Lauren Richardson Becomes Next Terri Schiavo as Parents Debate Euthanasia (Delaware)

LifeNews ^ | 2/1/2008 | Steven Ertelt

[Pyro7480]

A Delaware woman has become the next Terri Schiavo as her parents engage in a massive legal and philosophical debate about whether to subject her to euthanasia. Richardson is a 23-year-old woman who overdosed on heroin in August 2006 while she was three months pregnant with a baby girl.

Doctors kept Lauren on life support until she delivered her baby in February 2007. Shortly thereafter, her parents began a fight that is reminiscent of the battle over Terri's life and death.

As in the Terri Schiavo case, physicians have been quick to label Lauren as having a persistent vegetative state -- something Terri's family called dehumanizing and medically inaccurate as patients have recovered from it.

Edith Towers, Lauren's mother, wants to remove her feeding tube and starve and dehydrate her to death in the same manner that Michael Schiavo subjected Terri.

Towers claims Lauren would never have wanted to live as a permanently disabled person, but Lauren, as with Terri, did not have a living will or other advance directive spelling out her treatment wishes. She claims Lauren told her during Terri's battle that she would not want to live like her.

On the other side is Randy Richardson, Lauren's father is fighting to save her life and wants to be appointed as her guardian to ensure she receives appropriate medical care and treatment.

"She's committed no crime and doesn't deserve to have this death imposed on her," Richardson told the News Journal newspaper on Wednesday. "We just want to give her a chance."

Lauren no longer uses a ventilator or other breathing apparatus and is not on artificial life support -- something Randy contends is showing progress.

Towers is winning the legal battle in court as she was awarded guardianship of Lauren, but Randy Richardson has filed an appeal.

The News Journal indicates Delaware Court of Chancery Master Sam Glasscock III has put any action taking Lauren's life on hold while the court reviews the guardianship ruling -- a process that could take as much as three months to complete.

Regardless of the decision, an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court is expected.

Randy Richardson also has other concerns about his daughter and says that Towers, his ex-wife, has not allowed Lauren's baby to see her.

Richardson and the Delaware Pro-Life Coalition released a video on Wednesday that shows Lauren at a nursing home reacting to family members and a dog.

The pro-life group also organized a prayer vigil near the Arbors Rehab Center in New Castle.

[floriduh voter]

Their attorney gave Judge Greer one of his awards for killing Terri right at the dining room of the Ft.Harrison Hotel. Only able bodied people have rights per L. Ron Hubbard’s creed.

[floriduh voter]

The guy from Ireland was on 970 wfla this morning. He’s a former member who said it’s just a moneymaking scheme and the celebs are treated like gold to promote it. Will Smith is involved w/them now.

[8mmMauser]

We have seen how from Hitler's NAZI propaganda, they told us how it was our duty to die and not be a burden on society if we weren't perfect. Now we see how Canada and Australia strive to join their wonderful socialized medicine with the machines of death in an inexorable combination to trim the population of pesky humans.

First is this about Sam Golubchuk and his fate we chronicle here. The second follows below about what can go wrong in South Africa.

Do we really want socialized medicine in any form?

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

Anyone who considers Canada’s health system a role model for the U.S. should consider the case of Samuel Golubchuk. His case shows the inevitable collision course between government-controlled health care and the rights of private conscience.

~Snip~

Here is the ethical conflict. The doctor believes that he cannot “ethically participate in the administration of this treatment any longer.” He thinks the machines only prolong Golubchuk’s suffering. So he wants to unplug them. British common law, the foundation of Canadian law, requires a physician to provide care only as long as he thinks it benefits the patient. The Golubchuks believe it would be intrinsically evil to unplug the machines.

The conflict takes on an ever larger dimension because it’s set in Canada. There, the government controls what happens in the health care system, not individuals and families. If your values place you in opposition to the government’s values ... well, tough.

Because of the government’s overriding control over health care, this is potentially every Canadian family’s story. And if the U.S. adopts a government-controlled health care system, it is potentially every American family’s story as well......................................

Moral costs of socializedmedicine

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[8mmMauser]

How could anyone make this up? Thanks, Les, for the tip.

Review of the entire blog is worth the effort. We have heard strident defenses over the last couple years of the compassion and expense associated with Futile Care, especially that creation of our current President in Texas, the Texas Futile Care Law. As we noticed in practice, it is not the care that is futile, but the lives of the recipients, in the eyes of the little gods. Well, here is some contrast.

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Ashlee Callie, a popular South African actress, was involved in a head-on automobile collision on Friday night, Feb. 8. She had weekend surgery for head injuries, and was in ICU and Recovery at Johannesburg General Hospital. Today, ONC Today is reporting that the hospital switched off Callie's life support machines resulting in her death on February 15th: "Apparently, allegedly, it is the hospital’s 'unofficial' policy that not one patient can stay in ICU for more than a week. One of the reasons given is that the hospital receives too many emergency patients who needs the ICU life support machines, almost on a daily basis. And the cost of running those machines are high."

