Let Lauren Live!

ChristtheKingMaine ^ | May 7, 2008 | Judie Brown

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LAUREN RICHARDSON - YOU CAN HELP!
By Judie Brown

It has been a source of ongoing sadness to read of the difficulties Lauren Richardson’s father has had over the course of the past several months. For those of you who are not familiar with her case, Lauren overdosed on heroin on August 28, 2006. She suffered oxygen deprivation and, as a result of the overdose, is now in a coma and unable to speak out for herself. At the time of the overdose, Lauren was expecting a baby. Her parents honored what they knew would have been her wish and did all they could to keep her healthy and comfortable until the child was born. Today, though Lauren may not be aware of it, she is the mother of Ember Grace, who was born in February 2007.

Since the birth of her daughter, Lauren remains unable to speak of her concerns, but she has a loving father who is doing all he can to protect her from suffering the same fate as Terri Schiavo. However, Lauren’s mother, who has been named her legal guardian, is sadly not of the same opinion and is working with attorneys to pressure the courts to permit Lauren’s starvation.

Lauren’s father has kept hope alive, even at times when there appeared to be no hope in human terms. Lauren’s father is a man of hope in Christ and is dedicated to spending every breath he has on defending Lauren, regardless of what it might cost him in physical exhaustion and worldly goods. The most recent update for those concerned about Lauren tells us the following:

We struggle at times as we seek to share with the public the details of what is happening with Lauren because of the disagreement we have with Lauren’s mother. We cannot understand her reasoning in refusing a path of hope, healing and restoration for Lauren and insisting on causing her death by withholding food and water from her. The issue in Lauren’s case is the eternal truth that all people, no matter what their medical condition, bear the image of God and deserve basic care and an opportunity to be restored to health.

Bobby Schindler, Terri Schiavo’s brother, has written about Lauren in an editorial earlier this year, "False Compassion," and is working closely with Lauren’s father in order to provide expertise that he is uniquely qualified to share during a trying time like this.

There are many links on the Life for Lauren web site that will assist you in tracking this case and learning who is supporting Lauren’s ongoing care and who is opposing it. More importantly, there is something you can do to express your concerns.

ACTION NEEDED NOW

The governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner, is being asked by pro-life Americans across this nation to intervene in this case in order to save Lauren from what many fear is an imminent court order dictating that Lauren be starved and dehydrated to death. I am asking you to be one of those who communicates your passionate belief that Lauren’s life is sacred and deserves to be protected from those who would order her death. The governor’s e-mail address is governor.minner@state.de.us.

Further, it would mean a great deal to Lauren’s father, Randy, if you sent him a copy of your e-mail to Governor Ruth Ann Minner. Randy’s e-mail address is Lifeforlauren@aol.com. 

During a recent visit to Anchorage, Alaska where Bobby Schindler was invited to speak, he told a reporter from The Catholic Anchor, "Once we accept that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering, we lose any type of parameters. Euthanasia is a form of abandonment. It is not compassion."

Truer words were never spoken. As I frequently tell people who argue that we pro-lifers are being heartless and cruel for fighting to defend the rights of a "hopeless case," "God is the author of every human being’s life, and He has never given permission to a single one of us to arbitrarily rob another human being of life for any reason including disability or illness."

As Flannery O’Connor once wrote on the subject of false compassion, "In the absence of faith, we govern by tenderness. And tenderness leads to the gas chamber."

Lauren Richardson is not terminal – she is severely disabled. Lauren Richardson should not be murdered.

Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

[floriduh voter]

THIS IS PURE BUNK:

"During the seven years before Schiavo died, her parents, who opposed having the feeding tube removed, garnered the support of U.S. President George W. Bush. W: Huh?"

[floriduh voter]

Obama spoke at the Latin civic leaders mtg today in DC. NOW he talks to them re: "us v. them". So, now Obama's Latino too????? We are them, typical ones.

Obama cannot bring unity when he panders pitting race against race. He did that today and he cannot take it back.

[floriduh voter]

ODD: Jesse’s Law stands in Arizona but Terri’s Law was declared unconstitutional by BUZZARDS in black robes. It really matters what state you become vulnerable in.

