I pray that this family changes their minds about this. A Texas judge has ordered a hospital to remove the life support of a brain-dead woman being kept alive because she is pregnant.
Judge RH Wallace gave John Peter Smith Hospital until Monday evening to cease life-saving measures for Marlise Munoz, according to the BBC.
Munoz was 14 weeks pregnant when she suffered from a blood clot in November. Since she went on life support, the family has been pushing for her to be removed from life support.
The hospital said that under state law they couldn’t do it because Texas state law prohibits denying life-saving treatment to pregnant patients. But now a judge just ordered her off life support. The hospital will not appeal. So there seems to be nobody left to fight for this baby who is now reportedly at 22 weeks.
I don’t know whether they plan on attempting to help the unborn child when they remove life support.
Only prayers can help now.
There are reportedly scores of people who have already volunteered to adopt this child.
January 26, 2014 at 1:55 am
Does Texas law not apply to the judge?
January 26, 2014 at 2:20 am
People Are being asked to contact the hospital to plead for the baby's life.
January 26, 2014 at 2:44 pm
Go ahead, pray. Cuz that always accomplishes stuff.
January 26, 2014 at 8:13 pm
The issue is that the patient is brain dead, which is DEAD, and therefore can't be pregnant. The removal of artificial respiration simply allows her family to grieve, instead of waiting for the results of this experiment on her to end.
January 26, 2014 at 8:13 pm
The issue is that the patient is brain dead, which is DEAD, and therefore can't be pregnant. The removal of artificial respiration simply allows her family to grieve, instead of waiting for the results of this experiment on her to end.
January 26, 2014 at 9:26 pm
There is only one death, when there is no breathing, heartbeat and this becomes irreversible and rigor mortis develops.
January 26, 2014 at 8:42 pm
To the Li'l Heart,
As you have been rejected by your earthly parents who have abdicated their earthly rights over you and have condemned you to death, I now appeal to the Blessed Trinity to spiritually adopt you. Since you are now in danger of imminent death, I now, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit claim you as a spiritually adopted child.
So that you will know a human mothers live, I consecrate you to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts.
As your spiritaul mother:
I promise to love you as you are.
I promise to pray for you as one of my own children and continue to advocate to heaven on your behalf.
I promise to continue to pray for your earthly parents conversion.
I name you Mary Grace Li'l Heart. Whose li'l heart of kept beating with a will to live despite everything that happened to you.
As your loving mother, I grieve your death. Please don't be afraid. You not alone, I am sending the Blessed Mother, Gemma and the guardian angels to keep you and your other mother company.
I ask for forgiveness for your earthly parents and pray for their conversion in Jesus name.
Mary Grace Li'l Heart, I love you! 😉
January 27, 2014 at 12:14 am
The patient is dead. She is not breathing (a machine is breathing for her) (no spontaneous respirations). When the vent is turned off, her heart will stop in a few minutes. This is not life support, because she is dead; the law in question pertains specifically to life support.
I'm a pro-life Catholic. My information comes from a pro-life Catholic critical care physician. It frightens me that some hospitals and some doctors have trouble understanding the law regarding brain death. The doctor who declared this patient brain dead should have turned off the ventilator (and this family and the patient wouldn't be going through this terrible ordeal now).
January 27, 2014 at 12:53 am
On the contrary, "brain death" is used or rather misused to cover different levels of brain functioning of a live person. This very vague term is used to develop criteria for harvesting organs from persons who are living.
January 27, 2014 at 12:26 am
I'm afraid my comment sounded terse or brusque. I was just trying to be brief. My heart breaks for this family…
January 27, 2014 at 1:05 am
By the way,
Man has done a pretty good job of screwing up everything God has done. It is pretty clear that the separation of soul from body is when there is no more chemical processes and sub cellular exchange of O2 for homeostatic maintenance.
So now were being told that the soul leaves the body when the brain is assessed as non functional, and declared "dead"?
Humans don't navigate and determine life well, and they screw up death, even worse.
"Last breath" was determined by Jesus himself. That baby is breathing in and out amnionic fluid. In and out of her lungs, remember that!
January 27, 2014 at 2:03 am
Brain death is a very specific medical term. It isn't vague at all. And it's pretty simple to determine: when the doctor turns off the vent, if the patient doesn't begin to breathe unassisted, then the part of the brain that sends the signal for that very basic function is dead.(There are other criteria used as well.) The poor woman's body began deteriorating when she, in fact, died in November. Which probably explains why her baby has been determined to be "malformed". The blood clot that killed the mother also (indirectly) claimed the baby, just as if they had both been killed in a terrible car accident or the like.
I want to reiterate that we're on the same side; we're pro-life.