Posted on 01/24/2014 6:54:06 PM PST by Morgana
A judge allowed a Texas husband’s bid to remove his “brain dead” pregnant wife from life support, an action that would end the life of his own unborn child.
Marlise Munoz collapsed in her home last November from an apparent blood clot in her lungs when she was 14 weeks pregnant with her second child. Her husband and other family members have asked the John Peter Smith Hospital in Ft. Worth to remove Marlise from life support after they were told she was “brain dead.” Ending life support would also end her unborn baby’s life.
munozSo far John Peter Smith Hospital officials have refused to follow the family’s request, citing a Texas law that prohibits hospitals from removing life support from pregnant women.
Erick Munoz, who says a doctor has told him his wife is brain dead, has filed a lawsuit against JPS Health Network. But, the judge in the case sided with the state law and hospital.
The judge ordered the hospital to remove life support by 5 p.m. Monday.
The designation of “brain death” is a controversial one and presents moral and ethical issues, especially when the life of a baby is involved. There are many cases where babies have survived after the mothers have experienced similar situations to that of Marlise Munoz. There is a very strong possibility that Marlise’s baby could survive, given a little more time.
“We feel great compassion for the family of Marlise Munoz and her pre-born baby. No one ever wants to be in their difficult and tragic situation,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “Marlise wanted this baby, and as long as there is a chance that he or she can be saved, we support John Peter Smith Hospital in their bid to follow the law and protect this baby’s life.”
“The public has been given the erroneous impression that Marlise is a dead and decaying corpse. This assumption is completely false. Marlise’s heart continues to beat and she continues to nourish her pre-born baby. A rotting corpse cannot do that,” said Newman. “As for the baby, we have information that diagnostic tests have not been done on the baby to support allegations that there are developmental anomalies, but even if the baby does have health issues, that baby still does not deserve to be killed.”
Newman added after the ruling:
We are appalled by Judge Wallace’s order to terminate life support for Marlise Munoz and her baby. The order is the equivalent of signing a death sentence for Baby Munoz. We utterly reject the false notion that Marlise’s body is a rotting corpse, which is impossible since a decaying body cannot support the life of a baby for weeks, as Marlise has.
Killing people because they are disabled is wrong, and dangerously devalues all life. We condemn in the strongest terms this order to fatally discriminate against this disabled mother and her baby, especially in light of the fact that there are people standing by to adopt the baby knowing that the child will have special needs.
Even if the Munoz baby has suffered disabilities due to Marlise’s condition, numerous people have expressed an interest in adopting the Munoz baby regardless of whether he or she has special needs.
Abortion groups like NARAL have coldly sided with Marlise’s husband in calling on the hospital to kill Marlise and her baby.
“Some people want to decide who lives and who dies based on their personal criteria. If that was allowed, none of our lives would be safe. We simply cannot murder sick or inconvenient people just because we don’t want the hassle of caring for them. That is a dangerous road that will only end up unjustly depriving vast numbers of people of their right to life, just as we have seen with the issue of abortion,” said Newman.
Writing at LifeNews, Calvin Frieberger says abortion activists are upset.
As Newsbusters’ Katie Yoder documents, pro-aborts far and wide are seething with rage over this. But curiously, that’s despite the fact that almost none of their token justifications are present. Delivery will no longer affect Marlise’s well-being, and as Cox points out, whatever end-of-life wishes she had told Erick almost certainly didn’t account for the remote possibility that ending her life would also end her son or daughter’s, in what is presumably a desired pregnancy.
That means a man is presuming to make a woman’s reproductive decision for her—with the full backing of the supposed “reproductive rights” champions. Apparently the outcome of a dead baby is all that matters.
It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t desire his child.
Truly tragic.
So will Wendy Davis be there to “pull the plug” ?
With a phanlanx of MSM reporters?
That should be worth another $10 mil in campaign donations.
“Apparently the outcome of a dead baby is all that matters.”
BINGO, we have a winner. The pro-abort crowd make me SICK!!!!!!!!!
There’s a special circle in hell reserved for this jerk....
The family’s lawyers released a statement Wednesday concerning the abnormality of the fetus, which they say is grounds to disconnect Marlise from the life support.
In the statement, as reported by the Huffington Post, they said that the fetus’ lower extremities are so deformed that a sex cannot be determined, there is water building up in the skull and there appears to be a heart problem.
So, is he playing god by removing support or is providing support playing god?
Any reports on what Marlise’s parents/siblings would like to see happen to mother and child? Just curious, as all I’ve read is her husbands wishes to see his flesh and blood - and his older child’s flesh and blood - killed.
Prayers for the mother and her baby.
What the hell is wrong with this “family”. These people are sick and demented wanting to kill the baby. Arghhhh!~
A little mercy, a little understanding, a little patience. You’ve never experienced both the loss of a spouse and loss of a child, I assume. You know that the child is in such a mess that he/she won’t survive the birth, right, even if he/she make it to 9 months?
I agree with you. this is a tragic situation all the way around. And there are medical reasons here that are more complicated than I may be able to understand.
This is an abortion. Plain and simple.
A human life is at stake.
Is this baby’s life more consequential than a pimple or cockroach?
I want to know the truth health of the baby, not just what the father’s lawyers say is the condition of the baby. Are the baby’s extremeties really deformed? Is there really water on the brain? Is this the truth, or made up by the father’s lawyers. How do they know the condition of the baby? What does the hospital and its doctors say? Who’s telling the truth here and what is the actual condition of the baby?
extremeties = extremities, above. Typo.
How about the baby, once born, show us his/her “viability”? What’s the harm in that?
I believe the proper use of the word God is capitalized.
So.... 14 weeks, plus 10 weeks puts the baby at 24 weeks... sounds like a murder to me.
exactly
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