| Author |
Message |
Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
|
 Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:20 am Court: State can let beaten girl die |
|
| Quote: |
CNN.com
Powered by
Click Here to Print
SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close
Court: State can let beaten girl die
Stepfather, charged in her beating, fought state's decision
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- Massachusetts' highest court ruled Tuesday that an 11-year-old girl who allegedly was beaten with a baseball bat could be taken off life support.
The move could lead to murder charges against her stepfather.
State officials had asked that Haleigh Poutre's ventilator and feeding tube be withdrawn after doctors said she was in a vegetative state with no hope of recovery.
Her stepfather, who is already charged with beating the girl, fought the move, but the Supreme Judicial Court ruled against him.
No immediate date was set for the removal of life support, said Denise Monteiro, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services. Doctors have said Haleigh would die within a few days without the feeding tube.
The child was hospitalized in September after she was allegedly kicked and beaten nearly to death.
The girl's stepfather, Jason Strickland, asked the Supreme Judicial Court last month to block the state from taking her off life support, arguing that he was the girl's "de facto" parent.
The adoptive mother, Holli Strickland, who was also Haleigh's aunt, was also charged in the beating and was found dead alongside her grandmother in a possible murder-suicide less than two weeks later.
'Vegetative state'
The state Department of Social Services has custody of the girl and wants to remove her from life support, citing opinions from her doctors that the girl is in a permanent vegetative state.
A juvenile court judge granted the state's request to disconnect Haleigh's feeding tube and ventilator, prompting Jason Strickland to appeal.
Doctors had said Haleigh would die within a few days without the feeding tube.
But in its ruling, the court said he had offered no evidence "that his participation in (Haleigh's) life was of a loving or nurturing nature."
"Obviously we're deeply disappointed," said Strickland's lawyer, John Egan. "They decided the case on the most narrow grounds possible."
No decision had been made on whether the case would be taken any further, he said
Haleigh's biological mother Allison Avrett, said Tuesday: "I'm in complete shock at this point. My mind is running with things."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services had no immediate comment.
Stepfather wanted say
Haleigh was adopted by her aunt about five years ago after Avrett moved to Virginia with a new boyfriend.
Jason Strickland, who never formally adopted the girl, argued that as the stepfather, he should be considered a de facto parent and allowed to have a say in whether she lives or dies.
Strickland's lawyer, John Egan, insisted his client isn't motivated by the chance he could be charged with murder if the girl dies.
"We should be coming down on the side of life as opposed to death," he told the justices during last month's hearing.
But the court said in its ruling that it was impossible to consider Strickland's intentions without also taking into account the criminal charges he might face if she dies.
"To recognize the petitioner as a de facto parent, in order that he may participate in a medical end-of-life decision for the child, is unthinkable in the circumstances of this case," the court said.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/17/life.support.ap/index.html
Click Here to Print
SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close
Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article.
|
|
|
|
nadia
cookie
Joined: 08 Apr 2005
Posts: 8560
Location: Australia
|
| Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:26 am |
|
This is horrible. But I suppose if there is nothing that can be done and she will be in a permanent vegetative state then I guess doing taking her off life support is the best thing to do. I know that if I had to be fed through a tube and was on life support I would want my family to take me off it.
|
|
|
Brightstar82
Rear Admiral
Joined: 08 Apr 2005
Posts: 4394
Location: A Borg Cube....Where Else?
|
| Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:22 am |
|
thats terrible i cant stand it when stuff like that happens 
|
|
|
TrekkieMage
Office Junkie
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 5335
Location: Hiding
|
| Wed Jan 18, 2006 4:39 pm |
|
This is horrible. The worst part is that the probably only reason the "father" wants to keep her in this undead state is to keep the murder charges off. I hope he gets the highest form of punishment possible.
|
|
|
Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
|
| Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:08 pm |
|
| Quote: |
Abused Mass. Girl Breathing Without Ventilator
Thursday, January 19, 2006
SPRINGFIELD, Mass � A severely beaten and comatose 11-year-old girl is now breathing on her own, officials said Thursday, two days after Massachusetts' highest court ruled the state had the authority to remove her from life support.
Denise Monteiro, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services, said doctors have weaned Haleigh Poutre off a ventilator in the past week.
"She can intake air, but she can't swallow on her own," Monteiro said.
Haleigh has been in the agency's custody since she was hospitalized four months ago with a badly damaged brain stem that authorities say resulted from abuse. Thinking that she was in an irreversible vegetative condition, the state had gone to court to seek permission to remove her from life support.
Haleigh's stepfather, Jason Strickland, is charged with beating the girl and could face a murder charge if she dies. He has fought to keep her on life support, but this week's high court ruling said he has no say in her medical care.
"This is exactly the point we were trying to make. What's the rush? Just give her a chance," attorney John Egan said. "Medical science is not that certain. We would hope the whole process will slow down, and everyone will step back and end the compulsion to end her life."
Officials first reported changes in Haleigh's condition on Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the agency had the authority to remove her ventilator and feeding tube.
Monteiro said the state now has no immediate plans to remove her feeding tube, and more medical tests will be performed Thursday. She said Haleigh had responded to some testing on Wednesday but would not specify what the tests or responses were.
When Haleigh was hospitalized four months ago, her doctors said she was in a permanent vegetative state and would die within a few days without the feeding tube.
Some patients with severe brain stem injuries may partially recover from a persistent vegetative state, but they rarely recover fully enough to communicate, feed themselves and live ordinary lives, Dr. Steve Williams, chief of rehabilitation medicine at Boston Medical Center, told The Boston Globe in its Thursday editions. But he said recovery is more likely with children than adults.
"There's more plasticity to their brain. There's potentially other areas of the brain that can take over," he said.
Haleigh's aunt and adoptive mother, Holli Strickland, also was charged with assault. But less than two weeks later, she was found dead alongside her grandmother in a possible murder-suicide.
Haleigh's biological mother, Allison Avrett, had supported removing the girl from life support. She said she met with officials and doctors Wednesday but would not comment on reports of her daughter's responses.
|
| Quote: | | Thinking that she was in an irreversible vegetative condition, the state had gone to court to seek permission to remove her from life support. |
Good thing they didn't go through with it.
|
|
|
Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
|
| Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:27 pm |
|
Agreed.  Good for her.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
|
|
|
TrekkieMage
Office Junkie
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 5335
Location: Hiding
|
| Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:14 pm |
|
I'm glad they removed the ventilator slowly. She may still not recover, but she has more of a chance. I sincerely hope that she does pull through and finds a good, safe home where she is loved and cared for and raised properly.
|
|
|
Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
|
| Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:29 pm |
|
This is why we can't blindly say that euthanasia should be legal, this very instance. But of course that's for another topic.
Good for her, though. I hope she can make a recovery...
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
|
|
|
TrekkieMage
Office Junkie
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 5335
Location: Hiding
|
| Fri Jan 20, 2006 11:15 pm |
|
Hence the reason for living will/requirement of a minimum of two doctors opinions 
But I'm glad she's shoing signs of recovery.
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
Star Trek �, in all its various forms, are trademarks & copyrights of Paramount Pictures
This site has no official connection with Star Trek or Paramount Pictures
Site content/Site design elements owned by Morphy and is meant to only be an archive/Tribute to STV.com
|
Search
FAQ
Log in
