Abortion funding is back in Senator Reid's Healthcare Bill!
Tell Senators Kaufman and Carper to vote NO on the motion to proceed!
Senator Reid's 2,074 page Senate Healthcare Bill puts taxpayer-funded abortion back into the healthcare debate. We won a great pro-life victory with the Pitts-Stupak Amendment in the House, but we still have to fight against abortion funding. Please contact Senators Kaufman and Carper NOW! The vote on the motion to bring the bill in its current form to the Senate floor is expected to happen on Saturday evening!
Contact Kaufman:
Wilmington Office
302-573-6345 302-573-6345
Milford Office
302-424-8090 302-424-8090
Washington Office
202-224-5042 202-224-5042
Contact Carper:
Wilmington Office
302-573-6291 302-573-6291
Dover Office
302-674-3308 302-674-3308
Washington Office
202-224-2441 202-224-2441
Passing this type of language would be the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe vs. Wade! Please act NOW to ensure that this bill does not reach the Senate floor!! Remember - tell your senators to VOTE NO on allowing the Harry Reid, pro-abortion health care bill.
If you live outside of Delaware, please call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 (202) 224-3121 , and ask to speak with your Senator.
Additionally, I just learned that the pro-abortion groups National Organization for Women (NOW) and Planned Parenthood will hold a rally at the West Chester, PA courthouse TOMORROW (Saturday, Nov. 21) from 10:30 am - 11:30 am to protest Congressman Pitts and his pro-life amendment! Please do all that you can to attend this rally in counter-protest and to THANK CONGRESSMAN PITTS for his pro-life stance on healthcare!
For Life,
Nicole Collins
President
Delaware Right to Life
Friday, November 20, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Rehoboth Planned Parenthood Witness
Sussex County pro-lifers will be witnessing in front of PP on Saturday, Nov. 21st, from 12-1pm. Rehoboth PP is located in the Midway shopping center, near the movie theaters on Rt1 North. They will be lined up along the highway on the sidewalk. Plenty of parking is available in the shopping center lot. They will have a huge banner of Our Lady - just look for Her! Contact Mandy at 249-1178 for more information!
Tolerance is not a virtue
Planned Parenthood Director Who Quit Now Rejected by Episcopalian Church
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 13, 2009
Bryan, TX (LifeNews.com) -- The religious denominations that embrace abortion do so supposedly because they are tolerant and welcoming of people who disagree on issues like abortion. Yet, that is not proving to be the case for Abby Johnson, the former Planned parenthood director who quit after converting to the pro-life perspective.
Johnson, quit her position last month as the director of a local abortion business after seeing an ultrasound of an abortion procedure.
Her October decision has drawn national attention, exposed how Planned Parenthood does abortions for significant profit, and saw the abortion business fail to silence her now that she has resigned.
Johnson now faces a battle of a different kind -- getting her local Episcolalian Church to accept her new status as a pro-life person.
"Now that I have taken this stand, some of the people there are not accepting of that," she told The Washington Times today.
"People have told me they disagree with my choice. One of the things I've been told is that as Episcopalians, we embrace our differences and disagreements. While I agree with that, I am not sure I can go to a place where I don't feel I am welcome," she said.
The rector at St. Francis would not talk about Johnson's situation with the newspaper.
"I do not intend to be dismissive," the Rev. John Williams wrote the Times in an email, "but my pastoral responsibilities to this faith community preclude making public comments."
"I am sure you understand how important it is for me to foster healthy communication around this emotional issue - that is only possible, as I said, in the context of my pastoral ministry to all," he said.
The Times indicates having problems finding a church home is nothing new -- with pro-life denominations rejecting her before her conversion.
"I was raised Southern Baptist but didn't find the Southern Baptist community was very accepting of my work at Planned Parenthood," she said.
She said she and her husband Doug "had been told by a couple of churches ... that because I worked at Planned Parenthood, we could not be members."
"I thought that because this church was so accepting, maybe I was doing the right thing," she said of joining the Episcopal Church. "A lot of people would consider the Anglican faith a pro-choice faith."
She told the Times that another employee who went to the church with her was told by Planned Parenthood officials not to associated with her and so she stopped attending. The abortion business claimed in comments to the Times that that isn't true.
