Tom! Hey, Tom! Look Over Here!
Why is Tom Delay not all over this story? Surely, the fact that this case is taking place in the UK should not impede DeLay's relentless quest to promote a culture of life. As reported in The Independent:
The parents of the severely ill baby Charlotte Wyatt lost their battle to overturn a court ruling that she should not be resuscitated if she stops breathing.
A High Court judge yesterday upheld a previous order that will allow doctors to let the 18-month-old die if she suffers a respiratory collapse. Medical staff say Charlotte, born three months premature, is in "intolerable" pain, with no hope of recovery and to put her on a ventilator would only prolong her agony.
But her parents, Darren and Debbie, said her condition was improving and she had some quality of life. They are devout Christians who believe doctors should do all they can to keep Charlotte alive. The Wyatts have been to the High Court three times in six months in an attempt to force doctors to resuscitate Charlotte when, as experts predict, she suffers a severe infection that will stop her breathing. In the latest hearing, they presented evidence that she could now respond to sound and light, which she could not do at the first court case last October.
Charlotte has severe lung damage and spends most of the day with her head in an oxygen box to keep her alive. Lawyers for her parents said her lung capacity had improved and the oxygen content of the box had been reduced from 80 per cent to 60 per cent. If it could be cut to 30 per cent, Charlotte could be allowed home for the first time since she was born.
But doctors at St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth,say she has severe brain damage and problems with other organs, and has "no feeling other than continuing pain". Mr Justice Hedley said yesterday: "I am clear it would not be in Charlotte's best interests to die in the course of futile, aggressive treatment." He said if she did stop breathing, as she has three times, she should be given all available treatment up to, but not including, having a tube inserted in her nose or being put on a ventilator. . . .
