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Third Doctor Says Jahi McMath is Not Brain Dead, Family Wants Death Certificate Revoked
LifeSiteNews ^ | 2/16/15 | Wesley J. Smith

Posted on 02/16/2015 8:41:02 AM PST by wagglebee

According to a media report out of New Jersey, a third doctor–the others are Shewmon and Calixto–has signed a declaration stating Jahi McMath is not brain dead. The family attorney Chris Dolan says he will petition the California Secretary of State to rescind the death certificate. From the N.J.com story:

Dolan provided NJ Advance Media with signed declarations from four doctors, including Charles J. Prestigiacomo, director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery at University Hospital in Newark and chair of the neurological surgery department at Rutgers, stating that McMath isn’t brain dead.

“The brain structure evidenced in the MRI is not consistent with an MRI of a patient that has been brain dead over nine months,” Prestigiacomo wrote in his declaration after reviewing tests on McMath conducted at University Hospital. He added that McMath has a “very significant brain injury but she doesn’t meet the criteria for brain dead.”

If the description of Prestigiacomo’s declaration is accurate–I haven’t seen it–that is more than enough to reopen the case.

Attorney Dolan says that if the Secretary doesn’t give relief, he will sue.

But why should that be necessary? Given the declarations by three reputable brain specialist doctors and others, at the very least the Secretary should conduct a thorough investigation, including a full medical reassessment.

Jahi is owed that.

The integrity of the system demands it.

JahiMcMath2b

And if the unprecedented has happened–that a declared brain dead person ceased being brain dead–finding out what happened and why is absolutely in the interests of science.

And for those screaming NO–I know you’re there, I can hear you fuming–what in the world would be harmed by taking another detailed look? Or are you so locked in to this poor girl being dead you don’t care if she really is?

I will see if I can get a copy of the declaration. If I do, I’ll detail it here.

LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: euthanasia; jahimcmath; moralabsolutes; prolife; wesleyjsmith; zot
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And for those screaming NO–I know you’re there, I can hear you fuming–what in the world would be harmed by taking another detailed look? Or are you so locked in to this poor girl being dead you don’t care if she really is?

This explains the culture of death perfectly! Many are so invested in their agenda that they are completely unwilling to even consider the facts.

1 posted on 02/16/2015 8:41:02 AM PST by wagglebee
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To: Coleus; narses; Salvation
Pro-Life Ping
2 posted on 02/16/2015 8:41:31 AM PST by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: 185JHP; 230FMJ; AKA Elena; APatientMan; Albion Wilde; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; ...
Moral Absolutes Ping!

Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.

FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
[ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]


3 posted on 02/16/2015 8:41:56 AM PST by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: Ohioan from Florida; 8mmMauser; T'wit; wagglebee; Alamo-Girl; AlwaysFree; amdgmary; angelwings49; ..

4 posted on 02/16/2015 8:43:41 AM PST by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: wagglebee

Wag, those that do not see life as a gift from God want to play god and decide who should have it


5 posted on 02/16/2015 8:59:33 AM PST by RnMomof7
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To: RnMomof7
Wag, those that do not see life as a gift from God want to play god and decide who should have it

This has been mankind's condition since the Fall; however, it seems to be getting deadlier by the day.

6 posted on 02/16/2015 9:04:23 AM PST by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: wagglebee
A little background on those unfamiliar with this case, as I was. Click picture below:


7 posted on 02/16/2015 9:19:33 AM PST by Robert DeLong (u)
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To: wagglebee

About every month or less I google news Jahi to see if there is any update. Hope they can get this death certificate reversed.


8 posted on 02/16/2015 9:29:58 AM PST by MomwithHope (Please support efforts in your state for an Article 5 convention.)
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To: wagglebee

I spent many years as a critical care nurse looking after patients with devastating injuries. Some had “brain death” confirmed by cerebral flow studies among other tests. I can tell you with absolute certainty that anyone who is really truly brain dead cannot breathe without a ventilator and cannot maintain blood pressure without high dose infusions of exogenous catecholamines. These patients, if not removed from “life support” succumb to a cardiac death within a few days because the neuro endocrine methods of keeping the heart beating stop within days of brain function ceasing. All these cases of people living months or years as “brain dead” are all such bee ess and anyone who understands the physiology would know that. The death mongers love to throw that term around because it serves their pro-death, anti-life purpose. And many uninformed FReepers even fall for it. Sad

This girl is not & was not ever “brain dead”.


