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

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.

Haleigh Poutre saga update...(No updates at the moment on Javona...)

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SPRINGFIELD - The lawyer for Jason D. Strickland, accused of assaulting his 11-year-old stepdaughter in 2005, is asking that a judge be assigned to his client's case, after one judge was replaced and another took himself off the case in December.

The request is the latest chapter in a long legal saga that began when Haleigh Poutre, then 11, was hospitalized in September 2005.

~Snip~

Strickland was arrested by Westfield police Sept. 20, 2005 and arraigned in District Court there.

He was later indicted in Hampden Superior Court on two counts of assault and battery on a child with substantial bodily injury and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He pleaded innocent to those charges in Superior Court on Aug. 8, 2006. He is free on $5,000 bail.

The weapons listed in the indictments were a shod foot, a bat and "a wand, a stick or tube." At the time of his indictment, Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett said Jason Strickland was being prosecuted under the joint venture theory with Holli Strickland, even though Holli Strickland was dead.

He said that meant Jason Strickland can be held responsible for any acts of Holli Strickland because he allowed someone else to assault the girl.

In addition to the changes in judges, Strickland's lawyer Greg T. Schubert withdrew from the case in August last year and Black became the defense lawyer. Richard J. Rubin joined Black on the defense in October.

There have been requests for continuances on both sides as well as various motion hearings and rulings.

The Strickland case has received much attention, because initially Poutre was the subject of an attempt by the state to remove a feeding tube that was keeping her alive. State officials said medical advice showed no chance of recovery.

Poutre stepdad requests judge

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Annalex posted a discourse from a Bishop on the Sanctity of human life from beginning to end, a penetrating passage at the core of our theme. Thanks, wagglebee, for the ping...

BALTIMORE, Maryland, JAN. 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo gave Nov. 15 to Loyola College in Baltimore, titled "The Sanctity of Human Life from Conception to Natural Death." The presentation was part of the Loyola Alive Seamless Garment Series.

~Snip~

The Culture of Death

Let us now turn to the culture of death in which we find ourselves as Catholics today. In "Evangelium Vitae," No. 3, John Paul II cites the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, "Guadium et Spes," and its strong condemnation of attacks against the dignity of human life.

Though the quote is lengthy, it helps us to understand that the culture of death existed even in 1965, and indeed well before then, and has only grown deeper in our times. The Council Fathers stated: "Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of gain rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others like them are infamies indeed. They poison human society, and they do more harm to those who practice them than to those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator" (No. 27)........

Bishop Aquila's Address on Absolutes in Life Issues

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I am hard put to find a more magnificent example of projection by liberals the the ability of leftist dems, racist to the core, to scream long and loud that we are the racists and they are the champions of a people they despise. The lovers of the KKK, the death cults embraced by Hitler, and the mass murders favored by Margaret Sanger, these tools of the devil project their essence of evil upon those opposite them, straight out of the devil's playbook.

I guess I shouldn't mince my words, and just come right out and say it....

Thread by wagglebee.

........Dear Rev. Preacher:

I saw you the other day, Rev. Preacher. You were reading a prepared statement of support to your mistress as she, though shorter than you, looked down to you and upon all who witnessed this spectacle. She stands with that imperious grin on her face, that smug smirk that we have gotten so used to seeing on her for the past 35 years as year after year she does nothing verifiable for black people – yet she (and her husband, "the first black president") are anointed as the savior of us all.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, one of the greatest from your ranks, once said, "[A man should] not be judged by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character."

If you honor this great man and his ultimate sacrifice to your people, why then do you continue to ignore his words, to desecrate the intent he had for all black people, his everlasting dream for all America – for black people to have equal access to achieve the American Dream?

Blacks slaves again … to the Democratic Party

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I hope so, hope RU486 isn't shading the statistics in a real way...

Thread by tpanther. Thanks,narses, for the ping.

This is great news and proves that the pro-life movement and it's positive message on a culture of life works. It also proves that more education and better science doesn't translate into more abortions, but less. Why? because women understand more than ever that abortion kills a human being. With 4D ultrasound and understanding the begining of life better scientifically one cannot put the blinders on any longer and rely on the empty rhetoric that we just don't know when life begins or it's nat really a human.

It's still disappointing that the writers of this article and the people behind the study try to explain away these results with everything but the obvious that Americans generally do not want to kill their children.............

Abortions at lowest level since Roe v. Wade

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If I had to guess, I would say that RU486 and Plan B are certainly skewing the abortion numbers downward. The live birth rate certainly hasn’t risen to account for the drop in abortions.

I think another factor is that the drug companies finally figured out that a lot of the sluts out there were too stupid and/or irresponsible to take an abortofascient birth control pill every day, so they developed long-term hormonal shots and implants to keep them from getting pregnant.

I wrote:
a lot of the sluts out there were too stupid and/or irresponsible to take an abortofascient birth control pill every day

You responded:
Misogynist much? :(

I've been called a lot of things on here, but I don't think misogynist is one of them and I think that most of my FRiends on here would probably disagree with you on that one.

I see that you are new around here, so I will give you a little background on this thread and others like it. We are totally committed to preserving Terri Schiavo's legacy that ensures the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to natural death. We seek to expose the culture of death and their evil agenda. On occasion, myself and others have been known to make some "off color" remarks and I think if you were to look at what I said in the context of the post I was responding to. If you need some visual validation, I suggest that you go to a local mall some weekend and look at the style of dress and mannerisms of the young "ladies" parading around; if you would like to suggest a more appropriate designation, I'd be happy to consider it.

Sorry, I don't intend to get into a disagreement with you, but I stand by my belief that calling a large group of women "sluts" and "stupid" because they make birth control decisions which you don't like is misogynistic. It reveals an attitude of paternalistic dislike for them, and one that is so deeply ingrained that the misogynist is probably unaware of it; it's been part of him so long and runs so deep that he believes that's "just the way things are".

