JaXanim wrote:
Not any longer you won't.
Cruel though the means was, at least now she can entirely rest in peace.
I know of a similar story.
My aunt was a midwife's assistant. Once, decades ago (before scans could reveal such anomalies), she witnessed a very rare birth deformity. The baby was born without a brain. He had the basic stem but (for whatever reason) the rest had not developed. Even his skull was severely diminished.
He was otherwise alive and healthy, exhibited some very basic reflexes and could even vocalise slightly. Other than that, he exhibited none of the behavioural properties of a normal healthy baby.
He was wrapped and given to his mother to hold. He couldn't feed (even swallowing requires more than reflexive behaviour).
Nothing was physcially wrong with his body but within a day he died due to dehydration from not being able to feed. If he were force fed his basic biological requirements, he almost certianly would have lived for some length of time.
His death was entirely natural. His family were able to grieve properly for their loss. Nobody questioned that a wrong decision had been made regarding what was best for this baby.
Now, you could argue that the hospital should have done everything in their ability to prolong his life rather than simply allow nature to take its course.
Question:
Would you consider it kinder for him and his family to have had the hospital force feed him, knowing he would almost certianly never develop beyond his current condition?
If he were force fed to keep him alive, I don't see his case being much different from Terri Schiavo's. The only significant difference between these two people was that Terri had at least experienced life for some years before she became totally incapable of experiencing it any further.
