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NRL News
Pro-Life
News in Brief Latimer Is Freed on Appeal The Appeal Division of the National Parole Board in Canada has released convicted murderer Robert Latimer from his sentence of life in prison and will allow him to live in a halfway house with freedom during the days, according to Canwest News Service. The decision overturns a December parole board decision, Latimer was convicted in 1994 but not jailed until 2001 when the Canadian Supreme Court upheld his conviction. Latimer was serving a life sentence for placing his 12-year-old daughter Tracy, who was a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, in his truck and piping in exhaust gas until she died of carbon monoxide poisoning, CanWest News Service reported. The appeal division made its decision based on what it called Latimer’s “low risk to reoffend,” according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. The division criticized the parole board’s determination that Latimer’s lack of remorse meant that he continued to pose a risk to the public. At the December hearing, Latimer told the parole board, “I still don’t feel guilty. It was the right thing to do,” the Globe and Mail reported. In its decision, the parole board cited Latimer’s “lack of insight,” stating, “You appear satisfied with the position that you and only you were able to determine her life or death, describing such decisions as beyond the law.” However, the appeal division decided that Latimer’s defense of killing his daughter qualifies as “insight.” “The board’s determinations in this regard are unreasonable and unsupported,” the division ruled, according to Canadian Press. “Your responses at the hearing reveal that you did, in fact, demonstrate insight and were able to explain why you decided to end the life of your daughter 13 years after caring for her.” Pro-lifers and advocates for the disabled in Canada are angered by Latimer’s release. “I wonder if the board would have reversed the decision if Tracy had been a non-disabled child,” Marie White, chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, told the Toronto Star. “When people start thinking it’s okay to take the life of a disabled child, that’s when we hit the slippery slope.” Abused Girl Assists in Prosecution of Stepfather Haleigh Poutre, the 14-year-old Massachusetts girl who almost died of court-ordered life support removal after a severe beating left her with brain damage, has recovered enough to begin detailing the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather and adoptive mother, according to the Boston Herald. “She is leading the way,” a source told the Herald. “I suspect she’s indicated a desire to do this.” Haleigh’s brain stem was sheared after the assault in September 2005. Haleigh’s doctors at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield said she was in a “permanent vegetative state” and should be removed from life support, according to the Boston Globe. The state Department of Social Services (DSS) asked the court to grant the department custody of Haleigh and allow DSS to withdraw both her ventilator and feeding tube. A judge gave permission January 17, 2006. However, just one day later Haleigh began to show signs of consciousness and she was allowed to remain on life support while she continued to recover, the Herald reported. Haleigh now lives in Franciscan Hospital for Children, a rehabilitative center. She attends school and can “give hand signals, speak some words, and use a computer keyboard,” according to the Globe. Her testimony is expected to play a key role at the trial of her stepfather, Jason Strickland, which is scheduled to begin October 11. Haleigh’s adoptive mother, her maternal aunt Holli Strickland, killed herself in September 2005 after she and Jason Strickland were charged with assault and battery of the little girl. Strickland’s defense attorney filed a motion questioning Haleigh’s ability to testify because of her brain injuries, the Springfield Republican reported. However, those with knowledge of Haleigh’s current condition insist that she is able to remember what happened to her and speak out against her abusers. “She’s aware of her surroundings. She clearly connects to people,” a source told the Herald. “She’s cognitive and capable of attention and understanding attention. This child has held onto life unbelievably.” Minnesota Woman Defies Doctors’ Brain Death Diagnosis After a massive cerebral hemorrhage led doctors to diagnose brain death and declare that there was “nothing we can do,” Raleane “Rae” Kupferschmidt’s family brought her home January 18. But just hours after hospice workers settled her in her Lake Elmo, Minnesota, home for what doctors said would be her dying days, Rae Kupferschmidt began to wake. “When I put the ice cube on her lips, she sucked on it,” daughter Lisa Sturm told the Stillwater Gazette. “But I knew suckling is a very basic brain stem function, so I didn’t get real excited. But when I did it again she just about sucked the ice cube out of my hand ... . “So I leaned down and asked, ‘Mom ... Mom, are you in there?’ And when she shook her head and mouthed, ‘Yes,’ we all just about fell over.” Although the family feared that her awareness would only last for a brief time just before death, Kupferschmidt remained lucid. She returned to the hospital January 22 for an operation to relieve pressure from excess blood in her brain, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported, and was able to return home for good January 31. “There’s no medical explanation for what happened to my mother,” Sturm told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “It’s a miracle.” “I’ve been the recipient of God’s grace, and given a second chance in life,” Rae Kupferschmidt told the Gazette. “God is not done with me yet. I’m not finished with my purpose. I don’t know what God’s purpose is in continuing my life, but I know I will dedicate my life to His work, whatever that is.” Husband’s Words Help British Woman Emerge from Coma A British