[Sun]

“Obama spoke at the Latin civic leaders mtg today in DC. NOW he talks to them re: “us v. them”. So, now Obama’s Latino too????? We are them, typical ones.”

My husband was telling me that there was a pro-life Hispanic group demonstrating against Obama.

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We might have expected the episode of Sam Golubchuk's fate to die down now that he passed on. But nope. His case touched on fundamentals that fuel the controversy, nay, the battle of pro-life against pro-lie.

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By the time Samuel Golubchuk got his 15 minutes of fame, he could no longer enjoy it. For last February, when his case became headline news, he was in a coma. Having been on life support since the previous November, the doctors now wanted to disconnect the machines. His Orthodox Jewish family objected because they deemed it to be contrary to his and their religious convictions. They went to court and the judge ruled in their favour.

From the point of view of Jewish tradition, viewed in the abstract, they had a case. Judaism forbids humans to play God, however urgent the cause. Life, it's argued, is qualitative not quantitative – you're either alive or you're dead. Therefore, it's improper to assert, as the doctors at the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg seem to have done, that as Golubchuk only had minimal brain functions with no prospect of recovery, treatment should be discontinued, even though in some sense he was still alive.

His death last week while on life support has removed reported tensions at the hospital, where some doctors threatened to leave in frustration. However, the larger issue remains relevant.

In a recent radio interview, Dr. James Orbinsky, one of Canada's great humanitarians, said that when he began work with Doctors Without Borders, he found himself in an African country, one of many where the organization has been saving lives. Standing outside the medical tent, he saw movement in the adjacent tent set aside as a morgue. When he went to investigate, he discovered a man alive on top of a heap of bodies.

Those who worked in the medical tent were angry that he brought the man for treatment. They argued that as he would die soon, it was a waste of resources to look after him. Were the doctors in Winnipeg of similar mind?

As an advocate of the rights of the disabled, I know that this may have been the case. An ostensibly prudent attitude may herald the beginning of a slippery slope that would allow authorities to determine that those too costly to treat or too cumbersome to handle should be put out to die. Fearing state-sponsored euthanasia under another name, my friend applauded the judge who ordered the Winnipeg hospital to continue treatment...............

Hard choices in sustaining a human life

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Another view on the case of Sam Golubchuk...

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To everything, says the writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is season -- a time to be born, and a time to die.

The part about being born is fine for most of us; we can talk about that. But dying? That's something we're not as comfortable discussing, whether it's our own death of the deaths of loved ones. Which is why the recent debate about whether or not Samuel Golubchuk should have been disconnected from live-saving medical technology was so important.

~Snip~

The most conservative authorities "would say that every possible measure must be taken to preserve a life, even in completely hopeless cases where there is no longer any brain activity," he says.

According to Green, Golubchuk's case was not hopeless when he saw him in December, last year. "What I saw was a man who was obviously in rough shape, but who wasn't comatose, and certainly nowhere near brain dead," he says.

Rabbi Avrohom Altein of the Ashkenzai Congregation saw Golubchuk a week before he died. Alteim says that media reports about his condition were "totally distorted," and that Golubchuk did not appear to be in serious pain. "I saw him communicate," he says.

Both men agree that although Golubchuk's children cited their Orthodox Jewish beliefs as a reason for not withdrawing medical care, the issue goes beyond Judaism.

"It's not a Jewish issue," says Altein, noting that clergy from every religion have gone through this with a family. "It affects every person who has a loved one in hospital."

Two years ago Christian author and theologian Stanley Hauerwas was in Winnipeg speaking on the topic of death and dying. Among other things, he noted that our view of death today is very different from the Middle Ages.

Today, most people say they want a quick death. Back then, however, people craved an extended period of dying, something they called a "good death."

"They wanted a lingering death, so they could be ministered to by the church and have time to be reconciled to others and to God," he stated. A disease like cancer "would not have been seen by them as an unmitigated tragedy," he added.

If that's the case, then maybe Samuel Golubchuk received a gift of a good death from his children. And maybe we received a gift of sorts, too -- a gift of being able to ponder a subject we usually avoid talking about altogether.

