Battle Over Possible Euthanasia of New York Teenager Gets Pro-Life Attention

Life News ^ | 1/1/08 | Steven Ertelt

[wagglebee]

Bronx, NY (LifeNews.com) -- The battle over the life and death of a teenage girl in New York has drawn the attention of pro-life advocates in recent days. The fight to save Javona Peters reminds some of the struggle of the Schindler family in Florida to save the life of Terri Schiavo, a beloved daughter and sibling whose former husband eventually took her life.

In this case, Peters' parents are disagreeing on whether or not to remove her feeding tube and take her life.

Peters fell into a coma in October while she had a routine medical procedure at Montefiore Medical Center. Doctors have pegged her as being in a persistent vegetative state, a medical diagnosis pro-life advocates dispute because so many patients have partially or fully recovered.

Peters' parents were never married and are estranged and have considered a medical malpractice suit against the hospital, according to a New York Daily News report.

But Janet Joseph and Leonard Peters are also feuding over Peters' care and have each filed separate requests to be given custody of their daughter. Peters has been opposed to removing the feeding tube but has wavered recently.

Edward Gersowitz, an attorney for Joseph, told the newspaper that "Because of her condition, she cannot make decisions for herself, and the court will have to appoint a guardian to make decisions for her."

As a teen, Peters doesn't have a living will or some other advanced directive providing guidelines for the type of medical treatment, or withdrawal, she favors.

The case has drawn the attention of the Schindler family, which sent out a notice about the case from its foundation, which helps disabled patients receive legal help and appropriate medical care.

Leading bioethics watchdog Wesley J. Smith has also commented on it and he says the PVS diagnosis seems "rushed" to him.

Smith says he sympathizes with the father and the pressure he is under to take Peters' life.

"We know that too often medical teams and social workers pressure and cajole for such outcomes," he said.

Smith draws comparisons to the case of Haleigh Poutre, a Massachusetts girl whom LifeNews.com reported was also declared PVS, but who has recovered from the abuse she suffered.

In that case, state government officials had ordered her feeding tube removed but she recovered from the PVS state shortly beforehand.

[bjs1779]

“First, they [Nazis] came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me.”

Ya think? About 2 minutes into the video should be sufficient.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW3F9fv31qQ&feature=related

[penowa]

I think Barbaro is probably a "public figure" or whatever you would call a horse as opposed to a human in the same situation. There have been movies, books, art work, and articles written about him and some have been approved by the Jacksons, and some not. To my knowledge, this is the first case of out-and-out exploitation, not to mention totally classless bad taste other than some individual attempts by nitwits on eBay to sell tasteless junk that were either ignored or the sellers were bombarded by e-mails telling them what jerks they were.

The Jacksons have released a statement through The Blood-Horse magazine stating that they had nothing to do with this and it is being done without their approval. I'm sure they've had legal counsel and found that sadly, there is nothing they can do to stop it.

To add insult to injury, they have commissioned a statue of Barbaro, and are on the verge of an announcement of where his ashes will be buried and the statue erected.

[8mmMauser]

Powerful writeup on Wesley J. Smith, hero...

....................................

Since leaving his legal career in 1985 to pursue writing and public advocacy, Wesley J. Smith has worn many hats in the bioethics arena. He is an award-winning author, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, an attorney for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide and special consultant for the Center of Bioethics and Culture.

When Smith is not busy doing government consulting on bioethical issues, appearing on TV and radio, lecturing at universities, writing a new book and traveling the world, he defends the importance of human life on his blog, Secondhand Smoke.

In May 2004, Smith was named by the National Journal one of the nation’s top expert thinkers in bioengineering. He spoke with CitizenLink about his work and his passion for human life.

1. How did you go from writing books with Ralph Nader to defending life?

I had a friend commit suicide under the influence of Hemlock Society literature. (The Hemlock Society, now called Compassion & Choices, is a nonprofit, pro-euthanasia/assisted suicide organization.) When I saw the scurrilous nature of this literature, I saw these people giving this very disturbed woman moral permission to kill herself and teaching her how to do it. I was so upset by this that I wrote a piece in Newsweek magazine that warned against this euthanasia movement and the people that would be victimized by it. I got so much hate mail that I thought, “What happened to my culture and where was I when that happened?” And that got convinced me I had to start advocating against assisted suicide and euthanasia.

2. Terri Schiavo died March 31, 2005, after 13 days of court-ordered dehydration and starvation. What long-term impact do you think Schiavo's death will have on the care of the medically vulnerable?

