would have wanted to be taken off life support had she known she was pregnant and going to be in this situation. does what appears to be the medical condition of the fetus, does it change your opinion at all that the mother maybe should be taken off life support? >> it doesn't change the legal analysis. it really doesn't. this belongs in a courtroom for a judge to decide. because the law we know is very, very murky. it's unclear. her wishes weren't in writing. even if they were in wright though according to the law in texas, they would have been disregarded. so my analysis of this case doesn't change. it is tragic to hear that this baby is deformed. but her very lawyers who released the statement said the same thing that i'm saying which is we believe it has no legal relevance to the pending litigation. so while tragic, it just doesn't change the analysis. >> mark, to you does this change the analysis at all? or where do you stand on this? >> no. the analysis isn't changed to the extent that the hospital has taken a completely unreasonable and unlawful position here. she is not live. she is not alive. and therefore, the hospital has no duty under -- even under this crazy texas law the way it's written, they have no duty to keep her alive. and because she's brain-dead under any state-of-the-union. in terms of what does change, knowing now about the abnormalities which were obvious to anybody who's ever studied anything along these lines, what does change now is that there is no longer any argument that this is nothing more than a back door into abortion. that's why this law was passed. this is precisely kind of the gravimen of what they were trying to get to in texas, to redefine abortion and viability and things of that nature. but i will make the prediction, you can save the tape, sonny. the judge, if they're in a courtroom that's not an elected judge, is going to rule that she's going to be taken off of these artificial measures. [ overlapping speakers ] >> i don't think that's clear at all, mark. >> this is an end of life decision. it's a medical decision that hospitals and doctors deal with. unfortunately, a lot more often. and without something in writing, this is why i also agree that it is a legal decision. without something in writing, you do not know what this woman's wishes are. a lot of times women's wishes change when they're pregnant. [ overlapping speakers ] >> guys, stop. >> nobody knows what this mother would say. >> let me insert actual fact here. her wishes are actually in writing, not about what would happen in the event that she's pregnant and this occurs, but she was a paramedic. her husband and she had discussed this. apparently her wishes are in actual writing. about wanting to be taken off life support. it doesn't say if i'm pregnant i still want to be taken off. it doesn't have every per mutation but has her wishes in writing. >> i think it's important. i think context is really important in this case. i think the doctor will agree. women have different opinions about when they're pregnant. >> sonny, you're injecting yourself into this woman's head despite what she's written down. >> the problem is, a lot of families will project what they want for a patient. we have to be the advocates for the patient. without very clear instructions from the patient, people are put in very difficult situations. [ overlapping speakers ] >> without knowing what that directive would be. in effect later we can as physicians. >> mark you're saying she's dead. >> everyone's wrong to mark. >> yes, i hate to news flash. >> you know everything. >> i don't know everything. i know how to read a statute. i know in every state of the union if you're brain-dead you are dead. i don't know what state this doctor practices in but she ought to take a look at the code section there. when you're brain-dead, this isn't a vegetative state, this isn't a coma. this is somebody who is dead. this is somebody as aernd arond pointed out has already left her written instructions. so there isn't an issue here. for people who want to argue the abortion issue. >> it's less than clear, mark. the statute is less than clear. you're talking about the brain-dead statute. >> let me jump in here with another fact. in the statute which i've read, it says taken off life support such that is that it will terminate life, cause the death of the patient. isn't the patient already dead, sonny? >> well, that's why i say this is murky. i've read the statute as well. who is the statute directed to? just the pregnant woman or perhaps the fetus? [ overlapping speakers ] >> the family's attorneys are now saying, sonny, by your argument any woman in the state of texas who dies should have a pregnancy test then done on her in case she has a fetus inside her, then then she should be somehow artificially kept alive until the fetus is born. >> that's ridiculous. lawyers love to say stuff like that. but that's just taking it to an illogical conclusion. >> that's why it needs to go through the process of a legal system. if the legal system arrives at the point where it says everyone is in agreement that this woman needs to be taken off life support that's what it arrives at. but we need to go through that process. because it is in a situation where there is another life at stake. and that's where it becomes murky. >> mark, go ahead. >> it isn't murky at all. i don't know what statute anybody's reading except the one that anderson read which says when it is on life support. there is no life. she is clinically dead, okay? she is legally dead. so you've got that statute. you've got her wishes. it is over. this is such nonsense where people what they really want to talk about is overruliing roe versus wade. >> we're not talking abortion. >> this is a proxy for abortion. >> in all fairness, and to argue sonny's side here for a moment, look. i've gotten a lot of tweets from moms saying look, you don't understand. if this mother knew she was pregnant and going to be in this situation, she would do anything to bring that fetus to life. >> women have actually changed their minds in this situation. we don't know that. >> well, we do know that this is someone who is a paramedic. her husband said she's had this discussion. her father said she's had this discussion. and now i've got two females here. i know i'm going to be accused of not having a uterus again. >> there you go, mark. you're crossing the line. >> the fact remains that she did have this discussion. unless you're calling the father, the husband, liars, and you're saying posthumously after this woman is dead that her wishes don't matter. >> context matters. >> sonny in new york should make the decision for her. >> context matters. [ overlapping speakers ] >> it's an abortion debate. all this is an abortion debate couch in the end of life -- >> that's ridiculous. and the point is i think this is the point that the doctor is making as well. the decision around the discussion was not made in this context. context really matters, especially when you're talking about advanced directives and you're talking about a pregnant woman. >> okay. >> and it's a hard decision but we have to look at everything. >> well, certainly, mark, just in terms of the legal aspect, friday there's this emergency hearing. will a decision be made and that be final? >> well, the emergency ruling will be made. whether it's final is a completely different issue. because you've always got appellate relief. and the end game here by the hospital, as i said before, is to try and get this into an abortion stance in terms of the weeks of the fetus, the age of the fetus, so that they can make another argument because this is just a trojan horse argument for abortion. that's all the statute was originally. that's all the way that they misinterpreted it right now. you'll see that come friday. >> all right. we'll see what happens on friday. we'll cover it. dr. lisa masterson, appreciate it. mark geragos, sonny hostin as well. let us know what you think. tweet us @andersoncooper. the keeping them honest report from the intersection of dirty money and politics. and the story that got chinese government thugs so mad at a cnn correspondent they attacked him on the street. we'll show you the rest of the video. ♪ [ male announcer ] your eyes. even at a distance of 10 miles... the length of 146 football fields... they can see the light of a single candle. your eyes are amazing. look after them with centrum silver. multivitamins with lutein and vitamins a, c, and e to support healthy eyes and packed with key nutrients to support your heart and brain, too. centrum silver. for the most amazing parts of you. centrum silver. what makes olive garden's rich, irresistible parmesan! the star of our new 2 for $25 menu. choose two melt-in-your mouth entrées topped with decadent parmesan like tender new parmesan crusted chicken or creamy new parmesan crusted tortellini. two appetizers. two entrees. unlimited salad and breadsticks. our best 2 for $25 yet! olive garden. we're all family here. get together for unlimited soup, salad, & breadsticks lunch just $6.99.