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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More from Colorado on personhood in this thread by wagglebee...

DENVER, Colorado, July 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Colorado for Equal Rights has announced the support of over 70 physicians and pharmacists, including neonatologists, family physicians, ob-gyns, pediatricians, and other physicians nationwide. These physicians have stated that they concur with the statement, "A 'person' includes any human from the time of fertilization." A list of these physicians is available at http://www.personhood2008.com.

"We are honored to have received these endorsements from such respected physicians," stated Kristi Burton, the sponsor of the "Personhood Amendment" which is set to appear on the 2008 Colorado ballot. "Science clearly proves that life begins at the time of fertilization. We are secure in the fact that we have science and reason on our side, and we are pleased to have the medical community supporting our efforts."...

Over 70 Colorado Physicians Sign Statment Saying Personhood Begins at Fertilization

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Prayers for the very adorable Tuesday and all who love her.

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Prayers for Tuesday and her family.

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Such a BEAUTIFUL child!

Prayers for all!

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Waqglebee has a prayer thread for little Tuesday.

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FReeper Lesforlife's 22 month old granddaughter Tuesday has been diagnosed with adrenal cancer and since the tumor is inoperable, she is undergoing chemotherapy.

Lesforlife is one of the most dedicated pro-life workers in the country and she and her family really need our prayers now. Please pray that the Lord will show His Love on a little girl whose grandmother has saved so many other innocent lives.

Jill Stanek has more Tuesday on her website:

Prayer Request for Lesforlife's Granddaughter (Adrenal Cancer, Update #30)

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Eluana Englaro update...

Thread by wagglebee.

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Rome, Italy (LifeNews.com) -- A group of leading doctors have sent the Italy attorney general a letter asking that the European nation do more to help prevent Eluana Englaro's euthanasia death. Englaro is the subject of the latest battle similar to the one Terri Schiavo's family waged to prevent her former husband from denying her food and water.

Englaro has been in what doctors term a vegetative state for 16 years following an automobile accident in 1992 and has received food and water through a feeding tube.

Beppino Englaro, Eluana's father, has been seeking the right to remove the feeding tube and starve and dehydrate Eluana to death in the same way as Schiavo.

Now, some of Italy's leading neurologists are saying Englaro should not be killed and they question whether she is in a persistent vegetative state....

Italian Doctors Appeal to Court to Not Subject Eluana Englaro to Euthanasia

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Janet Rivera update...

Thread by wagglebee.

FRESNO, Calif., July 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After a hearing today in the Fresno County Superior Court, the family of patient Janet Rivera was reinstated as her conservator. The Court ruled that Ms. Rivera's cousin, Suzanne Emrich, temporarily replaces the public guardian who made the decision a few weeks ago to deprive Ms. Rivera of food and water.

Rivera has been in coma for the past two years, resulting from a heart attack. After Rivera's husband recently experienced medical problems, a Fresno County Public Guardian was appointed to take charge of Rivera's medical care.

Last week, after having been dehydrated and not fed for 8 days on the order of the Fresno County Public Guardian, attorneys representing Rivera's family intervened in the case, with the result that the Court ordered that her foods and fluids be restored.....

Court Protects California Woman from Schiavo-like Death by Dehydration

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More on Janet Rivera from the California Catholic Daily...

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Fresno Superior Court on Tuesday allowed family members to take over the conservatorship of the hospitalized, unconscious Janet Rivera and make medical decisions for her. Earlier this month, a court-appointed conservator ordered Rivera's feeding and hydration tubes removed.

Janet Rivera of Sanger, 46, suffered a heart attack in February 2006 and never regained consciousness. Her husband, Jesus Rivera, had been Janet’s conservator until June 17, when the county replaced him with the county guardian, Dr. David Hadden. After the change in conservators, Janet Rivera’s condition became worse. She was admitted to Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center’s intensive care unit on July 5. Six days later, on the advice of Janet Rivera’s doctors, Hadden had her feeding and hydration tubes removed.

Janet Rivera’s family objected to Hadden’s decision and went to court to get her feeding tubes restored. On July 23, Probate Judge Debra Kazanijian ordered Rivera’s feeding tubes temporarily restored.

The court has replaced Hadden with Rivera’s cousin, Suzanne Emrich. She will be Rivera’s temporary guardian until an investigation determines if she fit to have guardianship on a more permanent basis.

