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Court-Appointed Doctor Says Oakland Teen Brain Dead After Tonsillectomy

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A court appointed doctor says a 13-year-old Northern California girl is brain dead after suffering complications following a tonsillectomy.

Dr. Paul Graham Fisher testified on Tuesday that Jahi McMath meets all the criteria of brain death. Fisher's evaluation was the second to reach that conclusion.

Children's Hospital of Oakland filed court papers late Monday asking that the girl be taken off life support after doctors there also concluded she was brain dead. Her family wants to keep the 13-year-old connected to a breathing machine.

The family has said it believes she is still alive and that the hospital should not remove her from the ventilator without its permission.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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