Thoughts on our final journey Golubchuk case offers chance to ponder subject of death John Longhurst

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I had the privelege of getting to know Brandi Swindell just a bit, traveling with her and Reverend Mahoney to various events during those dark days in Florida. She made an astounding impression on me, a vivacious young lady one could scarcely imagine even involving herself on such activities on first glance. Her passion was sincere and her success already reflected, not as one would expect a desire to promote oneself, but much higher, a drive to battle the evil forces on the front lines. A rare quality indeed....

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Reverend Bryan Fischer, a Parks and Recreation Commissioner filed suit against the city, along with pro-life stalwart Brandi Swindell. The case was thrown out of court and the city asked for court costs from its citizens, and was granted more than $10,000, which they did not attempt to collect for four years.

Fischer, Swindell, and hundreds of grassroots activists stood against the capriciousness of Boise Mayor Dave Bieter for 70 days, until, at the end of the March, the city moved the Monument to a local church. Fischer and Swindell proposed a citizen's initiative to place a new monument in the park. This monument, like the old one, would not be paid for by the city and would also feature Thomas Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom. In the heat of July and August, volunteers worked desperately to collect enough signatures. Many wondered if ragtag volunteers could do it, but they did. The city responded by saying they wouldn't allow a public vote on the legally qualified initiative.

~Snip~

Bryan Fischer and Brandi Swindell are some of those rare counterweights. They fight for conservative values every day.

Ms. Swindell has spent the prime of her life traveling the country trying to get the post-Roe generation involved in the pro-life issue. While many people her age are living out HBO and MTV shows, she's chosen to be a voice for sexual purity and biblical values in a confused time.

She went to Florida to fight for the life of Terri Schiavo. She has stood for traditional values at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. She fought for conservatives to get a fair shake in the selection of speakers at Boise State University rather than being presented a slate full of nothing but liberal speakers.

In recent months, Swindell has appeared in the newspaper far less, because her work has been so positive. Her long time dream has been to do more than activism: to help women in crisis pregnancy situations, and that's just what she's done through her new organization, Stanton Health Care Services. She's personally gotten involved in the lives of these young women.

Through her involvement in the lives of these women, she became a leader in the fight for Idaho's landmark law against coercing women into getting abortions that was opposed by the state's extreme liberals..............

How will you hang?

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From Professor Pope, with thanks to Leslie for the tip...

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Today's Dallas Morning News reports on APPEAL – A Progressive Palliative Care Educational Curriculum for the Care of African-Americans at Life's End, a program developed at Duke University to promote better end-of-life care for African-Americans.

Blacks are more likely than whites to seek aggressive life-support treatments for loved ones facing terminal illness and less comfortable making decisions about withdrawing medical technology. Fewer blacks than whites state personal preferences with tools such as living wills or documents designating who should make their medical decisions when they can't.

Good deaths do not happen enough for African-Americans, because of discrimination, cultural and economic barriers, and lingering distrust of the health-care system. When clinicians tell black families that treatments aren't helping, they often fear they're being cut off for lack of money or insurance.

"You see patients struggling to come to terms," said Dr. Richard Payne, director of Duke University Medical Center's Institute on Care at the End of Life. "Minority families and African-Americans in particular have to cope with thoughts of, 'Would I be in this fix if I had better access to care?' Or, 'Can I trust this system that hasn't treated me very well?' Or, 'Are they treating me well, or is it a cost-saving measure?' Just to acknowledge these questions is a big step."

Posted by Thaddeus Mason Pope at 1:03 PM

Better End-of-Life Care for African-Americans

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Speaking of African-Americans, (That term really unnerves me. I am not a Norwegian-American, just an American, well really, a Native American technically, was born in America...). The left loves to coin these PC words. Back to the topic, we see once again in this thread by wagglebee, the targets of the death enthusiasts. Once again we see the hand of that admirable role model, Dr. Alveda King.

WASHINGTON, June 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., joined African American leaders on Capitol Hill to ask Congress to stop funding Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business.

"The curtain over Planned Parenthood’s racism has been pulled away," said Dr. King. "It's on record as being willing to accept donations to abort only black babies. Congress wouldn't give the public's money to the Klan, it shouldn't give it to Planned Parenthood."....

