Let Lauren Live!

ChristtheKingMaine ^ | May 7, 2008 | Judie Brown

[8mmMauser]

LAUREN RICHARDSON - YOU CAN HELP!
By Judie Brown

It has been a source of ongoing sadness to read of the difficulties Lauren Richardson’s father has had over the course of the past several months. For those of you who are not familiar with her case, Lauren overdosed on heroin on August 28, 2006. She suffered oxygen deprivation and, as a result of the overdose, is now in a coma and unable to speak out for herself. At the time of the overdose, Lauren was expecting a baby. Her parents honored what they knew would have been her wish and did all they could to keep her healthy and comfortable until the child was born. Today, though Lauren may not be aware of it, she is the mother of Ember Grace, who was born in February 2007.

Since the birth of her daughter, Lauren remains unable to speak of her concerns, but she has a loving father who is doing all he can to protect her from suffering the same fate as Terri Schiavo. However, Lauren’s mother, who has been named her legal guardian, is sadly not of the same opinion and is working with attorneys to pressure the courts to permit Lauren’s starvation.

Lauren’s father has kept hope alive, even at times when there appeared to be no hope in human terms. Lauren’s father is a man of hope in Christ and is dedicated to spending every breath he has on defending Lauren, regardless of what it might cost him in physical exhaustion and worldly goods. The most recent update for those concerned about Lauren tells us the following:

We struggle at times as we seek to share with the public the details of what is happening with Lauren because of the disagreement we have with Lauren’s mother. We cannot understand her reasoning in refusing a path of hope, healing and restoration for Lauren and insisting on causing her death by withholding food and water from her. The issue in Lauren’s case is the eternal truth that all people, no matter what their medical condition, bear the image of God and deserve basic care and an opportunity to be restored to health.

Bobby Schindler, Terri Schiavo’s brother, has written about Lauren in an editorial earlier this year, "False Compassion," and is working closely with Lauren’s father in order to provide expertise that he is uniquely qualified to share during a trying time like this.

There are many links on the Life for Lauren web site that will assist you in tracking this case and learning who is supporting Lauren’s ongoing care and who is opposing it. More importantly, there is something you can do to express your concerns.

ACTION NEEDED NOW

The governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner, is being asked by pro-life Americans across this nation to intervene in this case in order to save Lauren from what many fear is an imminent court order dictating that Lauren be starved and dehydrated to death. I am asking you to be one of those who communicates your passionate belief that Lauren’s life is sacred and deserves to be protected from those who would order her death. The governor’s e-mail address is governor.minner@state.de.us.

Further, it would mean a great deal to Lauren’s father, Randy, if you sent him a copy of your e-mail to Governor Ruth Ann Minner. Randy’s e-mail address is Lifeforlauren@aol.com. 

During a recent visit to Anchorage, Alaska where Bobby Schindler was invited to speak, he told a reporter from The Catholic Anchor, "Once we accept that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering, we lose any type of parameters. Euthanasia is a form of abandonment. It is not compassion."

Truer words were never spoken. As I frequently tell people who argue that we pro-lifers are being heartless and cruel for fighting to defend the rights of a "hopeless case," "God is the author of every human being’s life, and He has never given permission to a single one of us to arbitrarily rob another human being of life for any reason including disability or illness."

As Flannery O’Connor once wrote on the subject of false compassion, "In the absence of faith, we govern by tenderness. And tenderness leads to the gas chamber."

Lauren Richardson is not terminal – she is severely disabled. Lauren Richardson should not be murdered.

Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

[BykrBayb]

Then I can expect these omelets to be around longer than the ones I’ve given you in the past?

[wagglebee]

Yeah, I’ll pass on Snoopy and Garfield.

[BykrBayb]

Their whole argument is that only “stupid” people should be exterminated. They make the mistake of believing their intended victims are stupid, and they aren’t. They have it backwards. They are actually the poster kids for the group they advocate killing.

[BykrBayb]

You DO NOT want to see the site I got that photo of the omelets from. It’s a photo blog of someone who toured China, eating all the disgusting foods available. Those omelets looked pretty tame compared to some of the other stuff.

[wagglebee]

Read at your own risk:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963578/posts

[BykrBayb]

Even prescription drugs to prevent nausea aren’t strong enough for that!

[wagglebee]

Now, now, all culture are “morally equal,” the fact that something doesn’t appeal to us doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it.

[BykrBayb]

That might be true for the spaghetti with maggots, but there are limits.

[Etixos]

"You describe yourself as cerebral so you must know automatically why your comments raise hackles."

>>>On the contrary, living in my head so much often blinds me to how people react to me.

"If you haven’t noticed, review your own posts on our threads and find consistently that despite saccharine politeness, your words irritate. You come across as an adversary and do not sound at all like you would like to save Lauren from being murdered with the cooperation of the State."

>>>I did not realize that posts of simple civility were considered to be "saccharine", though I have noticed the hostility with which I have often been answered. This is why I asked what exactly about my posts has been offensive. What is it that makes me "come across as an adversary"? All I am is a curious person seeking to understand a point of view I find fascinating.

