Politics
Tuesday September 28, 2004
Court to Hear Debate Over Hospital's No-Resuscitation Rule for Preemie
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
PORTSMOUTH, September 28, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Charlotte Wyatt weighed no more than one pound when she was born three months premature. She has severely damaged lungs and doctors have predicted she will not live past infancy. Her parents were told that should she have life-threatening problems, the child would be kept alive long enough for them to attend her death but that it would be "against the child's interests" to resuscitate her.
The hospital has said it will seek a court injunction if the parents insist on resuscitation. The child is now ten months old, weighs ten pounds and, say her parents, deserves every chance to live. Her father, Darren Wyatt said, "She has been fighting for 10 months and I'm not prepared to let her down. We need to be able to say we did absolutely everything in our power to help her."
He vowed to fight for his child's life in court. "If the hospital tries to get a court order we will have to fight that. We still hope that one day Charlotte might come out of hospital. We have a feeling that she can pull through." Mr. Justice Hedley said a public hearing was in the interests of an informed debate. He said, "In this kind of case, the interests of justice are much more likely to be served by a responsible debate, based on as full information as possible."
Doctors who decide to withhold treatment must 'discuss' the matter with parents, but there is no requirement that they abide by parents' wishes. Minutes from a meeting of the Portsmouth Hospital Trustees say, "The trust would be prepared to go to the courts rather than send Charlotte to the intensive care unit. From past experience the court would agree with the doctors as they would feel that doctors cannot be forced to treat a child in a way they believe to be against the child's best interests - despite the wishes of the parents."
News Telegraph coverage: http://www.sport.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/08/28/nbaby28.xm...
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- BREAKING: US Congress Passes Health Care Reform Bill 220 to 215
- Stupak Amendment to Health Care Bill Passes 240 - 194 Saturday Evening
- Major Health Care Development - Pro-Life Stupak Amendment Vote OK'd for Today
- NY Times: Dems Banking on Later Squeezing Pro-Life Language Out of Bill in Committee
- USCCB Spokesman: "Definitely Not True" that Bishops Support Bill As it Stands
- TIME Got it Wrong - Prof. George Opposed Grandiose Kennedy Funeral
- USCCB Condemnation Tears Facade off "Phony" Abortion Compromise for Health Bill
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholic Left
- Dirty Fighting on Abortion Funding: Word-Games and Health-Care Theatrics Boggle the Mind
- Commentary on November 6 News
- Note to LifeSiteNews Subscribers with Rogers email addresses
- New York Gov. Declares Nov. 10 Extraordinary Legislative Session for Same-Sex "Marriage"
- Washington's Pro-Family Amendment Effort Defeated - R-71 Almost Certain to Pass
- Vote Pushed Back on Canadian Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Bill to Dec. 2
- Elderly U.K. Couple in Good Health Commit Suicide, Complain of Assisted Suicide Law
- Texas Late-Term Abortionist and Baptist Minister Admits: "Am I killing? Yes, I am"
- New Evidence Contradicts CCHD's Findings on Accused Pro-Abortion Partner
- Quebec Priest Denies Possibility of Sexual Reorientation Therapy on TV
- New Hampshire Same-Sex "Marriage" Law in Crosshairs after Maine's Law Crumbles
- Brooklyn Bishop Criticized for Recorded Message Praising Pro-Abortion Politician
- First Group of "Traditionalist" Anglicans in Britain Votes to Enter Catholic Church
Most Read this Week
- Planned Parenthood Director Resigns after Watching Ultrasound of Abortion Procedure
- Nun Defiant Following Rebuke, but Stops Abortion Escorting
- Breaking: Dominican Community Apologizes for Nun Caught Acting as Abortion Escort
- Over 200 Christendom College Students Protest Abortion at Planned Parenthood Clinic
- TIME Article Setting Burke Against O'Malley Called "Tactical strike" on Behalf of Catholics Left
- Scottish Gay Rights Activists Found Guilty of Pedophilia Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
- Newly Identified Corporate Supporters of Planned Parenthood Named
- Major Health Care Bill Development - Stupak Hyde Amendment Vote OK'd
- Health Care Bill Includes Monthly Abortion Premium: House Minority Leader Boehner
- Canadian MP Launches Petition to Stop Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.