Danger Zone - (Haleigh Poutre)

National Review ^ | February 01, 2006 | Wesley J, Smith

[Ohioan from Florida]

In the court (and courts) of life and death, a little 11-year-old Massachusetts girl named Haleigh Poutre could be the next Terri Schiavo. For those who have not heard the tragic story, Haleigh was beaten nearly to death last September, allegedly by her adoptive mother and stepfather. The beating left her unconscious and barely clinging to life.

Within a week or so of the beating, her doctors had written her off. They apparently told Haleigh's court-appointed guardian, Harry Spence, that she was "virtually brain dead." Even though he had never visited her, Spence quickly went to court seeking permission to remove her respirator and feeding tube. The court agreed, a decision affirmed recently by the supreme court of Massachusetts.

And so, no doubt with the best of intentions, a little girl who had already suffered so much was stripped by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of even the chance to fight to stay alive. If she didn't stop breathing when the respirator was removed, which doctors expected, she would slowly dehydrate to death.

Close Call

Then came the unexpected:

[8mmMauser]

The birth mother of Haleigh Poutre, the brain-damaged girl at the center of an end-of-life debate, is demanding that the state Department of Social Services let her speak publicly about the girl's condition after seeing her in the hospital, her lawyer said yesterday.

Allison Avrett, who gave up custody of Haleigh four years ago, has been allowed by the DSS to visit Haleigh twice a month since September. At that point the 11-year-old girl from Westfield, near Springfield, was allegedly beaten into a coma by her adoptive mother and stepfather.

Murphy said it was ''unconscionable" that Avrett cannot tell the public about Haleigh when DSS Commissioner Harry Spence and his staff have publicly said, as recently as last week, that Haleigh was more alert and even picking up toys on command after having been declared ''virtually brain dead" by doctors.

Injured girl's mother seeks to speak out

8mm

(this includes Ohioan from Florida's ping list, update to 01/18.)

[8mmMauser]

More news: "Not Dead Yet" group speaks up.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) February 2, 2006 -- Not Dead Yet, the national disability rights group, is calling for an investigation into the allegedly shoddy medicine that led to a court order for the removal of life-support from Haleigh Poutre just days after her admission with a severe brain injury. She is now responsive and interactive four months after being declared "virtually brain dead" and in an "irreversible coma." If the court order had not been appealed (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Docket #SJC-09629), Haleigh Poutre would now be dead.

Disability Advocates: Poutre Investigation Must Look Beyond DSS

Also this.....

As evidence, they point to kids like Nick Prefontaine, a Shrewsbury teen who was in a coma for two weeks after a snowboarding accident in 2003, and learned to walk and talk again at Franciscan.

Child rehab center offers hope for Haleigh

And this.......

The case of Haleigh Poutre is one of the worst to emerge from the Department of Social Services in years.

Patriot Ledger: OUR VIEW: The tragedy of Haleigh Poutre

[8mmMauser]

Terri updates:

Some of us have seen this eBay offer, and North Country Gazette reports:

Posted Tuesday morning on the eBay auction site online was an offering that eBay removed within hours, allegedly not because that it was offensive and in extremely poor taste, but because eBay officials said the posting violated policy against selling used medical items and clothing. The listing appeared online only hours, being removed by noon.

eBay Yanks Purported Schiavo Items From Auction Offering

Also.......

As the whole world watched in horror in the most public execution ever, Michael Schiavo and his attorney George Felos, paid with monies that were earmarked for Terri's rehabilitation, said they were protecting her privacy and that she had indicated she wouldn't want to be kept alive.

But was it Terri's wish, or was it Michael Schiavo's wish?

Terri's Wish

[T'wit]

>> The case of Haleigh Poutre is one of the worst to emerge from the Department of Social Services in years.

Reminds me of a line from Monty Python that made me laugh: "This is the worst miscarriage of justice in England since last Thursday."

:-)

[T'wit]

"Terri's wish" -- That is a MONSTER indictment in NCG.

The equivalent here would be Haleigh's step-father, on trial for reckless endangerment of a minor, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, statutory rape and attempted murder, pleading to the court: "She asked me to beat her to death with a baseball bat."

[proud2beconservativeinNJ]

He would know what "nothing" looks like. Sort of like an empty suit. Anybody home?

