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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It is an interesting peek into the dilemma of when ordinary care is supplanted by extraordinary care at the end of one's life. But he may have been more convincing if he really understood what really happened to Terri.

The medical community and Congress missed an opportunity to enter these discussions after the Terry Schiavo case, in which the parents and husband of a woman in a persistent vegetative state had a long legal battle over whether or not to continue life-prolonging measures. The entire medical community needs to become involved in these discussions and to refocus the attention not on procedures and tests, or whether we can keep people alive, but on whether medical decisions are serving the good of the patient, Fisher said.

"Forget about the finances," he said of the Schiavo case. "What about the dignity of that human being? What we're saying in a case like that is we don't value the humaness of the person. What we value is what looks like a human."

Fisher offers several suggestions for how to overhaul health care. And they are much broader than either the Democratic or Republican candidates for president are suggesting, he said. "The Democrats say throw money at the problem, and (John) McCain just offers twists and turns."......

Kalamazoo doctor: overuse of tests and technology at end of life 'a moral tragedy'

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We would be remiss by not noting this glimpse of Grouchy Marx, mcCain and the new enAble. I am not sure, but think this one played in Three's Company as Mrs. Roper. Anyway it reflects a direction...

Columbus — Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart said Saturday that the party's presumed presidential nominee has a lot in common with Jesus Christ.

"John McCain is kind of like Jesus Christ on the cross," Everhart said as she began the second day of the state GOP convention. "He never denounced God, either.".......

State GOP chair: McCain 'kind of like Jesus

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The Supremes in New Jersey sang the same old song.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading organization that represents the thousands of pregnancy resource centers across the country wants the Supreme Court top hear a New Jersey case involving an abortion practitioner who misled a woman. In November, the New Jersey Supreme Court sided with Sheldon Turkish.

The state high court said it won't reconsider the decision it handed down in September against a woman who sued the abortion practitioner for misleading her about the development of her unborn child in a 1996 abortion.....

Pregnancy Center Group: Supreme Court Should Hear Abortion Deception Case

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Mor on Marx brothers, Grouchy and Karl...

Thread by Clintonfatigued.

John McCain and Barack Obama, the two leading presidential candidates, have set out sharply contrasting views on the role of the Supreme Court and the kind of justices they would appoint.

Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.), in a speech two weeks ago, echoed the views of conservatives who say "judicial activism" is the central problem facing the judiciary. He called it the "common and systematic abuse . . . by an elite group . . . we entrust with judicial power." On Thursday, he criticized the California Supreme Court for giving gays and lesbians the right to marry, saying he doesn't "believe judges should be making these decisions." ....

John McCain and Barack Obama: Two visions of the Supreme Court

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[floriduh voter]

BLASPHEMY and cultlike worship of a political party is destroying the GOP. Sue’s not the only zealot for GOP dogma. If Sue were the only one, I wouldn’t mind but there are lots of dummies in the GOP. This is like when John Lennon said The Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. Now John McCain is kind of Jesus Christ????? If Sue had albums, I’d hold an album burning protest (a joke, lurkers). FV

[Clintonfatigued]

There is a mindset behind what happened to Terri Schindler and what may very well happen to Lauren Richardson. The supporters of euthenasia believed that Terri Schindler was already dead, a corpse being kept artificially alive (physically only) by a machine. They believe the same thing about Lauren Richardson now.

[BykrBayb]

Thanks for the ping. I’m keeping up on those prayers.

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And thanks, BykrBayb for your ping! Here is that latest update on Jim Robinson! Springtime now is truly here.

Welcome Home, Jim ..... Time to Celebrate

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And thank you, BykrBayb, for the ping. Jim Robinson is back home and time indeed to celebrate. Springtime is now officially arrived, and the sun rises to a happy day.

Welcome Home, Jim ..... Time to Celebrate

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Thanks, LesforLife, for the ping to the latest on the Medical Futility blogspot by Professor Pope.

