Emilio Gonzales is a 17-month-old boy in Austin, Texas, suffering from Leigh's disease, a rare, incurable, degenerate disorder. The genetic disease has left the child, who is kept alive by a ventilator, unable to see, speak or eat.
    Doctors at Austin Children's Hospital believe that the toddler is experiencing immense pain, and they contend that keeping him alive is cruel because there is no cure for his condition.
    A Texas law gives hospitals the right to end life support if doctors feel further treatment is futile. The doctors are attempting to exercise their right and stop treatment.
    The child's mother, Catarina Gonzales, is fighting the hospital's decision.
    Gonzales wants her son kept alive on the ventilator. She wants him to die "naturally, the way God intended."
    This case and many others like it leave people of faith sharply divided.
    There are those who are outraged by the law that gives the hospital the right to make life-and-death decisions even in the face of family disagreement. But some medical ethicists defend the law, suggesting that family members do not have the medical expertise and are often too emotional to make a decision in the best interest of the patient.
    Emilio's mother is facing harsh criticism for fighting to keep her child alive despite his suffering. Critics point out that if her intent is to allow her child to die naturally, then she should not be opposed to the hospital's decision to end life support and let her son die.
    The Bible's stance is, "Thou shall not kill," which is better understood to mean, "Thou shall not murder."