Let Lauren Live!

ChristtheKingMaine ^ | May 7, 2008 | Judie Brown

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LAUREN RICHARDSON - YOU CAN HELP!
By Judie Brown

It has been a source of ongoing sadness to read of the difficulties Lauren Richardson’s father has had over the course of the past several months. For those of you who are not familiar with her case, Lauren overdosed on heroin on August 28, 2006. She suffered oxygen deprivation and, as a result of the overdose, is now in a coma and unable to speak out for herself. At the time of the overdose, Lauren was expecting a baby. Her parents honored what they knew would have been her wish and did all they could to keep her healthy and comfortable until the child was born. Today, though Lauren may not be aware of it, she is the mother of Ember Grace, who was born in February 2007.

Since the birth of her daughter, Lauren remains unable to speak of her concerns, but she has a loving father who is doing all he can to protect her from suffering the same fate as Terri Schiavo. However, Lauren’s mother, who has been named her legal guardian, is sadly not of the same opinion and is working with attorneys to pressure the courts to permit Lauren’s starvation.

Lauren’s father has kept hope alive, even at times when there appeared to be no hope in human terms. Lauren’s father is a man of hope in Christ and is dedicated to spending every breath he has on defending Lauren, regardless of what it might cost him in physical exhaustion and worldly goods. The most recent update for those concerned about Lauren tells us the following:

We struggle at times as we seek to share with the public the details of what is happening with Lauren because of the disagreement we have with Lauren’s mother. We cannot understand her reasoning in refusing a path of hope, healing and restoration for Lauren and insisting on causing her death by withholding food and water from her. The issue in Lauren’s case is the eternal truth that all people, no matter what their medical condition, bear the image of God and deserve basic care and an opportunity to be restored to health.

Bobby Schindler, Terri Schiavo’s brother, has written about Lauren in an editorial earlier this year, "False Compassion," and is working closely with Lauren’s father in order to provide expertise that he is uniquely qualified to share during a trying time like this.

There are many links on the Life for Lauren web site that will assist you in tracking this case and learning who is supporting Lauren’s ongoing care and who is opposing it. More importantly, there is something you can do to express your concerns.

ACTION NEEDED NOW

The governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner, is being asked by pro-life Americans across this nation to intervene in this case in order to save Lauren from what many fear is an imminent court order dictating that Lauren be starved and dehydrated to death. I am asking you to be one of those who communicates your passionate belief that Lauren’s life is sacred and deserves to be protected from those who would order her death. The governor’s e-mail address is governor.minner@state.de.us.

Further, it would mean a great deal to Lauren’s father, Randy, if you sent him a copy of your e-mail to Governor Ruth Ann Minner. Randy’s e-mail address is Lifeforlauren@aol.com. 

During a recent visit to Anchorage, Alaska where Bobby Schindler was invited to speak, he told a reporter from The Catholic Anchor, "Once we accept that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering, we lose any type of parameters. Euthanasia is a form of abandonment. It is not compassion."

Truer words were never spoken. As I frequently tell people who argue that we pro-lifers are being heartless and cruel for fighting to defend the rights of a "hopeless case," "God is the author of every human being’s life, and He has never given permission to a single one of us to arbitrarily rob another human being of life for any reason including disability or illness."

As Flannery O’Connor once wrote on the subject of false compassion, "In the absence of faith, we govern by tenderness. And tenderness leads to the gas chamber."

Lauren Richardson is not terminal – she is severely disabled. Lauren Richardson should not be murdered.

Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

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On this Sunday as we contemplate thoughts of Faith, may we remember those who need our prayers, Lauren Richardson, Karen Weber, Janet Rivera, Eluana Englaro, Haleigh Poutre and those with frail voice or no advocate. May we also remember those on the prayer threads.

[BykrBayb]

Due to the nature of this story, I just had to check. Sanger, CA was not named after Margaret Sanger. http://www.ci.sanger.ca.us/sangerhistory.asp .

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That is a curious coincidence, unnervingly close.

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Janet Rivera update...

Interestingly, the only ones to carry a story on her today are from Gannett Publications so I can only link, not even excerpt...

Family of comatose woman revives Schiavo debate

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Warning, this article contains leftist language, offensive as it may be, only the last resort in their attempts to emulate lucid thought.