Though the family wants to keep Rivera on feeding and hydration tubes, they will petition to have her respirator removed. When doctors removed Rivera’s feeding tubes, they discovered she could breathe well enough on her own, said a July 29 LifeNews.com report.

Euthanasia averted... Fresno court saves unconscious woman from starvation

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More on Janet Rivera from the California Catholic Daily...

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Fresno Superior Court on Tuesday allowed family members to take over the conservatorship of the hospitalized, unconscious Janet Rivera and make medical decisions for her. Earlier this month, a court-appointed conservator ordered Rivera's feeding and hydration tubes removed.

Janet Rivera of Sanger, 46, suffered a heart attack in February 2006 and never regained consciousness. Her husband, Jesus Rivera, had been Janet’s conservator until June 17, when the county replaced him with the county guardian, Dr. David Hadden. After the change in conservators, Janet Rivera’s condition became worse. She was admitted to Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center’s intensive care unit on July 5. Six days later, on the advice of Janet Rivera’s doctors, Hadden had her feeding and hydration tubes removed.

Janet Rivera’s family objected to Hadden’s decision and went to court to get her feeding tubes restored. On July 23, Probate Judge Debra Kazanijian ordered Rivera’s feeding tubes temporarily restored.

The court has replaced Hadden with Rivera’s cousin, Suzanne Emrich. She will be Rivera’s temporary guardian until an investigation determines if she fit to have guardianship on a more permanent basis.

Though the family wants to keep Rivera on feeding and hydration tubes, they will petition to have her respirator removed. When doctors removed Rivera’s feeding tubes, they discovered she could breathe well enough on her own, said a July 29 LifeNews.com report.

Euthanasia averted... Fresno court saves unconscious woman from starvation

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Janet Rivera story on WND...

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A court ruling in Fresno, Calif., today gave a relative of an injured woman the authority to make medical decisions on her behalf, taking that power away from the county coroner.

The case of Janet Rivera has similarities to the case of Terri Schiavo, who also was handicapped. WorldNetDaily broke the story of her battle for life and eventual death after a judge in Florida ruled that doctors could follow her husband's orders and withhold from her food and water.

Officials with the Life Legal Defense Fund said a hearing in Fresno County Superior Court today resulted in a family member of Rivera being reinstated as her conservator to manage her health care.

The court ruled Rivera's cousin, Suzanne Emrich, will replace the county's public guardian who made the decision a few weeks ago to deprive Rivera of food and water....

Woman's health decisions yanked from coroner... Court restores feeding tube for heart attack victim

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Janet Rivera in the Fresno Bee...

Kazanjian could have directed the county to take Rivera off life support -- something family members have vehemently opposed.

But Deputy County Counsel Heather Kruthers said the county was willing to let Rivera's cousin, Suzanne Emrich, make all of Rivera's medical decisions for now....

Cousin gets power in coma case... Relative of woman on life support can temporarily make medical decisions.

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Steve Ertelt of LifeNews has this on Janet Rivera...

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Fresno, CA (LifeNews.com) -- In a significant legal victory, a California court has allowed the family of Janet Rivera to resume making her medical decisions. As a result, the incapacitated woman will not become another euthanasia victim and have her food and water taken away like Terri Schiavo.

Rivera was deprived of food and water for 8 days after a court-appointed guardian removed her feeding tube despite her family's wishes when he won the right to make her medical decisions.

The 46-year-old had a heart attack on February 2006 and she never regained consciousness.

After a hearing today in the Fresno County Superior Court, the family of patient Janet Rivera was reinstated as her conservator. Rivera's cousin sought conservatorship so Janet's care can be administered in a life-affirming manner.

The court ruled that Rivera's cousin, Suzanne Emrich, temporarily replaces the public guardian who made the decision a few weeks ago to deprive Rivera of food and water.

An investigation is planned to determine if Emrich is fit to have guardianship on a more permanent basis.

Attorney Brian Chavez-Ochoa, with the Legal Defense Foundation, intervened on behalf of Rivera and her family and he told LifeNews.com he was pleased with the outcome of the hearing.

"The County of Fresno and the Public Guardian are to be applauded for immediately recognizing the rights of the family to care for their loved one and taking the steps to allow that process to be accomplished quickly and without delay," he said.

