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Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- A young girl who doctors claimed was in a vegetative state after she was abused by her adoptive parents has made such a strong recovery she has been able to tell officials more about the problems. One bioethicist says there are lessons to be learned about writing off patients who are supposedly too far gone.
After 14-year-old Haleigh Poutre was viciously abused, she had to be admitted to a pediatric rehabilitation hospital in September 2005.
Massachusetts officials eventually took custody of her and physicians indicated Poutre had entered into a coma.
State officials asked the Massachusetts Supreme Court for permission to remove Poutre's feeding tube and end her life as Terri Schiavo's ex-husband was allowed to do.
However, new reports indicate Poutre made such a strong recovery she was able to testify about the abuse in court in December. The Boston Globe indicated she used simple words and hand gestures along with pointing to letters and words to indicate what had happened to her.
Bioethics watchdog Wesley Smith says the media needs to do a better job reporting on how doctors got their assessment of Poutre's condition wrong and how that may be the case with other patients like Schiavo.
"There is a huge lesson to be learned in this story, but we won't learn it and the media won't highlight the issue -- lest we come to the 'wrong conclusion' about Terri Schiavo," he said.
He said Haleigh's ability to tell the court what happened to her so prosecutors could move ahead with the case is "Not bad for a little girl who was supposed to remain forever unaware."
"I hope judges and doctors will ponder this story next time a dehydration request is made on the basis that a cognitively disabled patient -- particularly a young one -- will never improve or whenever hospital ethics committees try to impose futile care treatment terminations," he said.
Smith concluded: "As that great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, 'It ain't over 'til it's over.'"Meanwhile, Haleigh’s sister, Samantha Poutre, has given investigators more information about what happened and indicated Poutre's stepfather Jason Strickland kicked Haleigh down a flight of stairs.
Haleigh Poutre Testifies About Abuse After Nearly Becoming Euthanasia Victim
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From the North Shore, Salem Massachusetts area:
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Outrage over the failure by the state Department of Social Services to protect children in a number of recent, high-profile cases is both understandable and justifiable. Clearly improvements are imperative, especially in light of a recent report issued by the Children's Advocacy Institute and the watchdog group First Star, which gave the state a D-minus for its efforts to protect children from abuse. Only 10 states fared worse than ours. The report cites several examples of DSS failures including the case of Haleigh Poutre, who was beaten into a near-fatal coma while in foster care; and Rebecca Riley, the 4-year-old whose parents face manslaughter charges as a result of her death from an overdose of prescription drugs. In these and other instances, DSS supervision failed to protect children from harm. The recent report was also particularly critical of the agency's failure to come clean with the public about problems within the system...............
Our view: Save outrage for those who most deserve it
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It doesn't make a damn bit of difference if a person's condition will "improve" or not because, in the cases of people like Haleigh, Terri and Lauren, THEY AREN'T DYING. The necessity for FOOD and WATER IS NOT A TERMINAL CONDITION. The arrogance of the death cultists sickens me, they seek to create a system where ANYONE can be proclaimed a "worthless eater."
What a wonderful story. I didn’t know about this girl.