It really has put the issue squarely on the front burner of people’s consciousnesses. She was certainly not the first one to be dehydrated to death in this manner, and she will not be the last. But before Terri, most people would say, “I didn’t know.” No one can say that anymore. And now, we will be held morally accountable because we can no longer plead ignorance. We now have to decide: Do people with severe cognitive incapacities have the same moral value as the rest of us?

3. What can families do if they are being bullied into ending the life of a loved one?..............................................

Friday Five: Pro-Life Hero Wesley J. Smith

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[8mmMauser]

Weldon is leaving...

................................

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, of Florida's 15th District, announced Friday that he would not seek an eighth term in Congress this fall, setting off a scramble among Space Coast politicians to replace the retiring Indialantic Republican.

~Snip~

First elected in 1994, Weldon, a former Army doctor, ran on a platform of conservative values and term limits. He broke his pledge to serve only eight years; his terms in office were spent battling abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem-cell research.

In 2005, he fiercely advocated government intervention in the right-to-die case involving Terri Schiavo, sponsoring a bill that would give hearings to incapacitated patients such as Schiavo, who was brain-damaged and kept alive with a feeding tube...................

Weldon calls it quits, sets off scramble for House seat

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[8mmMauser]

Bobby endorses Huckabee...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Mike Huckabee tried to pump some momentum into the religious arteries of Broward County today, touting endorsements from central figures involved with local hot button issues.

Although he wasn’t present, Terry Schiavo’s brother Bobby Schindler endorsed Huckabee as did Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle, who drew national attention to his gay-friendly town when he said he wanted to build an expensive single-occupancy public restroom on the beach to deter homosexual activity in public restrooms.................

Finding Florida's Religious Pulse

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[8mmMauser]

A courageous woman...

Thread by wagglebee.

NORFOLK, UK, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Lorraine Allard of St. Olaves, near Great Yarmouth, was told she had advanced liver cancer when she was four months pregnant with her first son.

The thirty-three year old mother of three girls was advised to abort her son, who was 23 weeks old, and begin chemotherapy right away. Rather than follow the doctor's advice, however, the courageous woman insisted on waiting long enough to give her unborn son a chance to survive, telling her husband, Martyn: "If I am going to die, my baby is going to live."

Mrs. Allard was scheduled for a caesarian delivery at 26 weeks, but went into premature labour and delivered her son, Liam, on November 18.............

Mother Refused Cancer Treatment So Baby Could live

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[8mmMauser]

Slaughtering innocent little children isn't so bad once you get used to it, at Yale...

Thread by wagglebee.

.............................

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Yale Daily news removed coverage from its website of a demonstration on Yale's campus that allowed participants to perform mock abortions on anatomically correct models of the human female pelvis.

The original coverage relates the demonstration's methods in detail, including the use of models of the female pelvis, complete with fallopian tubes, cervixes, vaginas, and papayas on which mock abortions were performed. The article was pulled from the website, however, after it attracted attention on the Catholic Answers Forums and the blog GODSBODY (http://www.matthewlickona.com/blog/2008/01/yesterdays-news-t...).

Rasha Khoury MED '08, a member of Medical Students for Choice, was featured in the article as being favorable to abortions and the demonstration. She said she preferred suction abortions, and that such a procedure wasn't so disconcerting after one got used to it...........

Yale Daily News Deletes Article on Abortion-Teaching Presentation

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[8mmMauser]

May he prevail...

Thread by wagglebee.

Starkville, MS (LifeNews.com) -- Justice Antonin Scalia told students at Mississippi State University on Thursday that the nation's high court shouldn't be determining the legality of key moral issues like abortion. He said the high court is no more suited to determine if abortion should be legal than the average voter.

Scalia is a long-time proponent of overturning Roe v. Wade and letting state's have the ability to determine their own abortion laws.................

Justice Antonin Scalia: Courts Shouldn't Decide Key Moral Issues Like Abortion

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[8mmMauser]

Call to the Pope for action...

WASHINGTON, DC, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the most riveting and energetic speakers at the March for Life Tuesday was Rabbi Yehuda Levin. No stranger to pro-life Americans, Rabbi Levin has represented more than 1000 Rabbis calling for moral laws. At the March, he made an unusual appeal - asking Pope Benedict XVI to lead religious leaders on the streets of New York in a declaration forbidding faithful to vote for politicians who support abortion.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the Special Emissary to Israel for The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada and The Rabbinical Alliance of America, addressed the hundreds of thousands of pro-life marchers with this message:

"I'm asking the Pope today. Call the Evangelicals, call the Jews and everyone else and declare in the streets of New York in these extraordinary times when babies are being murdered . . . when some are redefining marriage and perverting our youth in society.........