Congressional Pro-Life Leadership Meets with African American Leaders on Planned Parenthood, Racism

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In this thread by wagglebee, we see more PP on innocent lives.

They are so powerful, they can shrug when their masks are peeled back, confident in their arrogance it doesn't matter.

For talent and treasure, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has no equal in the baby-killing business. And business is booming. PPFA’s budget, as stated in its 2006-2007 annual report, crested the $1 billion mark. Approximately 1/3 of this obscene budget (particularly for a group classified as non-profit) was provided by taxpayers like you and me. For the number crunchers out there, that’s over $336 million in federal, state and local government grants and contracts.

What does one do with $336 million? Well, as a project expands to fill the time allotted, so plans expand to fill the funds allotted—and Planned Parenthood is more than happy to conduct that expansion with your money.......

Business Booming for Abortion Giant

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The infantry of the death industry marches grimly ahead, swarming over any obstacles when it can, in relentless pursuit of darkness. It is illustrated in this thread by Coleus.

In the ten years since Dr. James Thomson at the University of Madison first procured human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), support for the prospect of using human embryos and fetuses for research purposes has gradually seeped into the American mindset to the point at which it is now broadly tolerated, if not openly endorsed, especially in the political arena, in academia, and certainly within the scientific community. [1] As we continue to advance as a nation into the age of developmental biology there is reason to fear that Americans are slowly coming to embrace the idea of submitting one class of our citizenry to a lethal form of biotech serfdom. The class I am talking about, of course, are ex utero human embryos and early stage human fetuses.

How have we gotten to the point now where arguably half of the American population claims to approve of embryo-destructive biomedical research?.......

How America came to accept using human embryos for research

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[Dante3]

Apparently it was just a temp replacement, and there is her radio show. Ir maybe they are watching the ratings, and if she does well they will keep her longer.

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Slippery slope? Imagine if it were greased, too.

The UK tiptoes boldly on roller skates down the paved path on the steep downhill side, trying vainly to roll slowly. Thread by Coleus on softening spines across the sea as socialism secures itself to make it all finally possible for Hitler's original efforts to finally bear dead fruit.

A woman with multiple sclerosis who wants her husband to help her end her life today won a landmark legal review of the law on assisted suicide. Two judges gave Debbie Purdy permission to bring a high court challenge forcing the director of public prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald, to clarify under which circumstances people could be prosecuted for helping their loved ones die.............

Euthanasia: Woman wins right to review of law on assisted suicide

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So we see that amorphous spill of PP struggling to redefine itself with a new mask. Now it teams up with the Gang Green. How cute!

Ken Connor is the one who battled unsuccessfully in Florida to save Terri although his boss, Jeb Bush went limp in our arms at the end. Ping to this thread by wagglebee with the cavaet that the thread attracted a bot fly or so. It is a lively discussion.

Planned Parenthood is in search of a makeover. For years, the organization has been the biggest abortionist in the business, but as abortion is losing its cachet, Planned Parenthood is trying to reinvent itself. It seems that killing children for cash is just not as fashionable as it used to be. According to Stephanie Simon of the Wall Street Journal, Planned Parenthood wants to "[open] new avenues for boosting revenue and, they hope, political clout." The first step in the organization's redo involves marketing itself to customers in a higher income bracket. Planned Parenthood is building new centers with larger waiting areas, wooden floors, nice lighting and other amenities which create a more inviting environment and, presumably, make clients feel less shameful about the act they are contemplating. A new "green" clinic is going up in Massachusetts, made of recycled and earth-friendly materials. "Express centers" are being located in malls so that young women can have quick and easy access to birth control, tests for sexually transmitted diseases and counseling. Gift shops make the centers more appealing to their young clientele.....

Trying to Put Lipstick on a Pig (Planned Parenthood)

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Oh Canada! (bis)

We have another slippery slope just north of humanity's last refuge, America. Thread by wagglebee.

OTTAWA, June 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It has come to the attention of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) that the Governor General intends to bestow the Order of Canada on abortionist Henry Morgentaler on July 1st.

"It is dreadful that this honour should even be considered for a man who's only claim to fame is that he is a professional killer of defenseless babies in their mothers' wombs," said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition. "Those who have received this prestigious medal should return it because it will have been devalued and disgraced," he continued........

