[NYer]

Ping!

[NoKoolAidforMe]

I read some article that said a death certificate was issued for this girl. How can a doctor declare a person dead when her heart is still beating? Just as with Terri Schiavo, there is a ton of misinformation being written about this poor girl.

Wesley Smith wrote a powerful book on the subject called “Culture of Death”. Worthwhile reading.

[Marie]

I agree that the public does not have clarity on this case.

But, at this point, I’m standing by parental rights. Only a DNR signed by the patient prior to the event or family members who have legal authority should be allowed to pull the plug.

At this point, it’s obvious that the parents do not trust the hospital. (After what happened to their daughter, who can blame them?) Perhaps, after a transfer and a detailed examination by a physician that they have faith in, they may change their tune.

But they may not. If all of the hospital’s press is accurate, this girl’s body won’t last long and it’ll be over rather quickly. Then the family can grieve, what they see, as the natural death of their child.

[Mrs. Don-o]

As far as I can see, John Di Camillo is right. If Jahi McMath suffered cardiac arrest, and there is no blood circulation to her brain, no electrical activity whatsoever, then as a consequence she is dead.

This situation is radically different from that of Terri Schiavo. Mrs. Schiavo was not dead, not brain-dead, not in pain or discomfort, not even "terminal" --- she was just an an otherwise healthy adult woman with a severe brain injury. Terri needed nothing but what any other human being needs --- nutrition and hydration, plus hygienic and comfort care --- to do what we all have a right to do: to go on living.

Making Terri Schiavo die by deliberate starvation/dehydration was murder.

But Jahi McMath is dead, and to keep ventilating her remains is the abuse of a corpse. I know that sounds severe, but in my judgment, that's what it objectively is.

Her parents need to make arrangements for the respectful and prayerful interment of her remains. Of course, if people were lying about Jahi McMath's condition, then the whole ethical judgment changes. But I understand that the doctors' findings --- even those brought into the case by Jahi's parents --- are unanimous.

I do feel sorry for the parents. Losing a child means deep, rending, lasting pain for the rest of their lives. May God console.