"The Court, from the earliest stages of this proceeding, proffered rulings of wisdom and gave substance and value to Janet Rivera's life," the attorney, who helped the Schiavo family during its legal battle, explained. "The sanctity of life was honored and we thank the Lord for the wonderful outcome in this case."

The family wants permission to be able to remove Rivera from a respirator because, after she was removed from it when her food and water were taken away, they discovered she could breathe fine on her own.

Two more hearings will come up in the case before a permanent decision is made.

Last week, the court issued a temporary decision allowing the reinstatement of Rivera's feeding tube while the case continued to today's hearing.

Rivera's brother, Michael Dancoff, told the Fresno Bee newspaper he was excited to hear about the ruling.

"I'm happy they're giving her a second chance," he said. "I'm happy we'll get to prove she's not on her deathbed."

He says he believes Rivera, whom doctors diagnosed as being in a so-called persistent vegetative state, is still conscious.

"She looked at me and her eyes were open," he said. "She wasn't dying. She wanted to live."

Jesus Rivera, Janet's husband, had been his wife's conservator until June 17, when he was replaced for unknown reasons by David Hadden, the Fresno County coroner. At the hearing, Judge Kazanjian said that happened because Jesus Rivera was not able to adequately provide for Janet's medical care.

Jesus, according to a Bee report, wants to allow his wife to continue to receive food and water and wants "her body to give out when it gives out between her and Almighty God and no one else."

"You can't starve someone to death," he said.

Doctors disagreed and, after consulting them, Hadden decided to remove Janet Rivera's feeding tube.

At the time, Hadden's office released a statement saying he made the decision after "immense consideration" and due to Rivera's "untreatable and irreversible condition and to prevent any and all suffering that she may be enduring."

"If this were a family member of mine, I would want the decision made by the group of physicians who are taking care of this patient," he added.

Disability rights and pro-life groups have weighed in on the case in favor of Rivera and her family.

The newspaper said Hadden called the ruling last week an "appropriate course of action."

Rivera is currently admitted at the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.

Janet Rivera's Family Can Make Medical Decisions, Won't be Euthanasia Victim

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In this climate, the whine of the left is reduced to a distant whine in the background, but they sure try...

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....

Plan redefines birth control as form of abortion

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In this thread by AreaMan, the lady may havehad her picture in the Miller's Log as a freshman at good ole Springfield High, when I graduated. Her plight shows over that time the horrible regression dubbed progression by the left of that part of the country. Thanks to TheSarce for the ping.

Opponents of physician-assisted suicide are fired up this summer, and rightfully so, over an ethically questionable provision of the Oregon Health Plan. The conflict came to light in a recent report in The Register-Guard of Eugene. The newspaper described the sad plight of Barbara Wagner, a 64-year-old Springfield woman with lung cancer.

After her oncologist prescribed a cancer drug that would cost $4,000 a month, the newspaper reported, "Wagner was notified that the Oregon Health Plan wouldn't cover the treatment, but that it would cover palliative, or comfort, care, including, if she chose, doctor-assisted suicide."....

Fix this medical ethics glitch

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It shows how the truth terrifies PP.

Thread by wagglebee.

Sioux Falls, SD (LifeNews.com) -- The lone abortion center in South Dakota appears as if it is still not doing abortions following the implementation of a new law a week and a half ago. Rather than tell women abortion kills children and has numerous risks, Planned Parenthood closed its doors to women wanting abortions.

As LifeNews.com was first to report last week, Monday was the first day for abortions at the Planned Parenthood abortion center but women who went for abortions were turned away....

South Dakota Abortion Center Apparently Still Not Doing Abortions With New Law

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What an awful trick reality played on the lefties....

Their cherished baby embryo slaughter didn't do squat, yet its competitor flourishes. Hah!

Thread by wagglebee.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Though the debate over federal funding of embryonic stem cell research isn't as hot of a political topic in this presidential election, part of the reason could be the enormous success of adult stem cells. While embryonic cells still haven't helped a single patient, adult stem cells continue to perform miracles.

Arizona toddler Chloe Levine had cerebral palsy and was unable to perform tasks such as holding her bottle with her right hand or crawling....

Adult Stem Cell Research With Cord Blood Cells Eases Girls' Cerebral Palsy

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Janet Rivera story amplified by Professor Pope. Thanks, Leslie.