Leading US Rabbi Calls on the Pope to Convene Religious Leaders in NYC to Oppose Abortion

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[floriduh voter]

Bobby endorsed Huckabee? Did Huck flip flop on right to life? I am really sick tonight. GOVERNOR SUNTAN endorsed MCCAIN in PINELLAS COUNTY about an hour ago. I’ve been watching the History Channel ever since cuz, friends, we are history. Hopefully, early voters didn’t vote for McCain. I will NEVER vote for McCain. He’s a Mexican firster.

[tuckrdout]

Thank you for the story on Tony. Here is another inspiring story about a young man who has no arms or legs....you have to see it: Nick Vujicic

[8mmMauser]

Judge George Greer trains his eyes on Terry. Will he see justice or anything else?

(That is Terry, A.K.A, Hulk Hogan, not Terri...)

CLEARWATER - Hulk Hogan has said he learned from a reporter that his wife was divorcing him, but new court pleadings suggest that wasn't the first surprise in the breakup known as Bollea vs. Bollea.

To the contrary, attorneys for Linda Bollea say Hogan - whose real name is Terry Bollea - tried to trick her into signing a post-nuptial agreement in the fall.

~Snip~

Mrs. Bollea asks Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer to stop her husband from spending $10-million that she says the family earned in August after selling a home.

Financial trickery cited in Bollea split ... A sneaky post-nuptial deal helped cause the breakup, a lawyer says.

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[8mmMauser]

Thanks, tuckrdout, for this inspiring story and website!

G'day and welcome to the brand new updated website LifeWithoutLimbs.org! My name is Nick Vujicic and I give God the Glory for how He has used my testimony to touch over a million hearts around the world! I was born without limbs and doctors have no medical explanation for this birth defect. As you can imagine, I was faced with many challenges and obstacles, but Praise the Lord He gave me the strength to have a burning desire to reach out and bring people to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Official Nick Vujicic website

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[8mmMauser]

McCain Scrutiny meets the New Crist Minstrals...

I just about choked when I saw this on TV, fastest click on a remote I ever performed. Thread by Salena Zito. It comes as no surprise, but disturbs just the same.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Associated Press is reporting that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will throw his support behind John McCain.

He joins Sen. Mel Martinez in what may prove to be the push McCain needs over Mitt Romney as the two battle it out for first place in the Sunshine State.

Getting Crist’s support was considered by all of the candidates a huge catch. Crist enjoys over a 70 percent approval rating..............

Fla. Gov Crist endorses McCain --- Obama wins handily

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[tuckrdout]

My pleasure! Try youtube for videos on the guy. He is amazing!

Oh heck, here is a link:

Nick Vujicic is a giant of a man!

[8mmMauser]

Sometimes when the world looks dark and the outlook is hopeless, The Law of Unintended Consequences takes hold. In this case, new technology reaches the young who have different acceptance barriers than the older generations...

Thread by wagglebee...

Every year or so, a Cinderella movie leaps into the ultimate Hollywood A-list — the Academy Award nominees for best picture. The sleeper this time around is "Juno," the sweet but edgy story of Juno MacGuff, a geeky teen who gets pregnant after a sort-of-bored sexual encounter with a friend. The movie also drew Oscar nominations for Canadian Ellen Page, 20, as best actress, for director Jason Reitman, 30, and former stripper turned screenwriter Diablo Cody, 29.

Now it's time for the winner-take-all round of campaigning, which often includes behind-the-scenes maneuvers in the tradition of Niccolo Machiavelli. Do not be surprised if rival studios try to hurt "Juno" by circulating shocking rumors that many religious conservatives who oppose abortion have praised this movie.........

Pop culture 'awaking to reality of life in womb'

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[8mmMauser]

In the UK, the Auschwitz Express rolls out of the station and gathers speed and momentum...

Thread by bruinbirdman. Thanks to TheSarce for the ping...

Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives.

Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone................

UK: Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say doctors

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[8mmMauser]

After that video, my frustrations and problems this day, which were big just minutes earlier, got tiny indeed. Thanks!

Nick Vujicic is a giant of a man!

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[mtbopfuyn]

With Greer on the case, Hulk better hope he doesn’t get so much as catch a cold.

[floriduh voter]

Hulk Hogan's wife will not fare well in Greer's divorce court. Greer has shown so many times that he hates women (except for his petite, yappy wife). He's also incompetent. www.judgegeorgegreer.com

Linda Bollea (Hogan), ASK FOR A DIFFERENT JUDGE or Greer will mess up your divorce.