- father of a child with a severe birth defect finally agreed to let child die, ending a court battle against the baby's mother, a lawyer for the hospital taking care of the baby
-the father had been fighting the mother and hospital in London's High Court
-the child suffered from a congenital myasthenic syndrome, a rare genetic condition that prevents the child from breathing on his own
A Battle of Ethics: What do you think about the father's decision? Do you agree or disagree? Is probable poor quality of life legit justification for pulling the plug?
If that were my baby I would not want to see it die, BUT I would not want my baby to live on a machine and be suffering for his entire life. Sometimes you need to do what you know in your heart is right, even if people disagree. I think the father's decision shows that he truly loved the baby and could not stand to see the baby in pain any longer. I do think it is a legit reason because the baby is no longer suffering. I think to have kept the baby alive would have been a selfish decision.
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StephanieMarie(: "Words without thought behind them are like deflated balloons, unable to go anywhere"
It takes love to fight for the life of a child, but it takes more love to see that if they lived they would live a hard and miserable life and do the best thing by letting it go. I give kudos to the dad for fighting.
-- Edited by nancymclaren on Thursday 12th of November 2009 07:03:52 PM
As sad as it is for the loved ones of this baby, think about it. If you couldn't live or function without a machine, what would you be able to do? You would be so limited. Plus the amount of discomfort one would be in is insane. This ultimately was the best thing, for the baby to be returned to heaven where it could live in peace.
it would never be my first chioce to have my baby die, i would do anything i could to save it. but it may have been the best choice, i myself would not want to live my whole life being hooked up to a machine.
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Jaquelynn Reuland
smile every minute of every day, you never know who may be falling in love with it. <3
I would have pulled the plug aswell, that baby had no chance of life unassisted. It would be making his "life" a fraud.
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Abbey Garcia
"Wait for the wisest of all counselors, Time.... [It] is the king of all men, he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they crave." - Pericles
there are a lot of things to consider and although letting your child die is the hardest thing a parent would have to do, in the long run,i think it's better for the child because he or she would be suffering his or her whole life with machines and all. my prayers go out to the parents.
That has to be one of the hardest decisions(if not the hardest) to make. I think the father is doing the right thing. one way or another the father will suffer by either having his child died or seing his child suffer for the rest of his life because of the childs problems
i think the father did the right thing, it would be a nightmare having to watch your child grow up in pain and the child wouldnt have been able to live a very fufilling life being hooked up to a breathing tube forever
