Judge allows premature baby to die
HOW AWEFUL!
Judge allows premature baby to die
From correspondents in London
October 8, 2004
DOCTORS caring for a critically-ill premature baby were given permission by a British judge today to allow her to die if her condition seriously deteriorates and her breathing stops.
High Court Justice Sir Mark Hedley rendered his decision after parents Darren and Debbie Wyatt, who are expecting their third child, urged him not to give up on their 11-month-old daughter Charlotte.
Charlotte, born three months prematurely, has severe breathing and neurological problems, and lives in a plastic box on an oxygen feed.
Doctors argued that she would have 'a terrible quality of life' if she survives.
In handing down his judgement, Sir Hedley said Charlotte - who has already stopped breathing on three occasions, and revived each time - should be given three things:
'As much comfort as possible, as much time as possible to spend in the presence and in contact with her parents, and she should be allowed to meet her end, in the words of Mr Wyatt, with the TLC (tender loving care) of those who love her the most.'
The case is likely to stoke further debate in Britain about how long a patient on life support should be allowed to live.
Sir Hedley, who like the Wyatts is a devout Christian, expressed 'discomfort' at his decision to counter the parents but also added that any further effort to resuscitate the infant was 'fraught with risk'.
Mrs Wyatt, 23, dabbed away tears with a tissue clutched in her hand and looked shocked by the judge's decision.
She refused to comment as she left the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
'As you will appreciate, Darren and Debbie Wyatt are extremely upset following the judgement handed down this afternoon,' their lawyer Richard Stein told reporters.
'They have no comment to make at present.'
He said: 'They have asked me to say that they feel it was most important that the issues in the case have been aired in public because as a result everyone has had an opportunity to consider the extremely difficult issues faced by them and numerous other parents in their position.'
Last week, Charlotte's father, who is 33, made an impassioned plea to the judge not to allow the doctors to let her die.
'When you get to the stage when you grow to love someone, you can't just throw them away like a bad egg and say you will get a different egg,' he said.
The couple had argued Charlotte was 'a fighter' and that everything should be done for her, even though she would be disabled if she survived.
Portsmouth Hospitals, in southern England, had asked the judge for a declaration allowing doctors not to ventilate Charlotte in the event of a future critical respiratory episode.
Paediatricians said she would not survive beyond infancy and even then would never leave the hospital because of her critical problems.
Agence France-Presse
News.com.au
Judge allows premature baby to die
From correspondents in London
October 8, 2004
DOCTORS caring for a critically-ill premature baby were given permission by a British judge today to allow her to die if her condition seriously deteriorates and her breathing stops.
High Court Justice Sir Mark Hedley rendered his decision after parents Darren and Debbie Wyatt, who are expecting their third child, urged him not to give up on their 11-month-old daughter Charlotte.
Charlotte, born three months prematurely, has severe breathing and neurological problems, and lives in a plastic box on an oxygen feed.
Doctors argued that she would have 'a terrible quality of life' if she survives.
In handing down his judgement, Sir Hedley said Charlotte - who has already stopped breathing on three occasions, and revived each time - should be given three things:
'As much comfort as possible, as much time as possible to spend in the presence and in contact with her parents, and she should be allowed to meet her end, in the words of Mr Wyatt, with the TLC (tender loving care) of those who love her the most.'
The case is likely to stoke further debate in Britain about how long a patient on life support should be allowed to live.
Sir Hedley, who like the Wyatts is a devout Christian, expressed 'discomfort' at his decision to counter the parents but also added that any further effort to resuscitate the infant was 'fraught with risk'.
Mrs Wyatt, 23, dabbed away tears with a tissue clutched in her hand and looked shocked by the judge's decision.
She refused to comment as she left the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
'As you will appreciate, Darren and Debbie Wyatt are extremely upset following the judgement handed down this afternoon,' their lawyer Richard Stein told reporters.
'They have no comment to make at present.'
He said: 'They have asked me to say that they feel it was most important that the issues in the case have been aired in public because as a result everyone has had an opportunity to consider the extremely difficult issues faced by them and numerous other parents in their position.'
Last week, Charlotte's father, who is 33, made an impassioned plea to the judge not to allow the doctors to let her die.
'When you get to the stage when you grow to love someone, you can't just throw them away like a bad egg and say you will get a different egg,' he said.
The couple had argued Charlotte was 'a fighter' and that everything should be done for her, even though she would be disabled if she survived.
Portsmouth Hospitals, in southern England, had asked the judge for a declaration allowing doctors not to ventilate Charlotte in the event of a future critical respiratory episode.
Paediatricians said she would not survive beyond infancy and even then would never leave the hospital because of her critical problems.
Agence France-Presse
News.com.au
