It all began here, ROE v. WADE. Decided January 22, 1973.
Posted on 04/07/2005 5:34:06 PM PDT by News Hunter
Edited on 04/07/2005 5:39:05 PM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
In a situation recalling the recent death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo in Florida, an 81-year-old widow, denied nourishment and fluids for nearly two weeks, is clinging to life in a hospice in LaGrange, Ga., while her immediate family fights desperately to save her life before she dies of starvation and dehydration.
Mae Magouirk was neither terminally ill, comatose nor in a "vegetative state," when Hospice-LaGrange accepted her as a patient about two weeks ago upon the request of her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, 36, an elementary school teacher.Also upon Gaddy's request and without prior legal authority, since March 28 Hospice-LaGrange has denied Magouirk normal nourishment or fluids via a feeding tube through her nose or fluids via an IV. She has been kept sedated with morphine and ativan, a powerful tranquillizer.
Her nephew, Ken Mullinax, told WorldNetDaily that although Magouirk is given morphine and ativan, she has not received any medication to keep her eyes lubricated during her forced dehydration.
"They haven't given her anything like that for two weeks," said Mullinax. "She can't produce tears."
The dehydration is being done in defiance of Magouirk's specific wishes, which she set down in a "living will," and without agreement of her closest living next-of-kin, two siblings and a nephew: A. Byron McLeod, 64, of Anniston, Ga.; Ruth Mullinax, 74, of Birmingham, Ala.; and Ruth Mullinax's son, Ken Mullinax.
Magouirk's husband and only child, a son, are both deceased.
In her living will, Magouirk stated that fluids and nourishment were to be withheld only if she were either comatose or "vegetative," and she is neither. Nor is she terminally ill, which is generally a requirement for admission to a hospice.
Magouirk lives alone in LaGrange, though because of glaucoma she relied on her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, to bring her food and do errands.
Two weeks ago, Magouirk's aorta had a dissection, and she was hospitalized in the local LaGrange Hospital. Her aortic problem was determined to be severe, and she was admitted to the intensive care unit. At the time of her admission she was lucid and had never been diagnosed with dementia.
Claiming that she held Magouirk's power of attorney, Gaddy had her transferred to Hospice-LaGrange, a 16-bed unit owned by the same family that owns the hospital. Once at the hospice, Gaddy stated that she did not want her grandmother fed or given water.
"Grandmama is old and I think it is time she went home to Jesus," Gaddy told Magouirk's brother and nephew, McLeod and Ken Mullinax. "She has glaucoma and now this heart problem, and who would want to live with disabilities like these?"
Gaddy's telephone is not in operation and she could not be reached for comment.
According to Mullinax, his aunt's local cardiologist in LaGrange, Dr. James Brennan, and Dr. Raed Agel, a highly acclaimed cardiologist at the nationally renowned University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, determined that her aortic dissection is contained and not life-threatening at the moment.
Mullinax also states that Gaddy did not hold power of attorney, a fact he learned from the hospice's in-house legal counsel, Carol Todd.
On March 31, Todd told Ruth and Ken Mullinax during a phone conversation Georgia law stipulated that Ruth Mullinax and her brother, A.B. McLeod, were entitled to make any and all decisions for Magouirk. Ruth Mullinax immediately told Todd to begin administering food and fluids through an IV and a nasal feeding tube.
Todd had the IV fluids started that evening, but informed the family that they would have to come to the hospice to sign papers to have the feeding tube inserted. Once that was done, Magouirk would not be able to stay at the hospice.
Ken Mullinax recalled that Todd said the only reason Magouirk was in the hospice in the first place was that the LaGrange Hospital had failed to exercise due diligence in closely examining the power of attorney Beth Gaddy said she had, as well as exercising the provisions of Magouirk's living will.
Todd explained that Gaddy had only a financial power of attorney, not a medical power of attorney, and Magouirk's living will carefully provided that a feeding tube and fluids should only be discontinued if she was comatose or in a "vegetative state" – and she was neither.
Gaddy, however, was not dissuaded. When Ken Mullinax and McLeod showed up at the hospice the following day, April 1, to meet with Todd and arrange emergency air transport for Magouirk's transfer to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, Hospice-LaGrange stalled them while Gaddy went before Troup County, Ga., Probate Court Judge Donald W. Boyd and obtained an emergency guardianship over her grandmother.
Under the terms of his ruling, Gaddy was granted full and absolute authority over Magouirk, at least for the weekend. She took advantage of her judge-granted power by ordering her grandmother's feeding tube pulled out, just hours after it had been inserted.
Florida law requires that a hearing for an emergency guardianship must be held within three days of its request, and Magouirk's hearing was held April 4 before Judge Boyd. Apparently, he has not made a final ruling, but favors giving permanent guardianship power to Gaddy, who is anxious to end her grandmother's life.
Ron Panzer, president and founder of Hospice Patients Alliance, a patients' rights advocacy group based in Michigan, told WND that what is happening to Magouirk is not at all unusual.
"This is happening in hospices all over the country," he said. "Patients who are not dying – are not terminal – are admitted [to hospice] and the hospice will say they are terminally ill even if they're not. There are thousands of cases like this. Patients are given morphine and ativan to sedate them. If feeding is withheld, they die within 10 days to two weeks. It's really just a form of euthanasia."