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This morning I've come to one of those monstrosities, North Phoenix Baptist Church, to witness John McCain's halfhearted offensive in his battle to win over the Christian right. On the stump, McCain talks about God less than any Republican politician in recent memory -- certainly less than any Republican I've ever seen. The guy pitches a tent visible from a mile off whenever anyone so much as mentions the military; you can almost hear the dopamine surging into his bloodstream every time someone stands up in a town hall and begins a question by saying, "Hello, Senator, my husband was a Navy pilot. . . ." And he seems positively tumescent when talking about such horrors as Al Qaeda or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But his basic stump speech doesn't contain a single line about God or religion. McCain is probably the first Republican in modern history to talk more about "green technology" than about his personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

~Snip~

The marriage of fundamentalist Christianity and the conservative movement has been a powerful force in world affairs. It has been the best smoke screen the archpriests of supply-side economics could possibly have had, giving Wall Street a populist in with the very people victimized the most by their union-busting, deregulatory policies. It turned out, for decades, that Bible-thumping Americans didn't mind having their jobs shipped to China, so long as someone was worrying about the air supply to Terri Schiavo's brain lump. As political cons go, this was the ultimate gift that kept on giving...........

McCain Doesn't Have a Prayer

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A strong light cuts through the PP induced fog! Thread by wagglebee.

Concerned Women for America (CWA) applauds South Dakota for taking a stand to protect the unborn. The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recently ruled that South Dakota’s informed consent law may now be enforced. This law requires physicians to tell women who are seeking abortions that “the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living being.” Physicians are also required to provide a description of all the medical risks of the procedure, including depression and increased risk of suicide....

A Victory for Babies in South Dakota

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Lady In Red, R.I.P.

Please note update posts at #970-972 by Chadsworth and please join me in prayer for all.

Prayer Request for Ladyinred [update in post #908]

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[Dante3]

Prayers.

[floriduh voter]

Coroner as guardian? How SICK is that? The culture of death mongers can't wait.

Where are the wagons from the plague? I fear they're going to be making a comeback.

[floriduh voter]

You know how expensive medical treatment has become? Maybe that in itself is part of the euthanasia movement... Price people out of the marketplace by inflating the cost of medical treatment.

This euthanasia plan has deep roots and since they have infiltrated govt, insurance, medical community and even the coroner's offices, I believe the death cultists drove up the cost of medicine to further the euthanasia movement.

DEHYDRATION SPECULATORS.

[floriduh voter]

Was Kathy Rivera actually in a real coma?

[floriduh voter]

RUMOR MILL: Judge Greer's criminal attorney Barry Cohen is in a tiff with law enforcement investigators in Tampa over the missing Sabrina Eisenberg who went missing in 1997. LE has a snitch who alleges that Greer's criminal attorney Cohen had the child's body thrown out to sea. Sheriff says he's not targeting Cohen.

(at Judge Whittemore's DE NOVO HEARING for TERRI SCHIAVO, Barry Cohen was there as Greer's counsel. Now if Greer wasn't guilty of anything, why did he have a criminal atty at the DE NOVO HEARING.

No matter. Judge Whittemore was as gung ho about killing Terri Schiavo as Judge Greer was. I can't recall if Greer was at the federal hrg but if he was, nobody thought that was unethical, illegal or a conflict. CROOKS ALL.

www.judgegeorgegreer.com

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From the blog of Jill Stanek, the story and the plight of little Tuesday who needs our prayers as she faces this great danger... Little Tuesday is the granddaughter of our own LesforLife.

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Leslie Hanks is a dear friend of mine and friend of this blog. She posts comments here using the moniker, "lesforlife." She is an integral part of American Right to Life and also runs the Passionate Prolifer blog.

Leslie's family has recently received unfathomable news about one of her 22-month-3-year-old twin granddaughters, Tuesday. As her friend Judy explained in an email:

Tuesday... has just been diagnosed with adrenal cancer and is sufffering through chemotherapy since the tumor is inoperable.

Leslie came and ministered with us one day at Alternatives and soon afterward that killing kafe closed. Leslie boldly confronted Quennie DeHaan with her camera and asked him pointedly how he could do what he did. 85-year-old Quennie responded in a smart-a** manner but, it was apparent he had not been face to face with boldness like Les presented to this hired killer. I am convinced that it was just one more straw that caused this abortuary to close it's doors and it remains that way to this day....

Now this fearless grandma needs our prayers to bring complete healing to Tuesday. Confront death on Tuesday's behalf, if you would. Pray that she will only be a short time in ICU and be able to come back to her happier room at the hospital where all her "stuff" is. Pray for her mom and dad that they will experience that "peace that passes ALL understanding" that we have all seen born out in so many God-situations.

What a wonderful "earthly" reward it would be if the Lord would restore total health to Tuesday and honor this faithful "grandma" to so many little lives who have lived because she pled for their lives.

Leslie emailed me the photo of Tuesday in ICU, attached to an IV.

Please join me in praying for Tuesday and her family.

Pray for Tuesday

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Janet Rivera...

From the blog of Professor Pope on Medical Futility...

