Let Lauren Live!

Death lovers whittle at the candle of life from both ends. Our Catholic Bishops have their say. Thread by Coleus.

The Roman Catholic Church has been unwavering in its opposition to embryonic stem cell research, but the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops put it in writing over the weekend during a semi-annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. The seven-page document, which passed by a vote of 191 to 1, is the first formal statement regarding embryonic stem cell research released by the bishops. "It is the church's belief that it is wrong to kill a life to prolong another life," said the Most Rev. Curtis J. Guillory, bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont. "It is wrong to abort fetuses for their stem cells."

Embryonic stem cells are developed from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro or in a laboratory, according to the National Institutes of Health. Many scientists believe that embryonic stem cell research might eventually lead to therapies that could be used to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and heart disease. The statement from the U.S. Catholic bishops, however, blasts stem cell research.....

Bishops' document blasts embryonic stem cell research

8mm

I should have known wagglebee would be on top of this story, and posted it above before checking. That is why it is important to have at least two cups of coffee before starting posts.

Yep, you need to check my pings before posting! And best make your own coffee because if you rely on BB to make it you'll never get it, she has owed me an omelet for almost a year! (In the interests of full disclosure, she did offer me a Chicom omelet, but I told her that pets are not part of my diet!)

Sam Golubchuk update...

With support coming in as the story grows about the killer team tantrum, we had to expect someone to weigh in on the side of the killers. Naturally it had to come from someone in exalted intellectual station, one who finds amazing complexity in simple applications of good and bad. Here we have an intellectual discovering gold-like specks in the fading argument offered by the Texas Futile Care law. Here, too, the intellectual is struggling with the differences between futile care and futile life.

The dilemma of such elites is they are surrounded by equally astoundingly brilliant colleagues and alas have no associates of simple mind in range to explain the simple to them.

University of Toronto -- By declaring that patient choice is paramount, Tom Koch oversimplifies the ethical principles at stake in the case of Samuel Golubchuk (Doctors, Religion And Law - letters, June 19). There is at least one competing principle he ignores - medical futility.

Do family members have the right to demand treatment that will be of no therapeutic benefit to the patient? Are doctors obliged to provide such treatment?

Hard cases in bioethics are those in which equally reasonable principles conflict. This is one of them.

Medical futility is a principle, too

8mm

Wesley J. Smith tells of an irony down under. Thanks, Leslie, for the tip.

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

Good news and bad news. An Australian jury has convicted two women who killed an Alzheimer's patient. From the story:

The Sydney jury found Shirley Justins guilty of manslaughter and Caren Jenning guilty of being an accessary to manslaughter for the euthanasia drug death of former Qantas pilot Graeme Wylie...Justins pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting suicide early in the trial, and said Wylie was desperate to die before his dementia got worse. Jenning also told the jury she was motivated by mercy in travelling to Mexico to obtain the Nembutal for Wylie, who was one of her oldest friends.

Normally, such a defense melts hearts and juries--caught up in the "quality of life" ethos of our age--often will not convict. And that brings us to the bad news:

Apparently the women had a financial incentive for the deaths:One week before his overdose, Wylie drew up a new will leaving all but $200,000 of his $2.4 million estate to Justins.

The previous will had left 50 per cent to Justins and split the remaining half evenly between his two daughters, Tania Shakespeare and Nicola Dumbrell. Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC told the jury Justins was motivated by a desire to secure her financial future, and either deliberately killed Wylie or let him take the drug Nembutal and was indifferent to the fatal consequences.

Sadly, I believe that but for this proof, the case might never have been brought.

Predictably, the death on demand advocate Philip Nitschke was appoplectic:

Euthanasia campaigner Phillip Nitschke is advising Alzheimer's sufferers against getting tested for the disease, after two women were convicted over the drug death of a dementia sufferer.

To Nitschke, nothing comes before the euthanasia agenda--not even obtaining proper medical care. Yet, he remains a hero of the international movement and a darling of the Australian media.

Labels: Euthanasia Convictions. Philip Nitschke.

posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 10:44 AM

Australian "Euthanasia" Manslaughter Convictions

8mm

This thread from wagglebee hits home.

When our own son was born, extremely handicapped, we unabashedly and openly trusted our doctors and the medical profession with his life, with ours, never daring to consider questioning the lofty god-like persona of a doctor. That changed. It was nurses who saved the life of our son, and my wife, at that horrible time, not the doctor who would have let both pass.

