8mm
Posted on 12/19/2007 5:00:27 AM PST by paulsy
"Paulo Melo, 29, has been in a coma at the Royal Darwin Hospital for two weeks, after severing his spinal cord in a car crash." - read more below: doctor requested, family objected, court granted
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
I first joined Freerepublic in 1999 or 2000, live in Sydney, Australia now.
A few hours ago, the Australia Supreme Court just ordered that life-support be withdrawn from a young man against the family's vehement objections and attempts to keep him alive. I did not know this could happen here and was really concerned after hearing it on the news an hour or two ago.
"Paulo Melo, 29, has been in a coma at the Royal Darwin Hospital for two weeks, after severing his spinal cord in a car crash."
http://au.news.yahoo.com/071218/21/15bax.html
I don't know if Paulo will survive the night (it's early Thursday morning here) but maybe we can do our part to pressure someone at the hospital, via email, phones, media or political pressure, to turn the machines back on? At least until the family can have independent (non-government?) doctors examine Paulo. This is just wrong IMHO.
"The hospital's medical superintendent, Len Notaras, said the family was told yesterday Mr Melo's life support should be removed after more than 20 specialists agreed he would not recover."
http://au.news.yahoo.com/071218/21/15bax.html
"...Justice Dean Mildren today rejected their application for another extension so a Sydney neurosurgeon could assess Mr Melo in person and give a second opinion... 'On the medical evidence before me the case is futile,' he told the court. Justice Mildren said the family had not provided any medical evidence that Mr Melo would recover, adding that if it were his son he would have taken similar steps, leaving 'no stone unturned'"
...
"Says the hospital (and supported by court), ""They are very concerned as to the family's welfare and indeed we always put our patients first, irrespective of what perception may arise."
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22949433-29277,00.html
Should it be anyone's decision over the family's? Government steps in and make a life-or-death decision against family wishes, out of "compassion" with oh, so much care and compassion on their behalf, and orders government doctors to remove life support from their son? And the doctors actually ask the court to order it, because the family doesn't want them to kill their son? And the court grants this request before the family can have independent study? The court grants this request at ALL?
Please if you have time, send email through the feedback form links, or call concerned parties (information below).
BUT don't keep the ones doing this from doing their jobs! It is a hospital and a court and we do need them to function.
It's also a family. Please do not contact the family, as I am sure they will be inundated.
Also, if any Freepers know anyone of influence in American media, medicine or politics who can contact peers over here who might be able to change decision maker minds here, please urge them to email or call to express their opinion.
The name of the Supreme Court Justice who made the decision is Dean Mildren. Here is his contact information (email or web feedback form - prefer feedback form. Phone: As explained above, dial internationally 011, then Australia country code 61 before the 08 number):
*** Justice Dean Mildren:
(08)899 96365
(08)899 96372 (FAX)
dean.mildren@nt.gov.au
Additional feedback link: http://www.nt.gov.au/ntsc/feedback.html OR DoJWebManager.DOJ@nt.gov.au
Other judges (I don't know if they can move on their own though, so consider not ):
Justice Sally Thomas: (08)899 96472
(08)899 96457 (FAX)
sally.thomas@nt.gov.au
Justice Stephen Southwood: (08)899 96533, (08)899 97293
stephen.southwood@nt.gov.au
Justice Trevor Riley: (08)899 96632
(08)899 96677
trevor.riley@nt.gov.au
Justice Lancelot Priestley: (08)899 96459
Some Australian media:
smh.com.au
yahoo7: http://au.news.yahoo.com/
Here is a potential Australian ally in this, they who may have press relations or contact info: http://agedcareact.wordpress.com http://agedcareact.wordpress.com/2007/07/03/life-support-decision-slammed/
I wish I could send more info than this at the moment, but I have to leave in a bit and won't be able to do anything on this for the next day or so.
Please help if you can!
Thanks, Cheers,
paularish1 (aka "paulsy")
Joined Jan 11, 2001
Sorry but your feedback page doesn’t work. I’ll gladly do all I can.
prayers up.
ping
Coming to a court near you....
i think its wrong for the government to step in, but i also think that the family should let go.
thats why my will will have something about making sure i dont stay on life support. i dont want to be a vegetable.
most families only think of themselves and not whats best for the person on life support. but thats understandable, its a hard thing to do.
Ping.
The Aussies are now deciding who deserves to live or die.
Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
This is the family’s decision and no one else’s. It is not family member versus family member, but instead, it sounds like family versus government.
The other odd thing is that this seems so hasty. Two weeks is hardly enough time to assess. It also sounds like the family is asking for a SECOND opinion and not another in a previously endless line of opinions.
I wouldn’t agree with the government going this route if it were the 99th opinion, but one would think they could at least get another opinion outside of the circle of people who have been associated with this case to date.
Terry Schiavo brought judgment on this nation, and on Pres. Bush, in my opinion. Our selection of our next president will tell if that judgment is still ongoing.
If this policy of judge’s deciding euthanasia after just 2 weeks is standard policy in Australia, then I can expect judgment to fall there, too.
A sad story that makes me angry just reading about it.
Silence is not an option to this destruction of innocent life.
thats why my will will have something about making sure i dont stay on life support. i dont want to be a vegetable.
Where does it say that this man is a "vegetable"? In my experience, this terms seems to be a favorite of those who support killing off anyone who doesn't quite meet their standards of what living should "look like."
There is no right time, period. The family should decide, not some stranger.
It is the same as our Terri Schiavo case, here. Only in Terri’s case, her “husband” wanted her dead for obvious reasons. Her family wanted to keep her alive, at their own expense, but the courts sided with the murder.., er, husband.......
You better make sure you address each and every situation or they'll be removing your feeding tube causing a long and horrible death.
Thanks for posting.
life
The courts are not and should not be the last word.
I’m just the opposite. I want to live at all costs. I don’t want anyone needing my heart so that they’ll rule me “brain dead” and then take me off life support so that they can give my organs to someone else.
I only have 1 life and I want to have it last as long as possible. I respect your choice and it’s smart to have that in a living will. But the issue we are starting to face (especially with gov’t health care) is that the courts/gov’t will decide if you get to live and will default to you dying (and in this case it appears it doesn’t matter what your wishes are). We should always error on the side of life.
Families decide every day to kill their brain injured relatives. No one, not even family, should be deciding to kill an innocent person.
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