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Fresno County Public Guardian's Office had been the authorized health care decision maker for Janet Rivera, ever since it was determined that Rivera's husband was doing a poor job of handling her medical care.

Rivera's family initially agreed with the guardian's decision to stop her ventilator and ANH on the recommendation of health care providers. But after Janet began to breathe on her own and was clearly going to die solely because of the lack of ANH, the family no longer supported the guardian's decision. The family challenged the decision in court last week. The hearing on the merits was scheduled for today.

But the Fresno County, California court never reached the merits of the case. It never addressed whether the guardian acted appropriately under the Probate Code. It never addressed whether stopping ANH ws in Rivera's best interests. Instead, The county guardian apparently voluntarily agreed to step aside (at least temporarily) in favor of Suzanne Emrich, Rivera's cousin who lives in Santa Cruz County.

Citations

• Fox News, KMPH (July 29, 2008)
• ABC News, KFSN (July 29, 2008)
• Fresno Bee (July 29, 2008)

Posted by Thaddeus Mason Pope at 2:16 PM

Janet Rivera - Replacing the Guardian

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We haven't heard from the MoveOn crowd lately claiming Terri's Legacy was fading. But as we see once more, her Legacy shines brightly and hurts the eyes of the left. So they continue their propaganda bordering on the preposterous, that decent Americans wanted innocent Terri dead and abhorred any effort to save her life. Now it is #6 in the top ten list of reasons to hate Bush.

Meanwhile Terri's Legacy shines on as more and more cases, once perhaps concealable are now in the open for the truth to be revealed.

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In what will no doubt go down in history as one of the craziest things our federal government has ever done, the U.S. House and Senate both passed an emergency law to save the life of a woman who had been near brain-dead for more than a decade. The case of Terri Schiavo, who collapsed in her home and who later lost oxygen to her brain after her doctors misdiagnosed the cause of her collapse, was undoubtedly tragic for everyone involved; it was also undoubtedly none of the federal government’s business.

After numerous state courts had sided with then-husband and guardian Michael Schiavo and ruled that Terri’s condition was irreversible and that her feeding tube could be removed to end her life, the Christian right launched into an epic freakout the likes of which America has not seen since 17th-century Salem. After much Tasmanian devil-style screeching and hollering from the GOP base, the Republican Congress passed a bill transferring jurisdiction of the Schiavo case to federal court. Bush, who seemingly never misses an opportunity to take a naked ride on the crazy train, interrupted one of his frequent Texas vacations to sign the damn thing into law.

Ah, if only he’d been this swift and alert when Hurricane Katrina hit (see moment No. 4).

While there were several moments of sheer, unbridled lunacy throughout (Pat Buchanan calls Michael Schiavo and his supporters Nazis! Tom DeLay issues threats against judges who don’t rule how he wants them to! Peggy Noonan calls Michael Schiavo supporters part of a “culture of death!"), the craziest by far was then-Sen. Bill Frist’s declaration that Terri had been misdiagnosed after he spent an hour watching a video of her in his office.

6 The Terri Schiavo Affair

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And the whining and sobbing continues unabated, three long years and more after the event that doesn't go away. Leftist writer Cocco whimpers more about the meanie good guys. Reminds me of a nasty teenager caught snuffing a puppy and being stopped before he got the thrill of achieving the poor thing.

WASHINGTON -- 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....

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Marie Cocco is a prize-winning syndicated columnist on political and cultural topics for The Washington Post Writers Group. She is a frequent commentator on national TV and radio shows. Her e-mail address is mariecocco@washpost.com.

Under New Proposals, Some Rape Victims Wouldn't Get Emergency Contraception

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And what would the sobbing leftist in my post above say about this? Thread by wagglebee.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A majority of Americans take a pro-life position opposing most or all abortions, but polls show one-third to one-half of pro-life people believe abortion should be okay in cases of rape and incest. A new book from a rape survivor shows the added horror abortion is that only compounds sexual abuse trauma.

In a gripping personal account of pain and redemption, author Nicole W. Cooley offers a candid look at her rape as a young military officer by a trusted friend.

She relates the devastating emotional consequences of her decision to abort the child conceived during the attack.

"I felt that the abortion was like being raped again," says Cooley. "Only this time, it was much worse because I had consented to the assault."........

Rape Victim's Book Recounts Added Horror of Abortion After Sexual Abuse

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