Johnson is not sure on what to do about her church membership.
"We really, really love that church," she said. "We don't want to leave."
She talked with the Times about her faith in terms of working at an abortion center.
"It felt there was a spiritual conflict in what I was doing, but you just begin to rationalize it. I didn't want to leave these women without options, so you begin to think you are doing the right thing, although it doesn't feel right," she said of why she ran an abortion center before she saw the light.
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 13, 2009
Bryan, TX (LifeNews.com) -- The religious denominations that embrace abortion do so supposedly because they are tolerant and welcoming of people who disagree on issues like abortion. Yet, that is not proving to be the case for Abby Johnson, the former Planned parenthood director who quit after converting to the pro-life perspective.
Johnson, quit her position last month as the director of a local abortion business after seeing an ultrasound of an abortion procedure.
Her October decision has drawn national attention, exposed how Planned Parenthood does abortions for significant profit, and saw the abortion business fail to silence her now that she has resigned.
Johnson now faces a battle of a different kind -- getting her local Episcolalian Church to accept her new status as a pro-life person.
"Now that I have taken this stand, some of the people there are not accepting of that," she told The Washington Times today.
"People have told me they disagree with my choice. One of the things I've been told is that as Episcopalians, we embrace our differences and disagreements. While I agree with that, I am not sure I can go to a place where I don't feel I am welcome," she said.
The rector at St. Francis would not talk about Johnson's situation with the newspaper.
"I do not intend to be dismissive," the Rev. John Williams wrote the Times in an email, "but my pastoral responsibilities to this faith community preclude making public comments."
"I am sure you understand how important it is for me to foster healthy communication around this emotional issue - that is only possible, as I said, in the context of my pastoral ministry to all," he said.
The Times indicates having problems finding a church home is nothing new -- with pro-life denominations rejecting her before her conversion.
"I was raised Southern Baptist but didn't find the Southern Baptist community was very accepting of my work at Planned Parenthood," she said.
She said she and her husband Doug "had been told by a couple of churches ... that because I worked at Planned Parenthood, we could not be members."
"I thought that because this church was so accepting, maybe I was doing the right thing," she said of joining the Episcopal Church. "A lot of people would consider the Anglican faith a pro-choice faith."
She told the Times that another employee who went to the church with her was told by Planned Parenthood officials not to associated with her and so she stopped attending. The abortion business claimed in comments to the Times that that isn't true.
Johnson is not sure on what to do about her church membership.
"We really, really love that church," she said. "We don't want to leave."
She talked with the Times about her faith in terms of working at an abortion center.
"It felt there was a spiritual conflict in what I was doing, but you just begin to rationalize it. I didn't want to leave these women without options, so you begin to think you are doing the right thing, although it doesn't feel right," she said of why she ran an abortion center before she saw the light.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Groundbreaking In-the-Womb Photos Now Improved and Republished—considered essential to pro-life movement's history and success
Groundbreaking In-the-Womb Photos Now Improved and Republished—Photos considered essential to pro-life movement's history and success
by Peter J. Smith : Oct 20, 2009 : LifeSiteNews.com
Nilsson remarked that although he has not photographed God directly through his microscopic cameras, "I've seen what He does."
EDITOR'S NOTE: A little over twenty-five years ago, and at the time I first learned I was pregnant as a single woman, there were no pregnancy alternative centers in my area. But, it was this book, which my mother gave me that God used to reveal to me the precious life I was now responsible for. Prior to this I hadn't given much thought to the fact that a fetus is truly a baby. However, the incredible photos in Lennart Nilsson's book cemented the words God whispered to my heart when I first learned of my pregnancy; that this baby is a life—a person—and should not be snuffed out. –Aimee Herd, BCN.
(London, UK)—A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for more than fifty years Lennart Nilsson has taken photographs that the pro-life movement has found priceless: the earliest and most compelling visual images that give intimate detail and clarity to the humanity of unborn children in the womb. (Baby surrounded by placenta/Photo by: Lennart Nilsson)
The Swedish photographer is eighty-seven years old, and was the first to open up the secret world of the unborn—from conception up to birth—by way of macro-lenses and endoscopes (tiny instruments—including camera lens and case—that measure less than eight-tenths of a millimeter in diameter).