"So if one patient stays for too long in ICU, and by the end of a week period there are no signs of them recovering, the machines are switched off."

"New Futility Case -- Ashley Callie"

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[8mmMauser]

[8mmMauser]

Out of ashes and darkness, something good is born...

Thread by wagglebee.

Aurora, IL (LifeNews.com) -- With Planned Parenthood having built a massive new abortion center in Aurora, Illinois and the zoning board ruling against pro-life advocates trying to stop it, there hasn't been much in the way of good news from this city. However, new reports indicate a former abortion center has been turned into a pre-natal clinic helping women.

Dr. Gustavo Sanchez received significant support at last week's zoning meeting for his plan to move his OBGYN practice to 523 W. Galena Blvd................

Former Illinois Abortion Center Will Become Pre-Natal Clinic Helping Women

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[8mmMauser]

How to make the devil beam with pride! It is really, really hard to top the slaughter of tens of millions of innocent humans, as a lifetime achievement. Thread by wagglebee.

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

Sarah Weddington will forever be known as the lead attorney in the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that allowed virtually unlimited abortions. As she prepares for a speaking engagement in Canada, she told a newspaper that nothing in her legal career tops her involvement in that decision.

Weddington was only 26-years-old when she went to the Supreme Court in 1971 to argue the case that would eventually topple pro-life laws nationwide two years later.

She tells the Vancouver Sun newspaper that, decades later, she can find nothing in her career or life that she realizes she will be remembered for nothing more than her involvement in that case.

"There were some years when I thought, 'How will I trump Roe vs. Wade?' I have finally made peace with the fact that I will never trump it," she said............

Roe v. Wade Lawyer Says Best Accomplishment is Getting Legal Abortions

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[8mmMauser]

Tiller the Killer receives help from his Supremes his victims could never get...

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

The Kansas Supreme Court has stalled a Wichita grand jury's subpoena of abortion records from the Kansas Attorney General's Office.

By an order this afternoon, the high court said the attorney general's concerns over patient privacy were similar to the issues raised by lawyers for Wichita abortion provider George Tiller..........

Kansas Supreme Court stalls subpoena of Tiller abortion records

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[Dante3]

Good question.

[Lesforlife]

“We shall not be silent- we are your bad conscience. The white rose will not leave you in peace!”

Do any of the rest of you fellow warriors worry, like I do, that these
beasts have no conscience remaining??

[Lesforlife]

As an example, this article illustrates beautifully what I
fear is a growing mind set in the U.S.

http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/02/20/abortionist-happy-to-kill-free-of-all-moral-concern/

[mtbopfuyn]

Happened to run across this song written for Terri. Apparently another person who believes.

http://www.geocities.com/midisandy/tearsforterri.html

[Sun]

“Why are they always forgotten? What about their liberty?”

Guess it’s because they can’t speak for themselves - at least many of them can’t.

[Sun]

FYI: Many of you may have received this from the Terri Schindler Schiavo foundation via e-mail:

“February 20, 2008

In Need of Your Help

We release this emergency request on behalf of Geraldine Hayes, a patient in Volusia
County in Florida.

Geraldine has been in the hospital since August 2007. Her family has been working
feverishly for months to get her transferred to another hospital.

We are hoping this alert will find an attorney who can help Geraldine to obtain a
transfer to another medical facility.

Please - this is an emergency request. If you or someone you know is a practicing
attorney in the state of Florida and can help Geraldine and her family, contact
Terri’s Foundation at: info@terrisfight.org or call (727) 490-7603.”

[8mmMauser]

Thanks for posting the newsletter notice. I did a search on Geraldine Hayes in the news and came up blank. These are the cases that bother me, the ones not making it to the media. Glad the Schindlers found out.

[8mmMauser]

Thanks. Thanks to Sandra Bradley for composing it. The lyrics have accompanying music, piano.

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

Terri's been sacrificed
   for someone's lust.
She's been regarded as
   lower than the dust.

What is the reason for
   laws so unjust?
I cannot overcome
   feelings of disgust.
Would they have let her live
   if she could chew?
When will the heartless courts be
   coming after you?

Our soldiers know about
   what's going on.
It must be hard for them,
   far away from home
To fight for human rights
   judges deny.
How long can soldiers fight
   watching Terri die?

Let us not forget
what our courts have said:
'She needs special care;
she might as well be dead.'

We will not forget you, Terri.
We'll remember what you die for!

Tears For Terri

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"We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest."

[8mmMauser]

More about Sam Golubchuk...

It appears this morning in Winnipeg.

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

Terri Schiavo supporters walk with a banner in front of her hospice shortly before her death. The Samuel Golubchuk case in Manitoba raises many of the same issues debated in the U.S. around Terri Schiavo's treatment. (Tim Boyles/Getty Images)

Samuel Golubchuk can't talk and barely moves, but he is forcing a legal battle that some experts say hits on our most fundamental right to life.

