But do we know what the cause of that woman’s brain death was? It matters. Someone who’s brain dead as a result of blunt-force head trauma may have had uninterrupted oxygenation of the rest of their tissues (including, if the person is a pregnant woman, her fetus). We know that wasn’t the case for the woman in Texas, as her brain death resulted from circulatory collapse secondary to a pulmonary embolism. There’s really little reason to expect a healthy baby from this particular case, given that the fetus was also severely oxygen deprived for as long as an hour.
(Personally, I don’t know that most people think he is giving them false hope. They already had it.)
Someone needs to tell Mr. Dolan that being smart and being in denial are two separate states that can coexist together quite happily in the same person.
How many times has UHC been described as “free” in these same boards? It’s not free, it’s prepaid, but for many people the connection between their taxes (or those of others) and the services from the government is as tenuous as a spider’s thread.
Now the girl is on a feeding tube:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=9387373
A feeding tube placed in a body that hasn’t had any bowel sounds for three weeks… something tells me that’s not going to work out so well.
OTOH how much worse is she going to get?
Regards,
Shodan
Well, I’d say once she starts weeping bodily fluids that’s a sign that cellular integrity might not be in such great shape. And for all we know, maybe she already is.
I think the question at this point is how much smellier is she going to get. Ugh. Icky.
Google “postmortem purging” and find out. But only if you have a strong stomach!
I read somewhere that part of the deal struck with the parents was that they have to return the body to the coroner’s office after the heart stops so that an autopsy can be performed. That’s one autopsy I’d hate to be doing! Vicks Vaporub has its limits.
Are there any rules regarding what dates are placed on a gravestone? I am wondering if Jahi’s will read “_____ to December 2013” or “_____ to January 2014.”
The family can put whatever they want on the gravestone, but the death certificate will have the date in December on it.
Reading some of the last few posts on physical deterioration reminds me of the reason that most enlightened people have some equivalent of “living wills” and/or “Do Not Resuscitate” orders so that they be allowed to die with dignity even when still alive, rather than be subjected to extreme measures with poor outcomes and a terrible quality of life even if they succeed. That’s why this travesty being allowed to continue is just so, so wrong, and why the opposite situation playing out in Texas where the law actually prevents removal of the ventilator is, IMHO, downright criminal in its immorality.
It’s not just there, and Living Wills, Advance Directives and Power of Attorney for Healthcare don’t apply to withdrawing “life support” when you’re pregnant in more than half the states in the US. I just found this out, and I’m quite literally scared now.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17003900&postcount=104
The cynic in me says that this should not be surprising. It is certainly not surprising that with a couple of exceptions, these are all red states with wingnut abortion laws put forward by Bible-thumping evangelicals. Gotta love this part: “None of these statutes makes an exception for patients who will be in prolonged severe pain or who will be physically harmed by continuing life-sustaining treatment.” If living in one of these states, I recommend not being a woman.
Oh, I think he knows damned well. The guy’s taking advantage of a grieving family and he’s one of the most disgusting persons involved in this whole tragedy.
It never ceases to amaze me that women still live in these states, ditto the poor living in states who aren’t expanding Medicare (for free) because their red state governor doesn’t like the president being black, or basically anyone living in Texas. I realize circumstances will prevent some from moving out, but if my local government were actively trying to kill or rape me, I’d seriously consider moving someplace else, no matter how bad my circumstances. I don’t understand why these states aren’t basically populated only by white, rich, republican men.
Easy to say (and think), but moving out of Illinois means leaving my getting-elderly mother alone (I’m an only child) and uprooting my children from their schools and social support, not to mention all my social support, job and everything I’ve known since birth. And I don’t even have real estate keeping me here, just an intractable web of people.
But now, more than ever, I hope this comes to a lawsuit and the law is found to be Unconstitutional in some way; that would force other states to reexamine their laws.
I’m not suggesting the parents should be charged, but I wonder if the “desecration of a corpse” laws in most states could be used to prevent this type of thing.