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Monday's conference, A Troubling Abundance of Care: Overtreatment at the End of Life, was worthwhile. The primary impetus for the conference is the Dartmouth Atlas' finding that NJ EOL care is the most expensive in the nation. My primary complaint was anticipated near the end of the day: "This is preachig to the choir." The organizers are planning another conference for the Fall to focus on practical implementation and translation into policy.

Art Caplan keynoted the conference in the morning with some reasons why were are in a mess:

1. Schiavo created uncertainty
2. Big, big expenditures (like Avastin)
3. The failure of living wills
4. Other new EOL technologies

He identifies some wrong moves in EOL policy:

1. Futility (since there is no definition)
2. Living wills
3. Expanded organ procurement (like the NYC organ ambulance)
4. The American Society of Clinical Oncology's suggestion to raise cost issues with patients (since that will not cause anyone to limit costs)
5. Attacking brain death (since the concept is not in play)

Art finally offered some positive suggestions:

1. Reaffirm the right to control
2. EOL care not just in the ICU bust also in primary care
3. Emphasize DPAHC
4. Address fears of prescribing addictive drugs
5. No ANH exceptionalism
6. No starting EOL treatment without knowing when will stop
7. Get all the team on board the treatment plan (including the weekend nurse)
8. Do not offer false hope
9. Always offer your professional opinion (while bioethics has done a "bad thing" by making medical care too autonomy-focused and option laden, do not just offer up a "restaurant menu")

Good suggestions. But I wonder whether they are enough. Even with better communication and stronger endorsement and persuasion of "appropriate" treatment, many surrogates will continue to press for "inappropriate" treatment. We can perhaps reduce the scope of those sorts of conflicts, but nothing in Art's suggestions will eliminate them.

Posted by Thaddeus Mason Pope at 12:22 PM

The Future of EOL Bioethics

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Seeking the Right to Kill with dignity or whatever in Washington State...

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A bipartisan group of state legislators, including Republican state Sen. Joe Zarelli, Tuesday urged voters not to sign Initiative 1000, the assisted suicide petition circulating in Washington.

“It has virtually no protection for low-income and vulnerable people from being pressured into prematurely ending their life,” state Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, said in a statement released by the Olympia-based Coalition Against Assisted Suicide.

“This very dangerous initiative never would have passed the Legislature,” added Prentice, a registered nurse and chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The Death with Dignity measure would allow terminally-ill adult patients considered mentally competent to request and administer lethal medication prescribed by a physician. Such actions by both patients and physicians acting in good faith would be legally protected under the measure.

In 1991, Initiative 119, a similar (but broader) measure failed, getting 46 percent of the vote.

Zarelli, of Ridgefield, said he believes voters of his the 19th District, which includes Kalama, Woodland Castle Rock and Toutle, don’t support physician-assisted suicide.

“Personally, I don’t agree with it. The idea of a health care institution — it’s purpose is to help people, not help them take their lives. ” The initiative would “create conflicting ethics” for doctors, said Zarelli, one of 11 Republicans to join in Tuesday’s condemnation of the measure. Four Democrats also signed on.

The measure’s most outspoken supporter is former Washington Gov. Booth Gardner, who reportedly given more than $120,000 to the campaign on its behalf, according to ballotpedia.org.

Gov. Chris Gregoire opposes the measure and has said, “I find it on a personal level very, very difficult to support assisted suicide.”

State Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, said Tuesday he supports the measure.

“I have had end-of-life issues in my family. I think those are decisions that we should be making for ourselves,” said Takko, whose 18th District seat represents the cities of Longview and Kelso, all of Wahkiakum county and parts of Pacific and Grays Harbor counties.

In addition, he said, he has heard Gardner speak on the initiative, and the former governor, who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, “makes a pretty compelling case.”

Takko noted that Oregon’s doctor-assisted suicide law has not led to waves of people ending their lives early.

