Posted on 02/01/2008 2:51:57 PM PST by 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.
Ping!
wonder if there was a “father”/husband? who has the child? Guessing there is no husband as he isn’t part of the struggle to control.
Another sad situation
thanks for thread
After the whole world watched the courts mandate the slow starvation of Terri, how can this mother allow that to happen to her child? It has not even been a year since this event happened to Lauren. There is no living will so we have only her mother’s word that Lauren said she would not want to live in this situation. IMO, we should always err on the side of life because God is in control and miracles happen EVERY day. God bless this earthly father for trying to protect the life of his little girl!
Ping
Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
Be prepared to hear that she is a heroin addict and therefore “doesn’t deserve” to live.
If you don't see the link, I've re-posted it here.
This is a beautiful girl. She is only brain damaged, not a "vegetable" (whatever that's supposed to mean). She looks like many other brain damaged patients I've seen -- who did slowly recover.
I can't believe we have sunk so low as to allow execution of persons who are merely disabled.
It means that those who would take her life need to peremptorily declare her a "non-human" so as to assuage any guilt they may have about killing her.
May God bring healing to the entire family.
Oh, it’s already taking place on the DelawareOnline.com forums.
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=60010
Laura’s mother has the child.
We will not be silent.
Thanks. Sometimes my links work and sometimes they just sit there.
If the argument didn’t fly in Florida, I have a hard time believing it will fare any better in Delaware.
Which argument?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
