Posted on 01/25/2006 12:22:59 PM PST by SirLinksalot
After several months in this forum, I have never posted a vanity post before and this will be my first time, but I am posting this to find out whether anyone can help me find some moral direction on a life choice dilemma which is not different from the Terry Schiavo case...
I have a friend in Texas who was taking high blood medicine not knowing she was pregnant.
Very early in the pregnancy they took tests and were told that their baby will practically have no brain but being devout christians, they decided to go thru anyway.
Last week their baby was born and as predicted, without a brain but somehow she's breathing and "alive".
Now the parents are having second thoughts and just waiting for her to stop breathing and die.
What would be the most moral thing to do in this situation ?
Thanks for your feedback.
Pray. For guidance and mercy.
Prayers from TX
Is the child breathing on its own without any mechanical assistance?
Sympathize and support the parents no matter what they decide to do. Offer help and respite to them if you can.
And guard them against unwanted meddling into their business by activists of any kind.
Well, there really is nothing to do but love the baby till she passes. I had a friend who had this very thing happen, the baby had no brain at all. They found out when she was 7 months pg. They decided to induce labor since the doctor knew the baby would die and not even make it and sure enough it died before it was even born. Thing is I'm surprised this baby is "alive" without a brain and breathing. I don't think anyone without a brain can breath so something has to be in that baby's head. Maybe she has a brain, but just not a completed brain.
My advice is the same though, love the baby and take care of it till it passes, that is all you can do.
If this poor child is truly anencephalic, there is very little that can be done for her, unlike Terry Schiavo, who breathed on her own, had consciousness, showed emotion and attempted to communicate.
Those are tough circumstances. I would say give the baby all the love they would give a healthy baby and let nature take its' course. I personally would babtise the baby. My greatest moments of suffering have always turned out to be my greatest learning and growing experiences.
Hair and TC, posters above, are right. Well said and thought , both of you.
The baby is alive...and as such deserves to live.
They will always be parents and as such have an obligation to protect this child and let the Lord decide what is best.
You cannot make policy based on worst case scenarios
Note: If what I said sounds too preachy, evangelical or Puritanical...I still mean it. Beacause Life is of OUR GOD and HE has a Special Purpose for this young one.
Pray to the Good Lord to call his little angel home.
Baptist/Prayer ping and advice if you have any.
Sounds as if she does have a brain stem if she is breathing. Babies with this defect do not live very long. Just be there for the parents.
None of us can possibly address "the most moral" thing to do!!!!
The parents gave life to their child and now THEY, with the support of the baby's doctor and the help of their pastor or priest, must decide how to be the best parents they can be to that child!! I have interacted with a number of parents who had to make life and death decsions for their children. EACH CASE IS DIFFERENT and NO ONE OUTSIDE of that couple and their child...can understand.
If you want to be a friend, butt out of advising them on morality. Just hold them while they weep and admire with them the beauty they created and brought to life.
You might want to buy them a copy of "Letters to Gabriel" by Karen Santorum (wife of Senator Rick Santorum)....who bore a baby she knew would die at birth from a fatal birth defect
http://www.catholiccompany.com/product_detail.cfm?ID=823ct.
Pray, and be there for them in their time of need.
Special Children are given to us to show us our capacity for love and compassion. Even when they are with us briefly, they are always in our hearts.
God be with your friends and their child.
The most moral thing would be to love the child, be thankful for the time they have with him/her and not second guess their faith.
Anything else is just a waste of time and energy.
If the child cannot live without being kept alive artificially--hooked up to machines--then you can morally disconnect the machines.
By keeping her going when she can't live anyway, you may in fact be acting against what God's intention is for her (i.e., to die)
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