Supports of the I-1000 have until July 3 to submit a minimum of 224,800 valid voters signatures to put the initiative on the November ballot, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

According to its supporters, I-1000 “will give tremendous peace of mind to terminally ill patients who face the prospect of prolonged suffering at end of life,” according to the Yes on 1000 Web site.

The Coalition Against Assisted Suicide, objects to two provisions of the initiative:

• It does not require terminally ill patients to undergo a mental health evaluation before obtaining lethal drugs, even those with depression can seek assisted suicide.

• The family members of the patient need not be given notice of the patient’s intent.

In her statement, Sen. Prentice, said there is a danger that “physicians can prescribe lethal drugs to patients who are depressed or mentally ill. In 2007, according to the Oregon Department of Health, not one patient in Oregon was referred for psychological counseling, a sure sign to me there is nothing to protect those suffering psychological distress.”

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Me...In the comments a dope echoed proof that the propaganda lie shouted long and loud records on this guy's chip. That is, decent Americans want poor innocents like Terri murdered slowly and abhor any who would try to save her.

" As of 2007, 341 or 26 people a year have taken advantage of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act of 1994. But doesn't pain medication kill many more with terminal medical conditions. Didn't republicans learn anything from Terri Schiavo Case in Florida? Or do you have to force your childish religious morality down everyones throught? 82% of Americans say the country is on the wrong track. Is it any wonder why. "

Zarelli, other state lawmakers voice opposition to assisted suicide initiative

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Lowering the boomers from a boob using similar propaganda mumbling as I noted in the previous post...

Our Boomer leader Clinton gave us Monica, Paula, Marc Rich, Gennifer Flowers, Travelgate, Whitewater and Impeachment. Our leader Bush gave us Terry Schiavo, Guantanamo, Katrina, Abu Ghraib, Rendition, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Waterboarding. Quite the legacy....

Goodbye, Boomer pols, and good riddance

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Well into the third year after the atrocity, liberals just can't shut their mouths blaming all the world's failings on people who tried to save innocent Terri from being murdered.

Here is one more example...

On the political side, opposition to research that has the bipartisan backing of many patient groups is one reason American voters are fed up with President Bush's domestic agenda, said Charlie Cook in his Cook Political Report published by the National Journal.

Voters increasingly are voicing "disappointment with the GOP's emphasis on social, cultural, and religious issues, pointing especially to the controversies over the Terri Schiavo case and over embryonic-stem-cell research," Cook said.......

State's stem cell bill: the political stakes are high

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Ahhh, the innocence of youth, so trusting of their source for information... Propaganda works.

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To The Editor: We sure have come a long way from the days when we were accidentally burying people alive. Where as, with today’s technology we are practically keeping the good as dead alive.

While modern day technology is saving thousands of lives, it is also leading to many serious moral issues such as the case of Terri Schiavo. So what is the right or wrong choice; do you let live artificially or let die naturally?

The family wanted to keep her alive with life support because they loved her, but the husband wanted her dead for her money. This is where the true crime comes into play. The only way you can justify whether this was right or wrong is the motive behind the person’s reasoning.

The best way to avoid the trauma and moral dilemma experienced is for every one to have a living will. That way there would be no question of what to do in this kind of situation.

Chris Flores

Hendersonville

Christ Flores, 15, wrote this letter to the editor for an English assignment.

Living will avoids any ambiguity

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I am slicing an excerpt from this fiery article and recommend all check it out at the link. I have excerpted a section of it so as not to take up all that space on the post, but it is of the same tone throughout.

Some we have seen in recent times were simply sheep in shepherd's clothing, who had made a "pact" with the wolves that they be eaten last.

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So, I look at what is going on with the Judicial Tyranny in the State of California and I wonder when will “the church of Gulliver” arise? How long will righteousness continue to be tied down by the black-robed Lilliputians? Could it be that the Lord is allowing all of these things to come upon us to get His Body to stand up and fight?