May the wickedness of evil men roll back upon themselves; may they not prosper; may they soon be scattered as chaff in the wind, in Jesus' name, Amen. In God's timetable, I pray for patience.

[Theodore R.]

I understand that this is a very good university in one of OH's least prosperous communities, right?

[Ohioan from Florida]

:-) I've always wanted to visit the campus there!

[woollyone]

Thus, bioethics pioneer Daniel Callahan wrote in the October 1983. Hastings Center Report, "Given the increasingly large pool of superannuated, chronically ill, physically marginalized elderly it [a denial of ANH] could well become the non treatment of choice."

hmph...the "non treatment of choice"...*spit* such a thoroughly disgusting non-euthanization term of choice. *shaking head*

gee...now the uh...um...bioethicists can claim to be pro-choice.

..right?

[GrandEagle]

Keeping people's bodies alive when their soul is gone is evil to me.
I will propose to you that we, as humans, can only keep the body functioning for some time. When God removes the soul then it is no longer alive.
From a very human viewpoint I would agree with you, however, It would be not just "evil", but murder, to cause the body to die before God intended for the Soul to depart. And since we really don't know when that point is, I would rather use the technology God has allowed us to have and keep the body alive.
The time around the death of a loved one is a very tender and emotional time that Gods Holy Spirit can use to bring loved ones to the Saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Those times, beyond all others, remind us all of our mortality. I would much rather let God decide when that time is up. Especially when he was the one who allowed us to develop the technology.
Having said that, at some point I do agree that there would be no doubt that the person is dead. The problem with ever setting that point in law is that you then have a benchmark that can be slid around at the whim of government. And THAT is VERY dangerous to me.

Cordially,
GE

[8mmMauser]

The equivalent here would be Haleigh's step-father, on trial for reckless endangerment of a minor, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, statutory rape and attempted murder, pleading to the court: "She asked me to beat her to death with a baseball bat."

It could be something like; "I know I am healthy, but I really would like to die the slowest most painful death you can think of, not even a drop of water to moisten my lips. It might take two weeks but I will hold out so you can hold me in your 'loving' arms at the end, with your pals so they can have fun watching. Be sure to block my own family from comforting me."

[syriacus]

There is a huge difference between this story and Schiavo. But you all know that.

Please explain the difference

We need more detail.

[Ohioan from Florida]

I guess you could put it that way.

[syriacus]

You'd think our public leaders, who oversee the quality of medical care, would especially want to oversee the quality of care given to the very sickest and most vulnerable.

The government is already involved in protecting the "medical" rights of individuals.

Why should the government's role, in assuring a minimum quality for medical care, stop abruptly at the moment the individual's guardian takes over?

[8mmMauser]

I have been accused of misusing the word, "murder" to describe the killing of a helpless and innocent victim. It is too un-PC. So I have been trying to think up another word for it.

Like T'wit's End of Live Activitism..

I wonder how bioethic would work as another term. Ted Bundy bioethiced his babes. Or Dr. Kervorkian bioethiced his worshippers, or Hitler committed bioethic on himself. Or Singer/Sanger bioethic whomever they can.

State Sponsored Bioethicing

[freema]

Countdown on MSNBC tonight, didn't catch the time:
"Michael Schiavo tells how he plans to fight the politicians who used Terri's life."

[Ohioan from Florida]

Keeping people's bodies alive when their soul is gone is evil to me. That being said, that wasn't the case here, obviously.

There is a huge difference between disabled and clinically dead.

Hildy, I'm not posting this to flame you or anything. Genuinely, I would like to understand your opinion on this. I suspect that you believe that Terri was "clinically dead" and that her soul had departed from her, based on past discussions you and I have had in the last year or so. For the sake of argument, I'm going to assume that you believe that to be true. How do you know that the soul has departed? I am really curious about this. To me there is no way to know for sure when the soul has departed. If you could explain it to me, I would be grateful. Thank you in advance. I really mean this in all sincerity.

[amdgmary]

Countdown begins at 8:00 pm EST.

[8mmMauser]

I noted it is at 8:00pm tonight. Safely after most of dinner is settled.

[8mmMauser]

I am a little slow this morning. Time for a second cup of strong coffee...LOL