On one side of the debate are doctors at Winnipeg's Grace Hospital who say 84-year-old Golubchuk has minimal brain activity and should be taken off life support.

Arguing against this are Golubchuk's son, Percy Golubchuk, and daughter, Miriam Geller, who say they have seen improvement in their father and that he responds to their presence. They want him kept alive.

The family's lawyer, Neil Kravetsky, told The Epoch Times that when doctors first informed the Jewish family their father would be taken off life support, they requested a delay until after the Sabbath. This allowed them time to get a court injunction to stop the removal. Also weighing in on the debate is the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba. The professional organization recently released a policy for its members on when and how they should withhold life-saving treatments.

The policy gives doctors the sole right to decide when patients should be taken off life-support. While the policy directs doctors to consult the family, it says doctors can decide independently after consulting with one other physician if the family disagrees with them. In some cases doctors have to give the family four days notice; in others, treatment may be stopped immediately...................................................

Manitoba Life-Support Case Prompts Ethical Debate

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[8mmMauser]

A different perspective is pushed by Paula Arab in Calgary. Here we listen to the chirping of bioethics. She appears to need a little help in understanding the sanctity of life. Perhaps if she wanders into any church, someone may enlighten her.

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

But much heartache could be avoided if loved ones talk to each other ahead of time about end-of-life issues. The best time for those conversations is when one is still healthy and robust and when death isn't imminent.

The Alberta government encourages all adults to fill out personal directives, as "the law in Alberta does not allow another person to automatically make decisions for another."

Making one's wishes known through a personal directive is a good place to start, but by itself isn't enough. People should ask a partner, child or sibling to be their agent, choosing someone who understands their values and knows what choices they would want made under difficult circumstances.

Life is messy and emotional. We may think we know what we value, yet it isn't always a simple answer.

~Snip~

The Golubchuk children must decide whose needs they're meeting by keeping their father artificially alive, his or their own?

Life and death decisions are played out every day in hospitals across Canada, often with great sorrow..............

End-of-life discussions best dealt with when robust

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[8mmMauser]

I plucked this from the middle of a lengthy piece from (hem...) Evolution News & Views.

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

..........................When they examined her fMRI responses, they found that her fMRI patterns were identical to those of the normal awake volunteers. By fMRI criteria, she understood. In fact, by fMRI critera, she was as conscious as the normal volunteers. Her brain was massively damaged, to the extent that she had been diagnosed as having no mind at all. Yet the blood flow and metabolism patterns in her brain were those of a normal person. And just like normal people, she showed different fMRI responses to nonsense words. So she not only heard what was said to her, but she understood, and complied with the researchers’ requests to think about specific activities like playing tennis and walking across a room.

Owen’s study generated enormous interest among researchers, physicians and the public, not only for its implications for diagnosis of persistent vegetative state (e.g. the implications for the Terri Schiavo case), but because of what it suggests about deeper questions about the relationship between the mind and the brain. Many other studies of fMRI in patients in persistent vegetative state are underway, and several studies recently completed with other patients tend to support Owen’s findings.

From a scientific standpoint, Owen’s study is important for three reasons. The first is obvious; the last two are more subtle, but very important:

1) Owen’s study demonstrates that normal consciousness might be present in some patients who have met the clinical criteria for persistent vegetative state, which is defined as a state lacking consciousness.
2) It demonstrates that methods of assessing brain state and function (e.g., MRI, EEG, clinical examination, fMRI) can differ profoundly in their assessment of consciousness.
3) It demonstrates that an indirect assessment of brain function (fMRI, which measures regional blood flow and brain metabolism), may reveal evidence for consciousness when more direct methods (clinical examination, EEG) fail to detect consciousness...............................

Proving Dr. Novella Wrong: Enjoying Tennis in a Persistent Vegetative State

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[8mmMauser]

Regrettably we can only excerpt and link from the Chicago Tribune, as I would love to post each and every word. It is all about Judgie Greer doing a career shift into a new bent, less lethal, but something he is sure to enjoy, divorce cases.

He is looking to tiptoe quietly out the back door and into the shadows before anyone notices, I bet. Not so fast there, Georgie Porgie, some of us remember and will not forget.

Well, here is an excerpt and I recommend going to the link.

Three years later, the death threats have tapered off. No one in Congress has called him a murderer of late. To the best of his knowledge, the current governor of Florida isn't mad at him.

~Snip~

His transfer from probate/guardianship court to family court should allow Greer, 65, to serve the next three years in peaceful obscurity before his planned retirement.

Nothing compares to the literal loss of a life that occurred at the end of the five-year Terri Schiavo struggle in Greer's court, but divorce cases are, in their own terrible ways, rife with life and death issues............

Terry Schiavo judge handles divorce cases

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