Update Oct. 4, 2021: A judge has dismissed a lawsuit in which a woman wanted the court to force Ascension St. Vincent Hospital to give an unproven Covid-19 drug to her sick mother.
At the request of Megan Bournique, the woman who filed the lawsuit, Marion Superior Court Judge Kurt Eisgruber's court dismissed the suit that sought to force doctors to administer the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin to Bournique's mother, Kimberly Eliot.
"We have voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit as Kim has gotten appreciably better," attorney Brett Osborne told WRTV. "We are looking into another case, but prayer and family interaction made the lawsuit moot in this case."
Earlier: INDIANAPOLIS — A woman is asking a judge to force Ascension St. Vincent Hospital to administer the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin to her mother who is near death while battling Covid-19.
Megan Bournique claims doctors at the northside hospital have given up further treatment and now refuse to administer the unproven drug to her mother, Kimberly Eliot, according to a lawsuit filed in Marion Circuit Court.
"The physicians caring for Mrs. Eliot at defendant hospital have taken a 'wait-and-see' approach towards any further treatment," Bournique's attorneys said in an eight-page complaint filed Sept. 24. "Despite having no answers of their own, (St. Vincent doctors) have and continue to refuse to administer Ivermectin to Mrs. Eliot in contravention of her physician’s orders."
Elioit, 58, has been on a ventilator in a medically induced coma at the north-side hospital since Sept. 16, according to the lawsuit. Bournique claims the Ivermectin has been prescribed to her mother by a physician's assistant named in the lawsuit.
"(Ascension St. Vincent) has exhausted its Covid-19 treatment protocol and has no further treatment options for Mrs. Eliot," lawyers said in the complaint. "At this point, there is nothing more the defendant can do or will do, for Mrs. Eliot."
Eliot's chances of surviving are less than 30 percent, according to the lawsuit.
An Ascension St. Vincent spokesperson tells WRTV they cannot comment on pending litigation.
WRTV has left messages for both of Bournique's attorneys and has attempted to contact Bournique through social media.
Ivermectin is used to treat people for parasitic infections, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
"Currently available data do not show Ivermectin is effective against COVID-19," the FDA said on its website. "Clinical trials assessing Ivermectin tablets for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in people are ongoing."
The FDA cited "misinformation" that has some people treating themselves after purchasing over-the-counter medication meant for animals.
"Animal drugs are often highly concentrated because they are used for large animals like horses and cows, which weigh a lot more than we do," the FDA said. "Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans."
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