Years later, and without our permission, while our son was at a facility promising to help his condition, he was rushed to emergency surgery. We found out by chance and rushed in as they prepped our son for emergency surgery to correct an intestinal obstruction, a procedure almost guaranteed to kill our frail son. It took a scream fest, threat of a knuckle sandwich and our pulling the tubes ourselves to remove our son to safety ahead of the gendarmes. We had tried to explain our son was suffering from a mere migraine, something obvious to us, unthinkable to the emergency room surgeon. When the authorities caught up with us, our son, recovered from his migraine, was smiling and happy. This typical incident reflects our wary attitude at times towards those who jostle our lives in their hands as little gods.

On with the story:

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

TORONTO, June 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It has been more than two years since Annie Mary Farlow was born with Trisomy 13, the 3rd or 4th most common chromosomal anomaly in North America. Many Trisomy 13 children die during their first week of age; most do not survive childhood; and only a small percentage reach their teenage years.

Annie's story is not that different from the other countless stories of children with genetic illnesses. She was loved by her family. She died very young - eighty days after her birth - and when she died, her family was devastated. Her death was premature, hastened by doctors who made a series of unilateral decisions without regard to her parents' consent. It is a story that plays out every day, all over the world. The first and second parts are always told. But the third part rarely is.

That is the difference between Annie and so many others with the same condition - Annie's story is being told........................

Annie's Story: The Tragic and Untimely Death of a Girl with Trisomy 13 - PART 1

8mm

BUMP

www.prayforkaren.com (Karen Weber)

We started Annie's story yesterday with a thread from wagglebee. Here is part 2 on wagglebee's thread.

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

Editor's Note: In Part I of Annie's Story (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08061911.html), Bugos told the story of Annie Farlow, a girl who was born with Trisomy 13, and who died at only 80 days of age, devastating her parents and siblings. In Part II Bugos relates the Farlow's experiences, after Annie's passing, with the health-care staff who had cared for their daughter, and the disturbing discoveries they made about the circumstances surrounding their daughter's death.

TORONTO, ON, June 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Farlows tried to focus on funeral arrangements.

"Within days, I sensed that something wasn't right," relates Annie's mother, Barbara Farlow. "I didn't think that the decision-making process was appropriate. How could it be that we were told Annie's trachea was fine and she had pneumonia in the emergency department, and then 24 hours later this diagnosis had been reversed in the ICU? We had been exhausted, and I felt that we had been forced to make a decision in a coercive and inappropriate manner."........

Annie’s Story: The Tragic and Untimely Death of a Girl with Trisomy 13 – PART 2

8mm

This article from WorldNetDaily comes by way of The Passionate Prolifer. hanks, Leslie. It speaks for itself as I ponder whether I would ever wish to return to that place where I grew up and left. Nawwww.... don't think so.

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

WorldNetDaily
State officials have offered a lung cancer patient the option of having the Oregon Health Plan, set up in 1994 to ration health care, pay for an assisted suicide but not for the chemotherapy prescribed by her physician.

The story appears to be a happy ending for Barbara Wagner, who has been notified by a drug manufacturer that it will provide the expensive medication, estimated to cost $4,000 a month, for the first year and then allow her to apply for further treatment, according to a report in the Eugene Register-Guard.

But the word from the state was coverage for palliative care, which would include the state's assisted suicide program, would be allowed but not coverage for the cancer treatment drugs.

"To say to someone, we'll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live, it's cruel," Wagner told the newspaper. "I get angry. Who do they think they are?"

State denies cancer treatment, offers suicide instead 'To say, we'll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live, it's cruel'

8mm

A great peek into the twists of the leftist mind comes in this thread by wagglebee about that case down under.

SYDNEY, June 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Euthanasia provider and activist Dr. Philip Nitschke has released controversial statements that essentially instruct anyone who believes they are suffering from Alzheimer's disease to avoid obtaining a diagnosis in favour of seeking a doctor who can help them commit suicide as quickly as possible. These comments come on the heels of yesterday's New South Wales jury ruling that convicted two women for the "euthanasia" death of a 71-year old Sydney man, Graeme Wylie, in 2006.

As reported by the news service, The Age, Shirley Justins, the wife of Wylie, was convicted of manslaughter for giving him a suicide drug, and Caren Jenning, who journeyed to Mexico to purchase the lethal drug, Nembutal, was convicted as an accessory to manslaughter. Both women, who claimed Wylie wanted to die this way, face up to 25 years in prison and will likely receive their sentences in November.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the trial centred on whether or not Wylie had the mental capacity to choose to be euthanized. Considering that just four months before his death, the husband and father could not recall his birthday or how many children he had and what sex they were, the jury decided Wylie was not able to choose suicide, and therefore convicted Justins and Jenning with manslaughter.....