Over the past eight years I have spent a lot of time defending the faith the best I know how. I have seen victory after victory slip from our hands because the “men of the cloth” were AWOL on the field of battle. I have traveled the land and personally witnessed:

• Judge Roy Moore stand for the Ten Commandments only to be called a law-breaker and be abandoned by the shepherds when he was hauled off of the bench that he'd been elected to by the People.
• Terri Schiavo being murdered as the “shepherds” fed their flock in the safety of their sanctuaries. Instead of fighting for her life they encouraged folks to “get a living will.”
• Women go into abortion mills as pastors drive by on their way to their Saturday morning tee-time.
• Sodomy legalized. Gambling legalized. Divorce legalized. Homo “marriage" legalized. All by judges who have no right to legislate and legislators who forget that they work “for the people.”
• Homosexuality celebrated in government schools. A teacher ordered to remove a Bible from his desk. Christianity stripped from the schools of this nation while the pastors support the un-Godly institution.
• Children snatched from their homes by “government social services.”
• The pulpit silenced by the IRS in fear of losing their tax-exempt status.

So now the Lord brings another opponent our way. Government of the People, by the People, and for the People has been shredded by six Republican-appointed judges in California. The secular pastors are out in the streets praising the “wisdom” of the Court, while Christian pastors are safely secured in their sanctuaries where they curse the darkness of this day rather than being the light from which the evil must flee...........

SHEEP WITHOUT SHEPHERDS

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[8mmMauser]

Thanks, folks, for the pings! More news from Jim Robinson on post#250 and subsequent...

May we all keep fervent in our prayers for our great leader in these perilous times!

Welcome Home, Jim ..... Time to Celebrate (Message from Jim @ #250!)

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A doctor writes a novel based on his experience with patients and death.

"So many of the topics I was trying to cover are so boring to read about unless they blow up, like in the Terri Schiavo case," he said. "I get to see people die all different kinds of ways frequently. I do know that there is a good death and I do know there's a very bad way to die, and both are happening all the time."

He was also determined to avoid being preachy. He doesn't claim to know the answers to the conundrums about how we die, but he does know the questions we should be asking: Are we using too many resources to prolong life a few more days, when those resources could possibly be shifted to prevention or early treatment? Are we serving the patient or the family members' sense of obligation? Should we be dying in sterile institutions or at home? Should we - brace yourself - ration end-of-life care to avoid the looming health care crisis? Or is the greater risk that we'll allow doctors to play God?............

Springs doctor's novel explores death

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When I checked out this info from Politico.com, I really didn't expect to gag from the banner at the top lauding an islamocommie as candidate for President. Nevertheless, ....

Still, a comparison of the House GOP’s 2006 American Values Agenda with its 2008 American Family Agenda shows how the party’s emphasis has changed.

Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) pushed several items out of the 2006 agenda in the wake of the Terri Schiavo euthanasia imbroglio: a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, prohibitions on gambling and human cloning, and a law requiring that women seeking abortions be told that the procedures can cause fetal pain.......

Religious right feeling left out in race

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Further to my post on #241 on the Kalamazoo guy, BykrBayb found more disturbing stuff about him.

Here is his blogspot:

Healthcare in America ... Before we can hope to have universal healthcare coverage, we must first solve the problems that make healthcare so outrageously expensive.

And here is a fax he would like us all to send:

DIY Death warrant

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New Crist Minstrels alert! Is Charlie, uhhhh, really??? Who would have thought???

Try out this most enlightening thread by Keltik about the guy who would be mate to mcCain. Why, that would turn Grouchy into a Cristy Critter. I am horrified to think of one day Grouchy's partner would come out on top!

The rumors about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the Green Iguana just wouldn't go away.

The story goes that the Florida governor frequented the Green Iguana, a bar in Tampa, back in the early 1990s when he was just starting his political career. He was less careful back then, people say, and during his partying at the Green Iguana, he was openly gay.......

"Will American voters elect the first gay vice president in November?" (Crist of Florida)

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