woman emerged from a two-week coma after her husband yelled at her, urging her to fight. Yvonne Sullivan, 28, fell into unconsciousness after she gave birth July 5 to a premature baby boy, Clinton, who tragically died of a blood infection, according to The Telegraph. Sullivan also had blood poisoning, and went into septic shock. After two weeks, doctors told her husband Dominic, 37, that they would soon cut off life support, the Daily Mail reported. Mr. Sullivan went to his wife’s bedside, held her hand, and told her, “You start fighting, don’t you dare give up on me now. I’ve had enough, stop mucking around and start breathing. Come back to me,” according to the Daily Mail. Just two hours later she began to breathe on her own, and within five days she was off the ventilator and on the road to recovery, The Telegraph reported. While doctors do not know for sure what brought Mrs. Sullivan back to consciousness, they acknowledged that the brain does continue to process information even while the patient is in a coma. “It is entirely possible that her husband provided her with some stimulus which helped her to come back,” Dr. Narendar Ramnani of the Royal Holloway University of London told The Telegraph. “I can’t remember exactly what he said but I never liked getting told off by Dom,” Yvonne Sullivan said, according to The Telegraph. “Something inside me just clicked and I began to fight again. When I came round I thought he’d been gone a few minutes, then he told me I’d been out for two weeks. It’s a miracle. I owe him so much.” Forced Abortions Attempted with Internet-Purchased Pills Two men have been sentenced to jail time for attempting to force abortions of their children by buying abortifacients through the Internet and hiding it in the womens’ food. A Swedish man will spend 18 months in prison for aggravated assault, according to the Associated Press (AP), while in Britain a man was sentenced to over three years for “administering a poison with intent to cause miscarriage,” the Daily Mail reported. In Sweden, the unidentified 27-year-old man wanted his girlfriend to have an abortion but she refused, according to the AP. He then ordered the abortion pills over the Internet and served his pregnant girlfriend a cup of yogurt containing three pills, the AP reported. The woman began to bleed and suffer severe stomach pains. Tragically, once she discovered that she had taken an abortifacient she had an abortion anyway, “fearing that the fetus had been permanently damaged by the pills,” according to the AP. The British case is eerily similar to the Swedish one. Gil Magira, 36, also urged his wife, Anat Abraham, to have an abortion when she told him she was pregnant in November 2006, the London Times reported. When she refused, he bought mifepristone and misoprostol—the two drugs used in the RU486 abortion technique—over the Internet, according to the Times. Magira also used yogurt, along with a sandwich, to deliver the pills to Abraham in February 2007, when she was 11 weeks pregnant. After suffering pain and bleeding for two weeks, Abraham discovered that her husband gave her the pills when a psychiatrist consulted by Magira urged him to confess, the Independent reported. Despite her worries that the pills harmed her unborn baby, Abraham gave birth to her son, Matan, in June, two months prematurely, according to the Mirror. He weighed only four pounds, seven ounces and needed surgery to relieve a blood clot, but is otherwise healthy. “You cannot imagine how wonderful it feels to hold my son,” said Abraham, according to the Mirror. “[Magira] tried to terminate our baby, end his child’s life before it had even begun and that’s the cruellest thing imaginable. But, despite everything, Matan is here today.” In what is considered one of the few prosecutions for “using an instrument to procure a miscarriage” since Britain legalized abortion 40 years ago, a judge sentenced Magira February 29 to three years and nine months in prison, the Times reported. Unlicensed Dayton Abortion Clinic Allowed to Remain Open Despite the revocation of its license for failing to have an agreement with a hospital for emergency care, a judge allowed the Women’s Medical Center of Dayton abortion clinic to remain open so it could complete abortion procedures that had already begun, according to the Dayton Daily News. For five years, the abortion mill has evaded requirements that it must affiliate with a hospital that would accept patients who experience complications during abortions that require emergency treatment. The state Department of Health finally revoked its license February 14, but the clinic, owned by notorious abortionist Martin Haskell, continued to perform abortions until a judge issued a cease-and-desist order February 27, the Daily News reported. However, that same day U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley contradicted the order and allowed the abortion clinic to remain open until another hearing March 10. Marbley said that some women had already been given cervical-dilation drugs, and that “these women must finish the pregnancy termination procedure promptly or risk infection or other injury,” according to the Daily News. Local pro-lifers are paying close attention to the case. “We have been concerned for some time that this abortion provider thinks he is above the law and as a result, women are forced to accept a lower standard of care,” said Christi Dodson, executive director of Dayton Right to Life. “This is particularly egregious since this particular facility does do late term abortions and was notorious for its performance of partial-birth abortions.” Pope Reiterates Church’s Condemnation of Euthanasia In a statement to participants at a conference entitled “Close by the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects,” Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to euthanasia and commitment to respecting life until natural death. The conference, sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life, took place at the Vatican in late February, according