"Did I get that right? Can you perhaps enlighten us veterans on just how you are pro-life?"

>>>No, indeed, you did not "get that right". Just what is it of which you are "veterans"? Are you retired military? If so, let me thank you for your service to our country.
>>>I have claimed to be neither pro-life nor not pro-life. Again, I am an interested observer trying to learn more about a certain way of thinking--and of writing--which interests me. I am even thinking of writing a short piece on the subject.

"I am glad your cerebral-ness allows you the moxie to admit you were wrong once or perhaps even more. I was wrong once, too. ;-)"

>>>You seem to be using a different definition of "cerebral" than I intended to convey. I did not mean to imply "smarter than"; I merely meant one who thinks a lot, ruminates, lives in their head. So it was not being cerebral which prompted my statement about being wrong before, it was just a weak attempt at humour.

"Tell us more about yourself and your interest."

>>>Oh, I don't think you really want to know about me. Your posts make it clear enough that you are only interested in an argument. My interests do not include giving you one.

"Oh yes, if you don’t think there is evidence enough you haven’t been reading enough. It is all there at your keyboard, to research our own threads. We won’t do it for you."

>>>I wouldn't dream of asking you to do research for me. On occasion I might ask someone to back up an assertion with a source, but that's hardly the same thing, is it? I have read an enormous number of what you call "Terri threads". Simply because I disagree with you as to what constitutes "enough evidence" doesn't mean I haven't done any reading! :^D

[BykrBayb]

You’re trying to pretend you don’t know the difference between your rude sarcasm and simple civility. The fact of the matter is, you are just as rude as you’re trying to be. No one here is fooled by your amateur attempts. Your dishonesty does not cover your rudeness. Rather than concealing, your dishonesty reveals. You’d be better off being honest and saying what you really mean. But that would require a certain amount of intelligence. Unless and until you can achieve a level of intelligence on par with those whose deaths you promote, you won’t be capable of understanding your own failings.

[floriduh voter]

For starters, avoid asking me which chair I sat in and did I have permission. The chair controversy was hardly cerebral. (a chair’s just a chair when you really need to sit down) : )

[wagglebee]

For starters, avoid asking me which chair I sat in and did I have permission. The chair controversy was hardly cerebral. (a chair’s just a chair when you really need to sit down) : )

Sometimes a chair is just a chair, a murder is just a murder and bottle of water is contraband.

[floriduh voter]

A chair’s just a chair and a feeding tube’s just a meal. It’s not extraordinary measures and finally, Lauren Marie Richardson is an extraordinary girl and in time, she could make the kind of progress that HALEIGH POUTRE has made.

[BykrBayb]

Now that is cerebral. Notice how it involved actual thought.

[floriduh voter]

Governor Minner, Don’t be a Jeb version 2005.

[wagglebee]

I have claimed to be neither pro-life nor not pro-life. Again, I am an interested observer trying to learn more about a certain way of thinking--and of writing--which interests me. I am even thinking of writing a short piece on the subject.

Then perhaps you will answer a very simple question:
Are you pro-life or not?

We ARE NOT interested in any "nuances," no "I'm pro-life, but/except" because any answer of that sort means that a person IS NOT pro-life. We would just like a very simple yes or no. Can you do that? And just a hint, pro-lifers NEVER have a problem affirmatively responding to the question of whether or not they are pro-life.

[floriduh voter]

Conspiracy isn't accurate re: Terri Schiavo. What happened to Terri was the largest racketeering case in the history of the United States and we can't expect the govt to investigate itself, can we? USAG Gonzalez, Medicaid Dept., State of Fla, DCF, DCA's, Judge Greer, J. Whittemore, J. Baird and the other racketeers... aclu, the Pinellas GOP, hospice of the Fla Deathcoast. I could go on and on and on. So many racketeers to take one life.

I haven't even heard one good reason Lauren why shouldn't get to live, have you? It's Mother's Day weekend. Lauren's a mother and her mother, I wish she would have a change of heart. Mothers and daughters have a special bond and that can't be emphasized enough.

[wagglebee]

Now that is cerebral. Notice how it involved actual thought.

I'm pretty that this level of "cerebrality" warrants some cheesecake. Plain with graham cracker crust please. :-)

[Grunthor]

“as a result of the overdose”

I feel for the family that wants her to live however this is not Terri. Terri was not a junkie. Hard for many people to work up the same kind of emotion when you pretty much did it to yourself. Just a messed up situation all the way around.

Sad.

[wagglebee]

Plenty of people struggle with alcoholism and addiction, most times the outcome is tragic, but that DOES NOT mean that they don’t deserve our compassion and love.

Read the opening portion of Chapter Five of the Gospel of Saint Mark. The “demons” that possessed the man could very easily have been alcohol or drugs. Many alcoholics and addicts go to live outside of where others would live, many cut and hurt themselves without reason, and many are bound and yet burst out to drink or use drugs again. And yet Jesus alone loved this man and because of this he was healed. God DOES NOT give up on ANYONE.

The reality is that Lauren will never use heroin again. She IS NOT dying and she IS NOT incurable and she IS NOT on life support. She needs our love, not our judgment.