Posted on 11/13/2008 4:52:43 AM PST by marthemaria
Hannah Jones, 13, is not afraid of dying — she is afraid of spending her remaining days in a hospital bed. In a case that raises a host of medical and ethical issues, the British teenager from a small town northwest of London has won a battle to refuse a heart transplant operation.
That decision by British medical authorities has ignited a debate over whether children should have the right to refuse potentially lifesaving medical treatments or if health authorities have an obligation to intervene. Hannah, from Marden, 145 miles (233 kilometers) from London, was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4. Doctors later found a heart defect.
In eight years, she has had chemotherapy and nearly a dozen operations. "I've been in hospital too much — I've had too much trauma," she told Sky News on Tuesday. Hannah's story surfaced when her parents complained about medical officials who threatened to force her into a hospital.
"They phoned us on a Friday evening and said that if we didn't take her in they'd come and take her. We still refused to take her," said her mother, Kirsty Jones. A social worker was then sent to interview the teenager about her refusal to have a heart transplant to treat her cardiomyopathy, a serious disease where the heart muscle becomes swollen and sometimes fails.
The social worker backed Hannah's decision. Hospital officials said it is standard procedure to make sure both the child and the parents understand the consequences of any decision. being. .
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.google.com ...
This is a really hard case to evaluate. With a long-suffering adult who is lucid I would always give them the right to decide about things such as what course of treatment they want, a living will, But I really don’t know what to do with a child.
My brother, who spent most of his formative years in a hospital, survived only to commit suicide at age 20. A life in the hospital affects how one views the world, I think. I would mandate counseling.
Afraid? Or just chooses not to? She's an individual, with personal rights and preferences. This is part of the whole "if you don't like it, you fear it" leftie campaign, like the idea of "homophobia."
If she were being abused by someone other than hospital staff, would you claim that she doesn’t have the maturity to decide? At what point is she allowed to decide that she hates the trauma and would rather it stop than live with it?
It’s her heart, and it requires a court decision to force the overbearing medical SS squads to let her make her own decision?
In counter point... Why then do these dictatorial medical squads think she WOULD BE mature enough to make her own decision about having an abortion? (Not that I support abortion-on-demand. Just making a point)
It’s all about control, people
Unfortunately, a point always comes where medical treatment is no longer prolonging life, but merely prolonging death.
I don't see this as being a close question at all. Both her and her parents seem to be in agreement. The State ought not to have any right to force medical treatment. In a sane society, that is battery and the doctors and hospitals would be sued into oblivion.
Most paramount in a free society is that an individual ought to have the right to make the choices that will control his destiny; the State ought not to be making those decisions.
“potentially lifesaving” means it probably won’t do any good
However - I do believe that the ultimate decision should rest with the parents. And if they want to take the daughters feelings into consideration, so be it.
I know something about this. My son 2 years old had leukemia and died 8 months after diagnosis.
Over the eight months of treatment, I got to know many teens who were undergoing cancer treatments. Thier ages ranged from 12 years to 20 years old. Great kids by the way. There were many funny moments with these teens. But, do not doubt for one minute that they knew how thier very lives were on a high wire.
I know two teens and one 8 year old who chose to stop treatment and be allowed to die. The teenagers ages were 14 and the other 16. In one of the most touching and profound scenes that I witnessed the 16 year old girl Jessica had to bring her mother around.
Whether you are 13, 16, or an adult, I think there does come a time where you just know it is time. I have seen this played out several times. These decisions that these teens make happen everyday across america.
As sad as this seems, she deserves the right, as a human being, to control her own destiny.
I agree...she has the right to determine her own destiny ....she has certainly tried to do everything she can to LIVE and stay alive.
I read that even if she gets a heart transplant she’ll only have it for 5 yrs till she needs another one - plus at any time she can change her mind and go back on the transplant list.
She deserves our respect and prayers
So sorry for your loss of your dear son - you certainly speak beautifully about what you witnessed yourself and put it all into perspective. Thank you
The people the hearts come from are not dead until they surgeon cuts out the heart. That’s the problem with these ‘life-saving’ transplants. They’re murder.
Thank G-d for a woman like Hannah Jones, 13.
Yes, by and large these kids don’t have the maturity to make major decisions for themselves. On the other hand, when you are faced with death at that age, something changes where their maturity level rises. They just know.
I cannot explain it any other way. I would sit and talk for hours with some of them. In most cases, they take a prominate role in treatment as well. It is amazing to watch.
she is 13 not 6. I say she gets to make the decision along with her parents, and the state should butt out. What has happened to parents rights? ( I know, you dont really have to answer that)
Also, heart transplants last an average of 5 years or so, so its not likely she is looking at a normal life even if she does have the transplant.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.