Euthanasia Provider to Alzheimer's Patients: The Best Remedy is Death

8mm

Lauren Richardson update...

The update is there is no update, no news, nothing. No news is not good news. Somebody please tell me there is news and I just failed to find it.

Governor Minner, will you soon be in the role of making a decision? Should you be and should you decide or decide not to decide, may Our Lord be with you.

Sam Golubchuk update...

Those are legion, they, who support the doctor and staff nursing tantrum because the killers weren't allowed to snuff Mr. Golubchuk yet. Here is that perspective. Maybe they should contact the ObamaNation for a dose of "hope".

The children of Samuel Golubchuk say they're fighting to keep their father alive because only God has the right to decide when he should die. They should follow their own advice. Insisting the 84-year-old stay on life support for eight months -- with the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench not even expected to hear arguments until Sept. 15 -- is cruel and unusual punishment.

Golubchuk's condition has deteriorated to such an extent, three doctors have refused to treat him. They believe doing so will cause the Winnipeg man further suffering. Dr. Anand

Kumar called it "torture," saying Golubchuk's flesh is so badly infected with bedsores, it requires surgeons to hack away to remove them. And, as Dr. Dave Easton wrote in an emotional letter to the Winnipeg Free Press on Tuesday, giving Golubchuk further treatment "would only increase suffering and provide no benefit." He concluded it would violate his oath to do no harm.....

Nature should take its course

8mm

Sam Golubchuk update, more...

We have one more example of the technique that it is all about money, that "futile" means the life itself and not simply the care.

............As a result, the city's Health Sciences Centre - the city's biggest trauma centre - was recently forced to transfer two intensive care nurses with "specialized skills" to the Grace intensive care unit. Multiple sources who did not want to be identified told the Winnipeg Free Press the nurses were sent to the Grace so Golubchuk could have dialysis needed to keep him alive.

Experts say patients such as Golubchuk, who are in a minimally conscious state, can still feel pain - and they can't receive as much pain-relieving medication if they are on dialysis.

Already, three of the Grace's critical-care doctors have refused to treat Golubchuk, saying to do so would only prolong his suffering, an ethical line they say they won't cross.....

Winnipeg hospitals divert key resources to care for dying man

8mm

Drying up in the Desert Sun, California...

We know what happened since the latest epidemic of RINOvirus shattering the once proud GOP. Well, guess who moderates blame for all this!! Swallowing the huge chunk of leftist propaganda bait, these wimpmasters blame the Terri Legacy again. Taking the propaganda lead that decent Americans wanted innocent lives killed, and that any who would try to save those innocent lives should be abhorred, these night lights accept it without a discernible wince.

Sure, it was done in the name of Homeland Security, but the warrant (judge approved) variety of wiretapping wasn't broken, and the new program begs for abuse. Why aren't Republicans protecting Fourth Amendment rights?

Consider Terri Schiavo and the blurring of the line between church and state. Republicans gladly interfered in private lives. And they authorized billions of dollars in federal grant money to churches and religious groups, some of which used the money to proselytize. Legal scholars can debate whether Bush's Faith-Based Initiative violates the First Amendment, but there's little doubt Republicans bought conservative Christian votes with federal money....

GOP needs to get back its integrity and honesty

8mm

UP AND RUNNING TODAY FOR KAREN WEBER STUCK IN A WEST PALM BEACH NURSING HOME BUT RX TO HOSPICE ALREADY WRITTEN TO HER HINO. She knows what’s going on can do nods for yes and CRIES for no’s but a panel is going to decide what she knows and their decision might kill her. The doctor who wrote the script should be investigated.

http://www.prayforkaren.com/

Don’t they have special beds in Canada or don’t they clean or turn Mr. G? If hospice can come up w/beds to prevent bed sores, why can’t CANADA?

You bumped the mark of the beast. Someone had to.

If this euthanasia scramble gets any busier, we'll need a table to keep track of all the pending lives on the line. I can't do it w/my stupid computer but we may need a table in jpeg form that can be updated.

Freepmail me re: graphics so it's respectful and attractive (should Terri's Legacy listers be interested in taking this up). This is just a suggestion. Thanks, FV

Alive today so far, in spite of a system that would see them dead:

Haleigh Poutre

Karen Weber

Lauren Richardson

Samuel Golubchuk

The few remaining survivors of Hitler's death camps...

A few abortion survivors...

Let’s not forget they system is actively pursuing
their deaths!