Pro-Life Group Appalled that Abortionist Morgentaler Would Even be Considered for Order of Canada

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Fair and balanced look at McCain, through the orbs of PP. Thread by narses. Let me guess. PP will descend on the Obamunist Party instead for endorsement.

McCain has voted consistently against women's health, and he supports overturning the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade. These positions will make it difficult for him to win over moderate pro-choice voters in the general election.....

Anti-Choice McCain in His Own Words (From Planned Parenthood)

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Upthread, I posted the thread by Coleus on an effort in the UK to facilitate the job of the death enthusiasts. Interesting here, is that Adult Stem Cell research (Not "embryonic!) augurs against their main excuse. Topic continued in this thread by Coleus.

NICE, France: In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation elicited high response rates and improved quality of life for up to 6 years. The results of the study were presented here at the 18th Meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS) by Tatiana Ionova, MD, PhD, Department of Haematology, Pirogov National Medical Surgical Center, Moscow, Russia.

During the last decade, high-dose immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been used with increasing frequency as a therapeutic option for patients with MS. "The aim of the study was to assess the clinical and patient-reported outcomes in patients who underwent early, conventional, and late transplantation," explained Dr. Ionova in a poster session on June 10. Fifty-six patients with all types of MS (primary progressive, secondary progressive, progressive relapsing, relapsing remitting) were included. Their mean age was 32.0 years (range 17-51). Median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score at baseline was 6.0, the mean follow-up duration 18 months (range 6-84 months)......

Human Patients Treated for MS With Adult Stem Cells

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[mondoreb]

No problemos! "It's the thought that counts".

[8mmMauser]

Shades of Haleigh Poutre...

It is about the baby whose dad accidentally rolled over her in bed. the DSS who pronounced Haleigh worthy of death are at it again. They sought to have the life support removed and the Judge agrees. It isn't explained what life support is to be removed however as the poor kid is expected to linger on a bit.

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WORCESTER— A Worcester Juvenile Court judge yesterday authorized removal of life support from a 2-month-old girl whose father apparently accidentally rolled over her while they were asleep in a bed, a state official said yesterday.

The judge also authorized a “do not resuscitate” order for the child, according to Alison R. Goodwin, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services. Police said the baby was in “very grave condition” in UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus.

DSS described Avianna, daughter of David Letourneau and Sarah Elliott of 208 Pilgrim Ave., as being “in an irreversible coma from which officials involved said she will not recover.”
Ms. Goodwin described a series of steps that were taken before the Juvenile Court ruled on Avianna’s case yesterday afternoon. She said that DSS urged removal of life support “based on recommendations made by expert medical professionals and with the support of her parents.”

The department followed a protocol requiring a recommendation from the treating physician, from the ethics committee of that doctor’s hospital, and a second opinion from a physician from a different facility in Worcester and who was not involved in Avianna’s treatment, Ms. Goodwin said.

“The court heard testimony from six expert medical professionals who all concurred with the recommendation to withdraw” sustaining medical support and issue a “do not resuscitate” order, she said. One of the experts is the infant’s guardian ad litem who is both a lawyer and a nurse, Ms. Goodwin said.

It was unclear how long the baby can survive without life support, but Ms. Goodwin said her death is not expected to be immediate.

The case recalls that of Haleigh Poutre, an 11-year-old girl who nearly died from alleged child abuse in 2005 in Westfield. DSS advocated for removing Haleigh from life support after she was diagnosed as being in an “irreversible vegetative state.”...........

Judge OKs removal of life support

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More on how it all happened, one account so far...

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When police responded to a frantic 911 call from the mother of an infant who had stopped breathing, they were shocked by what they found at 208 Pilgrim Ave.

Trash was strewn knee-deep in places throughout the second-floor apartment. Food rotted in the warm refrigerator. There was no electricity in the home, but an extension cord snaked down from the third floor — to a fan and a laptop computer.

The tragic tale of baby Avianna has been disseminated exhaustively by the grieving but online-obsessed mother, Sarah Elliott, who has posted detailed updates on her MySpace page and other Web sites since the baby’s father accidentally rolled over on the 2-month-old infant and rendered her brain-dead.