Ken Mullinax does not want that to happen to his aunt. He pointed out that one of the ironies in this tragedy is that the now-helpless woman worked for years as a secretary for a prominent local cancer doctor.
"She devoted her whole life to helping those who heal others, and now she's being denied sustenance for life," he said.
Mullinax said he has begged Gaddy to let him take on full responsibility for his aunt's care.
"If she would just give us a chance to keep Aunt Mae alive, that's all we ask," he said. "They [Beth and her husband, Dennis Gaddy] have a family and Beth is a teacher, and it was just getting to be a lot of trouble. But I'm the caregiver for my mom, and Aunt Mae could move in with us. We'll buy another house with a bedroom and we'll take care of her. She can move in with us once she can leave the hospital."
But her health becomes more precarious by the hour. Her vital signs are still good, but since admission to hospice she has not been lucid – "but who would be since nourishment and fluids have been denied since March 28," Mullinax remarked.
Attorney Carol Todd could not be reached for comment; a message on her voicemail said she would not be gone the entire week of April 4. Hospice-LaGrange did not return phone calls.
Well granted all the legal i's may be dotted and t's may be crossed, but I don't think the nephew anticipated that they'd get two murderers among the panel of doctors. Good grief, the lady asked not to be murdered.
That happened, FUR SHUR, the day Mikey took it to court.
All the rest is history ~ but the guv'mnt got involved on that day and it was Mikey got the ball rolling.
What's that got to do with the Schindlers anyway?
Frequently you will find an element of greed or romance in that sort of thing (or terminal stupidity on the part of the judge).
A question that requires an answer. One answer may be that the judge did not see it as an ex-parte hearing, dealing with the granddaughter who had cared for granny for 10 years, and not having been told there were other parties to the contest. Time should bring this information out.
This guy's a hack isn't he?
"The dehydration is being done in defiance of Magouirk's specific wishes, which she set down in a 'living will,'"
OK, have we gone far enough yet? Can some of the "Pull Terri's tube" crowd come around and tell us why this is kosher?
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My understanding is that the granddaughter had the power of attorney but not the authorization to make medical decisions. According to that state that authorization belongs to the closest relative which is her sister. The sister and a nephew immediately attempted to get her to a hospital but Judge Boyd ignored the law and the living will and would not allow them to take care of Mae.
Well I hate to imply anything but wars have been fought over less.
Thanks!
I'm "type 'A'" that way. It really bugs me when I mess up.. :-}
BTTT! you have to go to www.glennbeck.com and listen to the free audio stream of the interview with this woman's nephew.
If you had wanted to save some time, you could've just posted the above instead of such a long-winded dodge.
It is interesting how no self-proclaimed "turkey" has yet been able to honestly answer the question "Was it wrong to kill Terri Shiavo?"
You remain disingenuous, even if I spelled it wrong the first time.
It's possible that he is a Democratic political operative. Much has been made of the Republicans and "right wing" radio politicizing end of life issues. Would not surprise me if Glen Beck was getting duped to prolong MSM criticim of the Republicans. A Ken Mullinax is a former spokesman for Democratic hopeful Bill Fuller in Alabama. link
Better link.
http://www.nbc13.com/news/3874542/detail.html
I was on the other side of the Shaivo case, but this case is disturbing.
You believe there was "clear and pertinent information" that Terri wanted to be starved to death? What if this woman didn't have a living will? Which side would you have been on then?
So you're saying the lady isn't being starved/dehydrated? Why would he include the part about having gotten the tube back in but because the eye drops are not on the ruling they aren't giving her those? (I thought that was what he said.) That just seems a little too picky and odd a detail for a conspiracy to think to include.
I just can't believe the people in denial over this: Euthanasia IS here - Terri just brought it to the forefront.
http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=2577
"In 1984, while working as charge nurse in the intensive care unit, a 20-year-old man asked, "Can you give my mother enough morphine to let her sleep away?" I was horrified. "I can not kill your mother," I responded. That was only the beginning. Recently, an 80-year-old was admitted to the emergency room and the physician said, "LET'S DEHYDRATE HER"; one more patient was sentenced to die in hospice with NO TERMINAL DIAGNOSIS and once again, THE LIVING WILL determined the death of a 70-year-old man regardless of how he pleaded to live. I can no longer remain silent...."
Click link above to read more.
Yeah, it's all an aberration... Nazi-like tactics could NEVER surface again. Uhuh... never.
(those who do not learn from history....)
It all began here, ROE v. WADE. Decided January 22, 1973.
I saw this earlier and it made me physically ill. This is just so disgusting. Our judicial system is reprehensible!
Maybe, if grandma can kill someone before she gets too weak in the hospice, she can lose this death sentence. God knows she'll get plenty of sympathy and food and water for 20 more years if she can just become a murderer.
It just seems far fetched (yeah I looked at the story). In the interview he admitted he felt sorry for Terri but... it was right toward the beginning - didn't seem to think it was a widespread practice.
But we'll see. Even if he is pulling everyone's leg, it's just gonna make them look stupid. What an obscene thing to pull a prank about. The real practice IS still occurring.
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