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Schiavo Precedent already Reality - Granddaughter Pulls Woman's Feeding Tube

LAGRANGE, Georgia, April 8, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A woman convalescing from surgery was moved to a local hospice, where her granddaughter, claiming to have legal power of attorney over her grandmother, ordered the hospice to pull the 81-year-old woman's feeding tube.

Mae Magouirk has not had food or water since March 28, even though her living will states that food and water not be discontinued unless she enters a coma or a persistent vegetative state. Magouirk was expected to make a recovery after surgery for a dissecting aorta, until her granddaughter, 36-year-old Beth Gaddy intervened, ordering her transferred to a local hospice and her feeding and hydration discontinued. Hospice care is normally reserved for the terminally ill, which Magouirk is not.

Magouirk lives alone but, because of glaucoma, she relies on Gaddy for errands and groceries. "Grandmama is old and I think it is time she went home to Jesus," Gaddy told Magouirk's brother and nephew, A. Byron McLeod, and Ken Mullinax, according to a WorldNetDaily report. "She has glaucoma and now this heart problem, and who would want to live with disabilities like these?"

Mullinax also said Magouirk's cardiologists told him they believe the aortic dissection, although serious, was contained and not life threatening. Mullinax and McLeod hold the true power of attorney for Magouirk. After learning of her state, they ordered an immediate re-insertion of the feeding tube. Hospice staff distracted McLeod and Mullinax while Gaddy obtained an emergency guardianship order from Troup County, Ga., Probate Court Judge Donald W. Boyd. Gaddy then re-ordered the removal of the feeding tube. Judge Boyd has not made a final ruling, while Magouirk enters her 11th day without water or food.

Meanwhile, Christianity.ca reports that the situation is not a foreign one to Canadians. In 2002, the wife of a man in a similar state to Terri's won a fight with the man's family to have his food and hydration stopped. He died because a Canadian judge sided with the man's wife. In addition, judges have ruled on several occasions in favour of doctor's "do not resuscitate" orders over the wishes of the legal guardians - in one case, the parents of a shaken baby.

Contact information to voice concerns over Mae Magouirk:
State Attorney General: http://ago.georgia.gov/01/home/0,2197,708785,00.html;jsessionid=84688DB2752BC1D7...

State bar association officers to report Judge: http://www.gabar.org/directories/state_bar_officers/

Georgia Bureau of Investigation: http://gbi.georgia.gov/01/home/0,2197,1335502,00.html;jsessionid=F6AB7A8EA189F67...

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