If I've misapprehended you, I beg your pardon. Even so I would ask you to reconsider such blanket judgements, if for no other reason than they easily give a casual reader the impression which they gave me.

Best,

dgiovan

Fine, they are irresponsible and as a result have to abort babies, so I will call them future murderers.

It reveals an attitude of paternalistic dislike for them, and one that is so deeply ingrained that the misogynist is probably unaware of it; it's been part of him so long and runs so deep that he believes that's "just the way things are".

On the contrary, I think it demonstrates a love for the 50 MILLION babies that have been murdered in the past 35 years.

Even so I would ask you to reconsider such blanket judgements, if for no other reason than they easily give a casual reader the impression which they gave me.

I'm not here to make abortionists feel good about their agenda.

I can only do an excerpt from WND, but it is a substantial article on the candidates well worth the read and features Bobby Schindler as a real factor...

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Unlike Gov. Romney, whose millions have flooded Florida with misinformation, Gov. Huckabee has been pro-life for more than 10 minutes. He first got involved in the political process as a pastor working to pass a Human Life Amendment. He also helped pass a state marriage amendment in Arkansas – a lead Floridians are trying to follow with their marriage ballot initiative. Yesterday, National Right to Life Political Action Committee issued the following statement:

"National Right to Life is grateful for the strong pro-life record established by Mike Huckabee as governor of Arkansas, and recognizes that Governor Huckabee has taken the strongest pro-life position on all of the life issues of any of the remaining candidates for president."

And Floridian Bobby Schindler, Terri Schiavo's brother, has just come out and endorsed Gov. Huckabee as well. Turns out he's the best at protecting those at the end of life, too.

And Rep. Duncan Hunter's endorsement of Huckabee is helping to bring the defense and border conservatives on board:....................

The end of the Romney campaign

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From the Sun-Herald...

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Man of commitment

As senior pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Port, Pastor John Cross does not publicly endorse politicians on behalf of the church. But Cross personally supports Republican Mike Huckabee, the Baptist pastor and former governor of Arkansas.

Cross calls Huckabee "a man of character, and a man of commitment. He has impeccable integrity.

"He has a vision for our nation that is needed at this time and his values reflect those of our Founding Fathers and our nation's history."

Cross helped bring Huckabee to Sarasota last Friday for a fundraiser at Michael's On East restaurant. One of the main reasons he supports the Iowa caucus winner is Huckabee's "aggressively pro-life" stance, from babies after conception to adults on life support, such as Terry Schiavo.

"Gov. Huckabee believes that everyone deserves a chance to live," Cross said. "He believes the unborn child should be protected. He believes in protection for the weak and taking care of those who are aging and ill, so it's not just about the unborn."

Cross, who became acquainted with Huckabee through other pastors, also supports the former governor's stance on marriage.

"It's American to believe in marriage between one man and one woman," he said. "Our Founding Fathers understood this. Our true strength comes from the family."....................

North Port Republican spromote their candidates

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Today is really another Rudy Tuesday...

Awwww... that's right, go ahead and blame Terri's Legacy for Rudy's slip from limelight. We are tough, we can take it...

Lindsay's star-crossed campaign should be of particular caution to Giuliani, whose hopes are so singularly riding on today's Florida primary election. Lindsay, the patrician, Republican-liberal-turned-Democrat was a progressive darling of mid-20th century America. His charisma could not help him. Lindsay was eaten alive by former New Yorker, proto-Reagan Democrats who moved to Florida and brought their political grudges with them. In this year's primary, it is their lineal, Terri Schiavo-obsessed descendants, who have caused Giuliani his own electoral agita............

The curse of the New York mayor

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Just where is David Frum??

What to do? Mr. Frum would like to see a return to the key elements of a winning conservative coalition -- an emphasis on free-market economics and property rights, the rule of law, a social policy built on traditional values, and a strong national defense (which would mean, in part, honoring the tough pledges of President Bush's 2002 State of the Union address, especially when it comes to North Korea and Iran). But Mr. Frum also argues that the country has shifted since the iconic Reagan years, and conservative policies must shift too.

Polls suggest that many Americans do not feel as strongly about, say, stem-cell research or Terri Schiavo-like deathbed decisions as traditionalist conservatives do. In the Schiavo case in particular, Mr. Frum says, conservatives moved the debate away from the rule of law, making their arguments less compelling. When it comes to abortion, divorce and other culture-war battles, he notes, conservatives have had some success in the culture at large. But to "come back" politically, they must avoid sounding merely judgmental; they must put forward practical policies that lift up families, children and communities...............

Which Direction Is Right

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Perhaps some Terri's List people can make it...

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

My Jesus Mercy Ministries will host a benefit dinner for Ave Maria University’s pre-theologate program on Feb. 5 at St. Raphael’s Parish Hall in Lehigh Acres.

The dinner will be held in memory of Terri Schiavo, the St. Petersburg woman who died in 2005 after a high-profile battle between her husband and parents about removing her from life support.

The dinner costs $40 to attend with proceeds going toward a scholarship program in Schiavo’s name at Ave Maria for those interested in a priestly vocation. Religious art and books will be available as well with a portion of the sales going toward the scholarship fund. The dinner will be held from 7 to 10 p.m.

Diocese of Venice Bishop Frank Dewane will serve as the event’s guest speaker.

Attendees should make checks payable to My Jesus Mercy Ministries in care of Matt Grady at Ave Maria University, 5050 Ave Maria Blvd., Ave Maria, FL 34142. For more information, contact My Jesus Mercy Ministries at (239) 826-1438

Dinner in memory of Schiavo to benefit Ave Maria program

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