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High Court judge in London rules girl in 'vegetative state' can be allowed to die
Kent Live ^ | Jan 8 | Brian Farmer

Posted on 01/08/2021 3:52:48 AM PST by RandFan

Doctors can stop providing life-support treatment to a five-year-old Strood girl is in a vegetative state, a High Court judge has ruled.

Specialists treating Pippa Knight at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London said life-support treatment should end.

Hospital bosses had asked Mr Justice Poole to rule that ending treatment, and allowing Pippa to die, would be lawful and in her best interests.

Pippa’s mother, Paula Parfitt, 41, of Strood, Kent, disagreed.

Ms Parfitt wanted Pippa, who is brain damaged, to be placed on a portable ventilator and allowed home.

Mr Justice Poole, who heard evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London in December, ruled on Friday that life-support treatment should end and Pippa should be allowed to die.

“Ms Parfitt has fought as hard for Pippa as any parent could,” he said in his ruling.

“Responsibility for the decisions in this case lies with the court, not with her. My conclusion is that continued mechanical ventilation is contrary to Pippa’s best interests.”

He added that he “cannot give weight to Ms Parfitt’s view that home care would improve Pippa’s condition, because it is at odds with the unanimous view of the clinicians and medical experts”.

(Excerpt) Read more at kentlive.news ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: highcourt; uk
Euthanasia effectively legalized in this landmark ruling...
1 posted on 01/08/2021 3:52:48 AM PST by RandFan
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To: RandFan
From last month...

How dare the NHS throw us on the scrap heap! Four pensioners who live life to the full were still given 'Do Not Resuscitate' orders. But now they are fighting back...

Pay special attention to the bit about the "national frailty score".

Let's hear it for single payer.

2 posted on 01/08/2021 3:57:25 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds. )
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To: mewzilla

If they were rich,wouldn’t have these problems....Just ask dems in USA...


3 posted on 01/08/2021 3:59:06 AM PST by Hambone 1934 (When will the dems turn the US into Venezuela????)
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To: RandFan

I thought Britain fought the nazis over the issue of a government’s right to decide who is “worthy of life” and who has to be discarded as useless and a burden to the state?


4 posted on 01/08/2021 4:02:51 AM PST by CondorFlight
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To: mewzilla

Psalms 118:17
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.


5 posted on 01/08/2021 4:10:54 AM PST by Norski
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To: CondorFlight

That was before they nationalized health care.

This is socialized medicine. We’ll tell you when it’s time to die.


6 posted on 01/08/2021 4:19:54 AM PST by Skywise
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To: mewzilla

Maybe they can use it on Biden. He’s a worthless specimen


7 posted on 01/08/2021 4:20:53 AM PST by Osagegirl
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To: RandFan

TS...rip TS


8 posted on 01/08/2021 4:24:36 AM PST by PGalt
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To: RandFan

Vegetative state means nothing.
Four years ago, my dentist had a heart attack, was hospitalized and then went into a coma after a week; a day or two later he was pronounced brain dead. Since he had signed up as an organ donor, the hospital kept him on life support while they scheduled various patients to receive his organs.
As they made the first incision in his chest to start the harvesting process, he sat up screaming and wanted to know what the hell was going on.

He went back to his practice a couple months later and filled one of my cavities last year.


9 posted on 01/08/2021 4:31:14 AM PST by BuffaloJack (Neither safety nor security exists in nature. Everything is dangerous and has risk.)
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To: RandFan

And the Lefty mindset is, in essence: “Hey, you are taking up space from someone else who could use that bed.....”


10 posted on 01/08/2021 4:52:21 AM PST by cranked
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To: mewzilla

I appreciate the idea that continued life support may not improve this girl’s circumstances, however putting her on a portable ventilator and sending her home is not unreasonable.

This judge is a ghoul


11 posted on 01/08/2021 5:12:23 AM PST by Ouderkirk (Life is about ass, you're either covering, hauling, laughing, kicking, kissing, or behaving like one)
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To: BuffaloJack

Notwithstanding this article which I find troubling I sincerely doubt he sat up and screamed. We generally use anesthesia in organ harvests in order to maintain hemodynamics. You are describing a beating heart donation. In a non beating heart donation the patient has to be in asystole for three minutes before incision.

On a greater level the concerning thing is the court substituting its judgment for the parent.

Many people don’t understand what exactly a PVS is and I don’t really want to redebate all the cases (cruzan, schaivo etc) there are thousands of articles on the ethics. But what concerns me is the distortion of actual truth and clinical understanding. There is a lot of garbage statements already on this thread.


12 posted on 01/08/2021 5:37:06 AM PST by gas_dr (Trial lawyers AND POLITICIANS are Endangering Every Patient in America: INCLUDING THEIR LIBERTIES)
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To: gas_dr
You are describing a beating heart donation.

A beating heart "donation" is simply murder; no different than the godless Aztecs.

13 posted on 01/09/2021 9:16:56 PM PST by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome.)
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To: ebb tide

Notwithstanding your judgments, I am merely imparting the two types of donation that are undertaken in the United States, and the falsehood of someone sitting up on skin incision. That was fake news.

A beating heart donation is undertaken when there is established brain death, which in all jurisdictions is considered death.


14 posted on 01/10/2021 9:55:28 AM PST by gas_dr (Trial lawyers AND POLITICIANS are Endangering Every Patient in America: INCLUDING THEIR LIBERTIES)
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To: gas_dr
How can a heart continue to beat, if the brain is truly dead, Doc?

Isn't "brain death" a subjective judgement call?

15 posted on 01/10/2021 6:43:00 PM PST by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome.)
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To: ebb tide

I’m sure you can educate yourself using the millions and millions of articles written on the subject


16 posted on 01/11/2021 10:25:53 AM PST by gas_dr (Trial lawyers AND POLITICIANS are Endangering Every Patient in America: INCLUDING THEIR LIBERTIES)
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