to the Catholic News Agency. The Pope stressed that “all society, and in particular the sectors associated with medical science, are duty bound to express the solidarity of love, and to safeguard and respect human life in every moment of its earthly development, especially when it is ill or in its terminal stages.” He went on to specify that “ordinary” means of treatment—including, most importantly, food and water—must be provided as basic care to all patients. The pope asserted once again “the firm and constant ethical condemnation of all forms of direct euthanasia, in keeping with the centuries-long teaching of the Church.” “The synergetic efforts of civil society and of the community of believers must ensure not only that everyone is able to live in a dignified and responsible way,” Pope Benedict wrote, “but also that they can face moments of trial and of death in the finest condition of fraternity and solidarity, even where death comes in a poor family or a hospital bed.” Unborn Victims Law Upheld in Texas Denying the appeal of a man convicted of killing his twin unborn babies, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Texas’ Prenatal Protection Act, which allows prosecutions when someone harms or kills an unborn baby. Abortions are excluded from the law. The Court of Criminal Appeals is Texas’ highest court for criminal matters. Gerardo Flores, now 21, stomped on the pregnant stomach of his girlfriend, 16-year-old Erica Basoria, in 2004, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Twin unborn babies, about 20 to 22 weeks old, miscarried a few days later. Flores claimed that Basoria asked him to help her abort the babies by stepping on her stomach, and Basoria confirmed this during the trial. However, prosecutors contended that Basoria had injuries consistent with an assault, including swollen lips and bruises on her face, upper arms, leg, and chest, and that her testimony fit into a pattern that battered women often follow when confronted by their abusers, the American-Statesman reported. Flores was convicted in 2005 on two counts of capital murder and is serving a life sentence in prison. His appeal was based on a contention that since Basoria asked Flores to kill the babies, it was unfair that he was the only one who could be prosecuted, since the law absolves women who choose to have an abortion, according to the Associated Press (AP). The appeals court, however, ruled that “a reasonable jury could conclude that stepping on her belly was abusive rather than consensual and noted the jury did not make a finding of consent,” the AP reported. “The court also said that because Flores raised that claim only in a pretrial hearing and not during trial, he could not raise it now on appeal.” Hearing Begins for Surgeon Accused of Hastening Patient’s Death The trial of a transplant surgeon charged with hastening the death of a disabled man began with a preliminary hearing in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court February 27. Hootan Roozrokh is accused of ordering large doses of drugs so patient Ruben Navarro could be declared brain dead and his organs harvested quickly, according to the Los Angeles Times. Charged with dependent adult abuse, administering a harmful substance, and prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, Roozrokh has pled not guilty. If convicted, he could receive a sentence of eight years in prison, the New York Times reported. Ruben Navarro’s mother settled a civil lawsuit with the hospital but is pursuing another against Roozrokh, according to the New York Times. Her son “didn’t deserve to be like that, to go that way,” Rosa Navarro told the Times. “He died without dignity and sympathy and without respect.” Navarro, 25, who had a degenerative neurological disorder, had been unconscious for four days when doctors determined he had irreversible brain damage and that he should be taken off life support and his organs harvested after death, the Associated Press (AP) reported 6. Roozrokh took charge soon after life support was removed, the Los Angeles Times reported. He gave Navarro large doses of the narcotic morphine and the sedative Ativan, and also injected Betadine, an antiseptic usually given after death, through his feeding tube. Critical care specialist Dr. Laura Lubarsky, granted immunity by prosecutors, testified at the hearing that Navarro did not require sedatives for medical reasons, since he did not seem to be in pain or distress, the Los Angeles Times reported. She also said that she heard Roozrokh order a nurse to give Navarro more “candy”—drugs—when he did not die quickly after the ventilator was removed, according to the New York Times. “The standard of practice is for the transplant surgeon to be outside the operating room until death has been declared,” Thomas Mone, president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organization, told CNN. “The unfortunate error in this case was the transplant surgeon being in the room and that’s highly, highly unusual.” Despite Roozrokh’s actions, Navarro did not die quickly. He was officially declared dead at 8 a.m. the morning after he was removed from life support, too late for his organs to be harvested, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. Journal Article Confirms Adult Stem Cell Successes An article in the February 27 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) confirms that adult stem cells are useful in treating autoimmune, cardiac, or vascular diseases. “Stem cells harvested from blood or marrow ... can, under appropriate conditions in select patients, provide disease-ameliorating effects in some autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular disorders,” wrote the study authors, led by Dr. Richard K. Burt of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The researchers conducted a review of studies relating to the use of adult stem cells in treating autoimmune disorders, such as lupus, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular diseases, which include heart attack damage, chronic