Posted on 10/22/2011 1:35:56 PM PDT by wagglebee
FREDERICK, Md. — A 55-year-old Maryland man who became temporarily unconscious after suffering a heart attack and a seizure has been saved from being starved to death after an ADF-allied attorney obtained an order in state court on behalf of the man’s mother and brother. The man, Daniel Sanger, is now responding to hospital staff after going six days without food and water.
Although Sanger told his doctor and his mother “I want to live” before he went unconscious, Frederick Memorial Hospital removed the public-assistance patient from life-giving food, water, and nutrients on Friday with the permission of his wife.
“Everyone deserves a chance to recover,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “There is no question that Daniel expressly stated his desire to live, and yet he was denied the food and water he needed to survive. His wishes should have been followed. ADF sees far too many situations involving hasty decisions to pull the plug on a human life.”
“The court has done the right thing in granting our request to have Daniel’s food and hydration restored,” said Sanger’s legal counsel Daniel Cox, one of nearly 2,100 attorneys in the ADF alliance. “We are asking the court to award temporary decision-making authority to Daniel’s mother and brother.”
Cox, who heads The Cox Law Center, LLC, filed a motion in Frederick County Circuit Court Wednesday to force the hospital to resume sending life-giving nutrients to Sanger through his feeding tube. The motion, filed in Sanger v. Rafiq, also requested that Sanger’s mother, Phyllis Sanger, and his brother, Mark Sanger, be awarded temporary custody instead of his wife, Leta Sanger, who went against her husband’s express wishes to remain alive.
Chief Judge Peter Krauser, of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, responded by issuing an order Wednesday to provide immediate water and nutrition to Sanger pending the outcome of a hearing that was held Thursday. At that hearing, Frederick County Circuit Judge Theresa Adams issued a temporary restraining order instructing Frederick Memorial Hospital to provide life-sustaining nutrition to Sanger until the completion of a trial set for Wednesday at 9 a.m. EDT at the Frederick County Circuit Court at 100 W. Patrick St.
They were trying to work within the laws of the state, and Bush even got a special law passed for her (it was overturned by the court). It simply wasn’t the way of either Bush to do things outside of the law, and executive orders weren’t thrown around then the way they are now. He had managed to get a stay and issued an order that feeding be resumed, and this was again denied by the courts.
Also, I don’t know what would have happened if he had issued an executive order and tried to have state troopers enter the hospital to enforce it. The sheriff’s department was clearly ready to fight to make sure that she died, and there was unfortunately not much public support in Florida for saving her.
The case had gone on for a long time, and while there had initially been more support for Terri, I think the forces of pro-death propaganda had done a lot to weaken it and also to confuse people. I attribute a lot of this to George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, who was a big Scientologist and had also worked for powerful “right to die” groups for years before taking the Schiavo case.
In any case, there’s a very good timeline here: http://www6.miami.edu/ethics/schiavo/timeline.htm
You made light of starving and dehydrating people to death. It happens every day, and I don’t think it’s hilarious. If you consider my lack of humor on the subject to be an over reaction, there is something wrong with you.
Oh, dear. I’ve been treated at that hospital. I drive by it a lot...
So am I correct in assuming the order mandation food and
water is only temporary? And that the trial is this week?
How does one find out what the ADF recommends us to do here?
thanks (I did click, but was too caught up on the ongoing
horror)
“And Lynch, the corrupt, gay, evil bishop of the diocese, who should have been removed immediately, did not support Bush (a Catholic) and in fact forbade the priests in the diocese to visit Terri or bring her Communion. This was because they were afraid that it would be apparent that she could indeed take nourishment. A priest from outside (possibly Fr Pavone?) brought her Communion but I’m not sure he was allowed to give it to her.”
I did not know this! When in God’s name do we ever deny a person on their death bed Communion? Thank God for Fr. Pavone if he did give it to her. What is wrong with that Bishop down there?
I think, hope and pray that the hearing is *this* coming
Wednesday. Until today there’s been *nothing* new, on
the ‘Net in general or at ADR. Today there’s an article,
“mother pitted against wife” approx. title. I can’t post
it where I am now.
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.