Premature Baby

[VincentO]

I just wondered what the Church would say about the current case in the UK.

There’s a young baby girl who was born less than half way to term. For the last 6 months at least she’s only been being kept alive by living in an oxygen box and she has had to be ‘aggresively resuscitated’ several times.

The doctors in charge say that she is in constant pain and without 24 hour care the child wouldn’t be alive. She is not able to recognise her parents, or to be fed and many other terrible things are wrong with her.

The doctors in the hospital have been taken by the court by the parents as they wanted to allow this little girl to die in peace. If her heart or breathing fails again they don’t want to resuscitate her but to let her slip away with as much care and love as they can give.

The judge has upheld the doctor’s decision. Whatever way this case went it would have been absolutely dreadful and terribly sad.

But I just wondered if the church has a stance on cases like this?

Please pray for this little girl and her parents.

Peace

Vince

 

[Gerry_Hunter]

The Church teaches that, although proper medical care is to be provided, heroic or exceptional care is not mandatory. It is never necessary to keep someone artificially alive.

I don’t know the details of this case well enough to suggest an application of that teaching to this case. But this I do know. My second son (we named him John Paul) lived only minutes in 1979, after a very premature birth. What I know is that I have a son in heaven, because he was baptized in emergency.

So it will, by God’s grace, be for that child.

Blessings,

Gerry

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

VincentO:

I just wondered what the Church would say about the current case in the UK.

There’s a young baby girl who was born less than half way to term. For the last 6 months at least she’s only been being kept alive by living in an oxygen box and she has had to be ‘aggresively resuscitated’ several times.

The doctors in charge say that she is in constant pain and without 24 hour care the child wouldn’t be alive. She is not able to recognise her parents, or to be fed and many other terrible things are wrong with her.

The doctors in the hospital have been taken by the court by the parents as they wanted to allow this little girl to die in peace. If her heart or breathing fails again they don’t want to resuscitate her but to let her slip away with as much care and love as they can give.

The judge has upheld the doctor’s decision. Whatever way this case went it would have been absolutely dreadful and terribly sad.

But I just wondered if the church has a stance on cases like this?

Please pray for this little girl and her parents.

Peace

Vince

This would be a case of medical care with a disproportional hope of a favorable result. The possibility of this child surviving and living a reasonable to normal life is slim to none. The child should be Baptized, if not already and allowed to pass away, in a natural manner in my opinion.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

It should be a matter for the parents to decide. It is not a matter for doctors or the courts.