coronary artery disease, and peripheral vascular disease. The authors wrote that they did not review studies on embryonic stem cells, since “clinical application has lagged due to ethical concerns or difficulties in harvesting or safely and efficiently expanding sufficient quantities. In contrast, clinical indications for blood-derived (from peripheral or umbilical cord blood) and bone marrow–derived stem cells, which can be easily and safely harvested, are rapidly increasing.” They narrowed down their in-depth review to 69 studies. The researchers found that the adult blood-derived stem cells provided patients with modest to significant improvement. They recommended in the JAMA article that further studies be conducted to “determine the most appropriate cell type, dose, method, timing of delivery, and adverse effects of adult HSCs [hematopoietic stem cells] for these and other nonmalignant disorders.” The JAMA report supports the long-held contention of pro-lifers that human embryos do not need to be destroyed in the quest to cure diseases. “Adult stem cells continue to show their ability to successfully treat human disease and injury,” the group Do No Harm wrote in a statement, “while embryonic stem cells continue to demonstrate zero benefits for humans, and only limited results in animal models.” French Parents Can Register Name and Death of Miscarried Baby France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, ruled February 6 that parents can name and register the deaths of miscarried and stillborn babies, no matter how young they were when they died. Previously, French officials would only register unborn babies older than 22 weeks or weighing more than 1.1 pounds, or babies who briefly lived outside the mother’s womb, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). However, the court stated that these policies were based on a 1977 World Health Organization definition of viability that was never approved by Parliament, AFP reported. Parents in France who register their child’s death are entitled to maternity leave. They also have the right to bury the baby formally in a funeral, when prior to the ruling the unborn baby’s body would have been incinerated with medical waste, according to AFP. Pro-abortionists said they fear the court ruling could lead to greater sentiment for life in France. “This court decision could be used by some to chip away at the right to abortion by saying, well, you've registered a fetus and given it a legal status, so it's a person,” gynecologist Annie Burieau told National Public Radio (NPR). Exactly, responded pro-lifers. “There will be a Christian name allocated to this child, you see, and family can bury the child,” Paul Ginoux Defermon, vice president of the pro-life group Trente ans ca Suffit (Thirty Years Is Enough), told NPR. “So imagine a lady with a fetus of the same age, let's say 10 weeks, who has to decide for an abortion. Her decision will be heavier, you see, because it's really a person that that will suppress.” Italians Call for Abortion Moratorium In light of a recent United Nations resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, prominent Italians have called for a halt to abortion on demand. The debate on abortion has become part of the campaign before parliamentary elections take place on April 13–14, according to the Associated Press (AP). Abortion on demand is legal in Italy through the first trimester. After that, abortion is allowed if the pregnancy poses a “grave danger to a woman's mental or physical health,” the AP reported. Giuliano Ferrara, a conservative journalist who has since announced plans to form his own pro-life political party, wrote in Il Foglio that a moratorium on abortions is needed because millions of innocent children are killed each year in the “supreme scandal of our time,” according to the AP. Ferrara’s plea was quickly echoed by Roman Catholic Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, who told Corriere della Sera that a moratorium would be “laudable because it constitutes a strong and clear reminder for states on the protection and promotion of human life,” Agence France-Presse reported. Adding to these calls was the front-runner in the upcoming elections, former premier Silvio Berlusconi, who told Tempi magazine, “I think that recognizing the right to life from conception to natural death is a principle that the UN could make its own, just as it did with the moratorium on the death penalty.” Since Berlusconi made his statement, however, he qualified his pro-life position by saying that “his center-right allies were free to decide on the matter according to their own conscience,” according to the AP. Abortion has caused controversy in the traditionally Roman Catholic country since it was legalized in 1978. Pro-abortionists protested recently after police investigated an emergency call from a nurse who charged that infanticide was taking place at Federico II hospital in Naples, according to ANSA news service. They discovered that a 21-week-old unborn baby had been aborted after a diagnosis of Klinefelter syndrome, a chromosomal condition. Abortion supporters charged that the police “raided” the hospital and “interrogated” the abortive mother. The police denied this version of events. ''There was no ‘raid,’ as the media claimed,” prosecutor Giovandomenico Lepore told ANSA. “It was a simple case of us having to check up after a crime was reported.” Ferrara responded to critics of the police action by stressing the true victim of the incident. “A baby was killed because it had an illness,” he wrote, according to ANSA. “I call that eugenics.” Italy’s national medical association joined the debate at a congress in February, urging its members to “support” Italy’s abortion law during the election campaign, according to Reuters. In response, Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Bishops Conference, said the association’s support was “invalid and ‘imaginary’ because it had been approved ‘by acclamation’ and not put to an individual vote by delegates,” Reuters reported. |