[8mmMauser]

Lauren Richrdson update...

Lauren again, with observations by Professor Pope. Thanks, Leslie, for the tip.

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The House of Representatives in my new state of employment, Delaware, passed a Resolution last week, resolving that "it is against the public policy of this State and this State’s interest in life, health and safety, for hydration and nutrition that is not harming a patient to be involuntarily removed from a non-terminal, apparently brain-incapacitated patient if doing so will cause the individual’s death."

House Resolution 75 finds that it is

becoming increasingly apparent that the diagnosis of “persistent vegetative state” or “PVS” is a category that recent science shows is far more uncertain and overly broad than had been previously thought, including a high rate of misdiagnoses of PVS patients who have not been able to exhibit responses, but whose consciousness can now sometimes be measured with medical advances such as neuroimaging and drug treatment.

Consequently, consistent with recent amendments to health care decisions acts in other states, the Resolution requires the patient herself either to have directed the removal of ANH or to have appointed an agent who directs the removal.

While the Resolution probably has no legal force, the House specifically mentioned in the Resolution that "[t]he impetus for this Resolution comes from the case of Lauren Richardson, a 24-year-old Delaware woman who, after suffering brain injuries and impaired consciousness, now faces the possible removal of her nutrition and hydration, despite the absence of her clearly specified and legal consent to any such a course of action."

Let's hope that the Delaware Legislature does not attempt to redirect the course or outcome of an already-adjudicated court dispute.

Posted by Thaddeus Mason Pope at 4:49 PM

Labels: ANH, Lauren Richardson, PVS

Delaware: Do Not Repeat the Mistakes of Schiavo

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[8mmMauser]

More on Lauren...

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The Delaware House of Representatives passed a resolution last week establishing protections for mentally disabled individuals.

The legislative support comes as Randy Richardson is trying to protect his disabled daughter from having her feeding tube removed.

Lauren Richardson was three months pregnant when she suffered brain injuries in 2006. She breathes on her own, and her dad said she is aware of her surroundings, moves and feels pain.

But a Delaware court has given custody to Lauren’s mother, Edith Towers, who wants the feeding tube removed.

“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," Randy Richardson wrote on the family's blog.

He is calling on the governor to save Lauren from an expected court order dictating her death.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit our Issue Analysis Web site.

Good News: Delaware House Adds Protections for Disabled

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[wagglebee]

becoming increasingly apparent that the diagnosis of “persistent vegetative state” or “PVS” is a category that recent science shows is far more uncertain and overly broad than had been previously thought, including a high rate of misdiagnoses of PVS patients who have not been able to exhibit responses,

Physicians HATE not being able to give a diagnosis, so they will generally apply a "catch all" term for conditions they can't identify.

Twenty five years ago my appendix ruptured; however, it had encapsulated so the doctor didn't think I had an appendicitis. I was diagnosed with "gastroenteritis" which essentially means a gastrointestinal problem. Luckily for me, my condition continued to get worse and the doctor ordered another x-ray, otherwise I would have been dead from peritonitis.