9 posted on 02/16/2015 11:15:22 AM PST by surroundedbyblue (Bitter clinger & creepy-ass cracker)
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To: surroundedbyblue
This girl is not & was not ever “brain dead”.

Take a look at this:
UCLA Neurologist: Jahi “Alive!” “Awake!”

Among the highlights:
1. She can move her feet when asked -- impossible if someone is "brain dead"
2. Menarche occurred in her condition -- sexual maturation doesn't continue if someone is "brain dead"
3. The structure of her brain, in particular her cerebral cortex hasn't liquefied after a year -- impossible in someone who is "brain dead"

10 posted on 02/16/2015 11:28:34 AM PST by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: wagglebee

Exactly. And she has a blood pressure she’s maintaining on her own. My point in my post above is that despite the ventilator, brain dead people cannot be maintained indefinitely.

Where I currently work, we had an infant shaken to death at age 5 months right around Christmas time. This baby was diagnosed as brain dead after a few days in the icu and I was comfortable with that because a CT scan showed that her brain had herniated down thru the base of her skull and was actually in her neck for lack of a better description. She was on multiple IV infusions to keep her heart beating and blood pressure up. Despite all of that, she became more and more cardiac unstable and eventually sustained cardiac arrest despite all the “life support” measures.


11 posted on 02/16/2015 11:42:00 AM PST by surroundedbyblue (Bitter clinger & creepy-ass cracker)
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To: surroundedbyblue
My point in my post above is that despite the ventilator, brain dead people cannot be maintained indefinitely.

My understanding is that when there is actual brain death the body begins to deteriorate fairly rapidly regardless of any life support.

12 posted on 02/16/2015 11:51:32 AM PST by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: wagglebee

Yep.

You & I know this. Sad other FReepers don’t get it.


13 posted on 02/16/2015 11:55:10 AM PST by surroundedbyblue (Bitter clinger & creepy-ass cracker)
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To: surroundedbyblue

I agree. I was really shocked to find that, where Jahi was concerned, FR was NOT a pro-life, parental rights website.

The glee that many seemed to find in declaring this girl a ‘rotting corpse’ and calling her mother ‘sick’ for trying to protect her daughter was very upsetting to me.

I thought I knew my fellow FReepers.

Turns out that the reason that she’s unresponsive is that she has severe damage to her brain stem. Her higher brain functions are intact. There’s just no way for messages to go from her brain to her body.

She’s there. She’s healthy. Her hormones are in balance and are taking care of her body just fine.

She has profound brain damage and is ‘locked in’, but she’s still there.

This rabid desire to declare a girl ‘dead’ when her mother fought for hope is so unlike our pro-life group.


14 posted on 02/16/2015 12:18:39 PM PST by Marie
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To: wagglebee

Thanks for the ping!


15 posted on 02/16/2015 8:33:35 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: wagglebee

Thanks for keeping the spotlight on.

God bless Jahi and her family.


16 posted on 02/16/2015 11:44:01 PM PST by BykrBayb (Where there is life, there is hope. - Terri Schiavo ~ Þ)
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To: Marie

Agreeing with you, FRiend.


17 posted on 02/17/2015 5:06:40 PM PST by FamiliarFace
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To: MomwithHope

The child is dead. Her body has decomposed to the point where one of the nurses who was caring for Jahi quit because of the horrific smell. The air conditioner in the room has been turned all the way up and they’re keeping the windows open.

I’m not a coroner or medical examiner but I know a decomposed body when I see one.


18 posted on 03/05/2015 3:28:59 PM PST by POWERSBOOTHEFAN (Made in September 1975. All Original Parts.)
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To: wagglebee

Jahi is dead. Completely and totally dead. She is not in a coma and she will never wake up.

I’ve seen photos of her and her feet are bloated and discolored and if you look at her face you can tell that she is deceased. She has no life left in her.


19 posted on 03/05/2015 3:32:58 PM PST by POWERSBOOTHEFAN (Made in September 1975. All Original Parts.)
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To: wagglebee

One of the caretakers/nurses had to quit because of the overwhelming odor of decomposition.

She is gone and needs to be laid to rest.


20 posted on 03/05/2015 3:35:24 PM PST by POWERSBOOTHEFAN (Made in September 1975. All Original Parts.)
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