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In a "classic" futility dispute, the legally authorized decision maker wants to continue LSMT against the recommendation of the health care providers. But sometimes there is a dispute just among the health care providers or just among potential proxy decision makers. The latter sort of dispute is unfolding in Fresno, California.

46-year-old Janet Rivera suffered profound brain damage after a 2006 heart attack. Janet's husband was her authorized decision maker (apparently by default under the California Health Care Decisions Act) until his own medical problems prevented him from playing that role. Dr. David Hadden, the county coroner and public guardian was then appointed as Janet's guardian. On July 11, 2008, Dr. Hadden agreed with Janet's physicians that it was appropriate to stop LSMT because her condition was "untreatable and irreversible." Janet's ANH was then removed.

Ten days later, Janet's family sought a TRO. Today, before the ruling, the guardian agreed to allow ANH to resume pending further judicial resolution. This afternoon, the judge ordered Fresno County to restore all medical needs to keep Janet alive until a fuller evidentiary hearing on Tuesday.

Posted by Thaddeus Mason Pope at 10:19 PM

New Futility Case: Janet Rivera

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Wagglebee has a thread on a story of Janet Rivera today.

Valley Springs attorney Brian Chavez-Ochoa, who worked with family members of Teri Schiavo several years ago in the nationally publicized case, went to work last week on a Fresno County case that has many similarities to Schiavo's but also one rather significant difference.

"I think this is almost identical but for this fact: (Schiavo) was family versus family. This is government versus family," he said.

Chavez-Ochoa said this may be the first time for litigation of just such a case. Janet Rivera was removed from tubes providing food and water for nearly two weeks. Last Tuesday, the Fresno County Superior Court ordered that Rivera's feeding tube and water be reinstated until a July 29 trial........

Attorney tackles Schiavo-like case

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Janet Rivera, more...

Thanks, BB.

I may only excerpt from this site, so please follow the link.

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............Experts say the county is taking a chance by trying to make an end-of-life decision for Rivera.

It's unusual for a conservator to argue for removing life support without evidence that's what the patient would want, said David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics.

While Hadden says financial considerations have played no role in deciding whether to keep her on life support, her family contends Rivera might not be in this situation if she had more money or better health-care coverage. Rivera's medical bills are being paid by Medi-Cal, the state-federal insurance program for low-income families.

A question of life support... FRESNO CASE HAS ECHOES OF SCHIAVO STORY

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Eluana Englaro update...

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ROME, JULY 28, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Twenty-five doctors are appealing to Italian courts for the life of a 37-year-old woman who has come to be known as Italy's Terri Schiavo.

Eluana Englaro was condemned to death by starvation by a Milan court earlier this month. The decision was a new development in a near 10-year court battle waged by her father, who seeks to deny her hydration and nourishment.

Englaro entered what is sometimes called the permanent vegetative state after a car accident in 1992.

Milan's attorney general requested time to lodge a possible appeal against the preceding judicial decision..........................

Doctors Decry Ruling in "Italy's Schiavo" Case... Appeal for Reversal of Decision to Remove Feeding Tube

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The leftists, this time in the Washington Post, try again that old propaganda trick that Americans wanted innocents like Terri dead and abhor any who would hope to save her.

This pile of verbiage is scraped from TruthDig...

From the people who brought you the Terri Schiavo spectacle, the stem-cell research stalemate and the atrocious waste of tax money on abstinence-only sex education that has been shown not to work, comes a sequel: a proposal to redefine abortion to include some of the most common forms of birth control, and to potentially penalize with funding cuts hundreds of thousands of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who expect their employees to give women full reproductive care.....

A Parting Gift to the Religious Right

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Recall that Singer is the present tense of Sanger...

Thread by wagglebee on that yo-yo...

Peter Singer is the Princeton bioethicist who first broke into the public's consciousness more than thirty years ago with Animal Liberation, a book in which he claimed that granting human beings special privileges based on being human is "speciesist"—discrimination against animals.

Instead of society being human centric, he asserted that the lives and well-being of animals deserve "equal consideration" with those of humans.

Singer's intent was (and is) to destroy human exceptionalism—the belief that human life matters morally simply because it is human—and replace it with a "quality of life" ethic in which being a "person" rather than a human is what matters morally..........

The Triumph of Peter Singer's Values: Animal Rights More Important Than Human

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Wow! Somebody dealt a blow to Tiller the Killer...

Thread by wagglebee.

Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) -- A Kansas judge ruled against late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller and his request to declare Kansas' ban on most late-term abortions unconstitutional. District Court Judge Clark Owens determined that the post-viability abortion ban is legitimate.

Judge Owens said the law "survives all of the constitutional challenges" Tiller's lawyers presented.....

Kansas Judge Dismisses George Tiller Motion Against Late-Term Abortion Law

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