Pope Francis backs parents in UK's Charlie Gard drama

eastcoast_bsc

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NY Presbyterian has agreed to help Baby Charlie free of charge.
Why not give them a chance?

The real issue is that Britain and other socialized medicine countries are so wed to the ideaology of containing costs and deciding who lives or dies that they are incapable of any mercy or compassion.

We saw the beginnings of this under Obamacare.
 
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Anhelyna

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Well - my breath has certainly been taken away reading that linked article - to be more specific I quote

<<As of this writing, all of Charlie’s life support systems have been disconnected in his sterile bed in Great Ormond Street Hospital. Despicable.>>

Little Charlie is still being nursed on life support ! Nothing has been disconnected , and nor will it till the hearing on Monday has taken place - if then.
 
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Davidnic

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Yep he is still connected. The life support was supposed to be disconnected Friday June 30th, but thankfully it was extended. In that time more doctors backed up the previous doctors that there were options. So hopefully the time bought will help. My guess is that the register article was written to go live when disconnection date was set and they did not change that line when the hospital asked for a new look from the court. The wording makes it seem like the author wrote it for June 30th and it was published late with some added info but not full editing. They should have paid better attention.

It remains the hospital should never have interfered with parental rights to begin with. I have long opposed these cases in the United States. There was one in Texas awhile ago where a child was taken off of life support against the parents wishes. Here it has only been the parents constant efforts and international outrage that changed the initial disconnection date and brought about the new move by the hospital when data was represented, which seems to have already been presented at different times.

All we can do is wait an pray. But I strongly support that parents and only the parents should be allowed to make end of life decisions for their children unless the parents are fairly judged incapable.

But for now, prayers for all.
 
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Anhelyna

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Perhaps you would care to read this article written by a British Paediatrician

I quote

<<As a paediatrician, I can tell you that the case of Charlie Gard isn’t as black and white as it seems
I have been in several situations where I have had to discuss the recommendation to switch from active to palliative treatment. No parent ever wants to have to make that decision
Charlie's story has been all over both traditional and social media in the last few weeks. For the few of you who may have missed the details, he is a baby with a very rare genetic condition. The cells of his body can’t use energy appropriately, leading to his organs and muscles being unable to function properly. For the last eight months he has been kept alive by technology on the intensive care unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) requiring round the clock intensive care. There is no known proven cure for his condition but at the moment he is stable and could, in theory, be kept alive for an indefinite period of time.
After months of deliberations and a battery of repeated tests and examinations, the medical team at GOSH are completely convinced Charlie has no chance of recovery. Thus they want to withdraw treatment and switch to palliative care i.e. managing any pain and distress whilst nature takes its course. Their tests done at GOSH have been suggestive of irreversible brain damage. In the opinion of the professionals at GOSH, Charlie will never breathe unaided, or swallow food, and he has little or no awareness of the world around him. He cannot see, hear or feel. He also reportedly has fits that are difficult to control. Charlie's parents refute this and are convinced Charlie responds to their voices and touch, and that he has far more awareness of the world around him than the professionals believe. They do not accept the view of the professionals at GOSH that his condition is irreversible. ............ >>


As a paediatrician, I can tell you that the case of Charlie Gard isn’t as black and white as it seems
 
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Davidnic

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Of course it is not black and white and as the pediatrician himself points out any parent would exhaust all options. What I think is a problem is they are not being allowed to exhaust all options. If the hospital has already decided that recovery is not possible then I don't think it makes any sense for them to oppose moving him for treatment.

I am always wary when a court decides over the rights parents. I think the question posed in the article about how did this gap develop between the staff and the parents is a very good one. But likely it is one we will never find an answer to or that we are entitled to.

But I do think that in this case the hospital is infringing on the rights of the parents to make decisions for their child. I do not doubt that it is heart-wrenching for every doctor, nurse, and technician involved. I even think they're acting on what they think is the right thing to do. But they don't have the moral right to make this decision for the parents. They have given their input and advice and the parents have weighed it against other experts. There are risks to a new procedure but there are risks to almost every procedure. The risks do not rise to a level of torture or unwarranted pain. It is the risk of pain and death in pursuit of a better outcome over the certainty of pain and death no matter how much that pain can be mitigated by pallative care.

I hold the parents in high regard for fighting for their child. And I hold the hospital in high regard for contacting the court in light of new developments.
 
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I think this part is key because the parental rights we're removed without any judgment taking them away. With no due process his parents were immediately treated as not his parents:

Only after parents have been shown to be acting or seeking to act very unreasonably and exposing their child to a risk of significant harm, albeit with good intentions, should such decisions be taken out of their hands.


It was if the hospital says it...the parents are automatically treated as being very unreasonable. And it seems they may not have been that unreasonable as more options manifest or are taken seriously.
 
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