Family to end life support for student shot by Israelis ["persistent vegetative state"]

Telegraph ^ | 10-28-03 | Telegraph

[ambrose]

Family to end life support for student shot by Israelis By Nicola Woolcock

(Filed: 28/10/2003)

Relatives of a British demonstrator left in a persistent vegetative state after being shot by an Israeli soldier disclosed yesterday that his life support machine will be turned off.

The announcement by the family of Tom Hurndall, 22, coincided with the Israeli army's decision finally to agree to an investigation into his shooting.

The photo-journalism student was shot in the head while trying to protect Palestinian children on the Gaza Strip in April and has never regained consciousness.

His family has campaigned for six months for an official inquiry into the incident, even compiling and submitting their own report to the Israeli authorities.

Family members have sought legal advice and, if dissatisfied with the military police investigation, say they will seek justice through international courts.

Sophie Hurndall, Mr Hurndall's 24-year-old sister, who works full-time for a fund set up in his name, said: "There is no change in his condition. The hospital is going ahead with an application to turn off his life support machine.

"It's what we want and what Tom would have wanted, he wrote in his diary that he wouldn't want to remain in a comatose state."

Miss Hurndall said her parents, Anthony and Jocelyn, of Tufnell Park, north London, regularly visit their son, at a hospital in Putney, south-west London. She no longer does, however, because "it's just too painful and he has no sense of us being there".

She welcomed news of the military police inquiry but said her family had low expectations of it being impartial.

"The army's initial report into Tom's shooting was conducted by someone low level who didn't come up with a conclusion of what happened, but with a list of five different, ridiculous scenarios.

"We've asked for an independent judicial inquiry and we haven't been given that.

"It's six months after Tom was shot and they haven't interviewed witnesses yet, only their own soldiers. There's little chance of a prosecution."

The Israeli Embassy said: "Israel deeply regrets any loss of innocent life, be it Palestinian, British, American or any other nationality.

"After careful and thorough examination of all the evidence, the advocate-general of the Israel Defence Forces has decided to hold formal inquiries into the circumstances of the tragic incident involving Thomas Hurndall.

"The findings will be relayed to their families and the British Government."

[ambrose]

Darn... now here's a person who actually deserves to spend the next 60 years hooked up to a machine, in a vegetative state.

[onyx]

An utter tragedy. Peace be with him and prayers for his grieving family. Heroes both.

[ambrose]

He will soon be reunited with Rachel Corrie.

[TheAngryClam]

You mean he wasn't brain-dead before?

[concerned about politics]

"It's what we want and what Tom would have wanted, he wrote in his diary that he wouldn't want to remain in a comatose state."

At least he put it in writing. In America , we try to kill them just for getting in the way.

The photo-journalism student was shot in the head while trying to protect Palestinian children on the Gaza Strip in April and has never regained consciousness.

Uh....this article says he never had any to begin with. D'OH!
I heard a conflicting report about this. I remember reading there were no children near him.

[onyx]

Of course, and everlasting peace be with both of these deserving souls.

[onyx]

You mean he wasn't brain-dead before?

There's no telling.

[ambrose]

ping

[rusty millet]

I hadn't heard that. I suspect that video will increasingly be used as a means of countering allegations of brutality, much as it has become common on police cruisers.

The recent video of the missle response on a carload of Hamas effectively shut up Palestinian claims of murdered innocent bystanders.

[Greybird]

Well, where's the massive FReeping of the House of Commons? The picketers camped out across from 10 Downing Street? The (political) death threats to Tony Blair for doing nothing about this?

After all, consistency is important around here, isn't it? Principle? Upholding "life," at all hazards? ...

Oh. His politics aren't acceptable, therefore, he's dispensable. I forgot the rules. Never mind.

{/sarcasm OFF}

[Qwinn]

I see a few real differences.

1) He put it in writing. I can see something like that in a diary as a reasonable substitute for a living will. I -cannot- see the say-so of a conflicted spouse as a reasonable substitute.

2) It says he was hooked up to a life-support machine. If it really was extraordinary measures keeping him alive, that's a whole lot different from just a feeding tube.

3) Far as I can tell from the article, no one in the family is disputing that that would be his wish.

Now, if you took back those three big differences - nothing in writing, the "life support" was just a feeding tube, AND there was a family member disputing his being taken off of it, then yes, I would agree that the tube should not be removed.

But those 3 differences are very big differences. I don't think someone protesting one and not the other shows a clear inconsistency.

That said, I do admit that some folks here seem a little too pleased at what happened here. I don't ever see pulling the plug on someone as a happy occassion, or something to be made light of.

Qwinn

[droberts]

That said, I do admit that some folks here seem a little too pleased at what happened here

The Israelis did it, so of course they're pleased.

[Tenya2112]

I agree with your distinctions and would like to add that it appears from the article that his condition (having never recovered consciousness)is what people typically are referring to when they think of a persistent vegetative state. There also appears to be no dispute that he has little or no hope of improvement.

In contrast, Terri is conscious and responsive. Further, there is some dispute among medical professionals that her condition can be improved with therapy.