“I CANT STOP CRYING WE HAD A LIL ACCIDENT WHERE DAVE FELL ASLEEP WHILE FEEDIN THE BABY AND I WENT TO CHECK ON HER N COULDNT FIND HER,” Ms. Elliot wrote June 11, the day after the accident. “I FLIPPED AND STARTING SCREAMIN AND THREW DAVE OFF THE BED N THERE SHE WAS LIMP N BLUE N NOT BREATHING SO I PICKED HER UP N CALLED 911.”

The accident occurred during last month’s heat wave, when the baby’s parents were in bed with the infant and their 2-year-old child was sleeping on a pile of clothes next to the bed, while a window fan in the room provided some relief.

Police say that the baby’s father, David Letourneau, exhausted from his factory job, unknowingly rolled over on the baby about 5:40 p.m. But a more detailed account was provided by Ms. Elliott, who was apparently posting on a “motherhood” Web site when her infant was crushed:

“IT ALL STARTED WHEN DAVE CAME HOME FROM WORK. I NEEDED 5 MINUTES 2 MYSELF TO PEE N CHECK ON HERE SO I GAVE THE BOTTLE TO DAVE AND MASON WAS GETTING TIRED SO HE WENT TO LAY DOWN TOO. I CAME ON HERE AND AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF COMPLETE SILENCE I GOT WORRIED AND WENT TO CHECK ON THEM. I GET IN THERE AND SEE DAVE N MASON BUT AVIE IS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. SO I START SCREAMING AND THROW DAVE ON THE FLOOR THERE SHE IS PALE AND BLUE LIPS. SO I PICKED HER UP AND SHE WASNT BREATHIN, HANDED HER TO DAVE AND CALLED 911.”

Ms. Elliott also described the reaction of police:

“THATS WHEN THE COPS BUSTED IN THE HOUSE SCREAMIN AT US ONE PUSHED ME ON THE FLOOR. TELLING US THE HOUSE WAS UNLIVABLE N THEN THEY GRABBED MASON SAYING HE WAS LATHARGIC AND DEHYDRATED EVEN THO HE HAD ABOTTLE OF WATER EVER HALF HOUR N HE WAS SLEEPIN FOR GOD SAKES. THEN WE SPENT THE NEXT 6 HOURS AT THE STATION BEING QUESTIONED N TREATED LIKE (expletive).”

The day before the accident, another 911 call was made to police. This time, a caller reported that a man later identified as Mr. Letourneau was asleep in a Toyota in a parking lot at CVS on Grafton Street, while two young children screamed and cried in the back seat.

“There was no indication that drugs or alcohol was involved,” said Capt. Edward J. McGinn Jr. Of the parents, he said, “We didn’t find them to be overtly abusive. At minimum, there are misguided priorities here. Why have the computer running instead of the refrigerator? That’s appalling. I don’t want to vilify this woman, but something isn’t quite right. Why let your children live like this?”

The state Department of Social Services has taken custody of the children, and the Worcester Juvenile Court issued a ruling yesterday to discontinue life support for the infant. The child has been in an irreversible coma, according to a DSS spokeswoman.

When contacted by phone last week, Ms. Elliott said her lawyer told her not to speak with the media. But she apparently feels no such restrictions online, where she’s posted extensive updates and responded to those who offer support.

On her MySpace page, she posted a picture of her baby with a halo around her head and floating in clouds. She posted a picture of Mr. Letourneau feeding a bottle to Avianna, who is lying flat on her back in bed. Her posts are replete with graphics such as yellow “smiley faces” crying or wearing frowns. She provides links to newspaper stories and a plaintive song on YouTube called “How Could This Happen to Me?” Her mood, she notes, is “melancholy.”

By most accounts, the parents of this doomed little girl love their children and were perhaps unaware of the potential danger of sleeping with an infant. But the condition of the apartment and the mother’s fixation on the Internet raise troubling questions about their limitations — and whether more could have been done to avert the tragedy.

“There has to be a better safety net out there,” Capt. McGinn said. “How is it that these folks slipped through? They needed help. It seems like the mother may have been seeking help, but you don’t go looking on the Internet.”

‘Melancholy’ mom, hubby asleep on job

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