Nilsson's photographic explorations of the unborn child's life in the womb were revealed to the world first in 1965 as the cover-story for the April 30, 1965 edition of LIFE magazine, entitled The Drama of Life before Birth. But his photographs made their chief debut in that same year in a book called, A Child is Born.
The stunning images published in 1965 have now been remastered with the help of the latest photographic technology and A Child is Born has been republished in a fifth and final edition. Nilsson says this final edition of his book is meant for the reader of the 21st century to enjoy, so that they might appreciate the mystery of a human being's beginnings. Nilsson has cut away most of the scientific text of previous versions, and largely lets the photos speak for themselves.
In a question-and-answer session with fellow Swedish photographer Hasse Persson, Nilsson remarked that although he has not photographed God directly through his microscopic cameras, "I've seen what He does."
The photographs taken by Nilsson are credited with benefitting science in myriad ways, including helping pave the way to 4-D ultrasound technology; but they have also been of invaluable assistance to the pro-life movement, helping to make its case for the humanity of the unborn.
"In the case of Lennart Nilsson's photographs, a picture is worth lives, untold numbers of lives, because those pictures humanize the child in utero," said Judie Brown, President of American Life League.
Brown told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that Nilsson's work must be placed in the context of the 45 intervening years and the development of ultrasound technologies that image the child in the womb.
"I think we would have been far behind where we are today," without Nilsson's photographs, said Brown, "because he is the inspiration for all the scientists who wanted to do what he had done, but through a realistic way, allowing the mother to see her child living and breathing in her womb."
"If it had not been for him, the whole science of ultrasonography might have been set back as well."
"Images such as those created by Lennart Nilsson absolutely reaffirm the humanity of unborn persons, which is why they are so unpopular with pro-abortion forces," Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, told LSN. "It is worthwhile to note that it is pro-lifers who call attention to the latest scientific and technological advances in fetal development research, not pro-abortionists, who seek to deny the obvious humanity of the unborn."
Nilsson himself withholds his opinion on abortion, saying that individuals must come to their own opinion. But service to truth also means service to life, and for that, Euteneuer told LSN, the pro-life movement is grateful for the contributions made by scientists and photographers like Nilsson…
…The fifth edition of A Child Is Born made its European debut in autumn, and an English language version is published in the United Kingdom. LSN sent a message to the book's publisher about the book's debut in the United States and Canada, but did not receive a reply by publication time.A photo-gallery of Nilsson's work is available for viewing at the UK Telegraph here.Readers can also check out Lennart Nilsson's website, which has more images, interviews, and news related to his work.
Read this article in full by accessing the source link provided.
Read Full Story...
by Peter J. Smith : Oct 20, 2009 : LifeSiteNews.com
Nilsson remarked that although he has not photographed God directly through his microscopic cameras, "I've seen what He does."
EDITOR'S NOTE: A little over twenty-five years ago, and at the time I first learned I was pregnant as a single woman, there were no pregnancy alternative centers in my area. But, it was this book, which my mother gave me that God used to reveal to me the precious life I was now responsible for. Prior to this I hadn't given much thought to the fact that a fetus is truly a baby. However, the incredible photos in Lennart Nilsson's book cemented the words God whispered to my heart when I first learned of my pregnancy; that this baby is a life—a person—and should not be snuffed out. –Aimee Herd, BCN.
(London, UK)—A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for more than fifty years Lennart Nilsson has taken photographs that the pro-life movement has found priceless: the earliest and most compelling visual images that give intimate detail and clarity to the humanity of unborn children in the womb. (Baby surrounded by placenta/Photo by: Lennart Nilsson)
The Swedish photographer is eighty-seven years old, and was the first to open up the secret world of the unborn—from conception up to birth—by way of macro-lenses and endoscopes (tiny instruments—including camera lens and case—that measure less than eight-tenths of a millimeter in diameter).
Nilsson's photographic explorations of the unborn child's life in the womb were revealed to the world first in 1965 as the cover-story for the April 30, 1965 edition of LIFE magazine, entitled The Drama of Life before Birth. But his photographs made their chief debut in that same year in a book called, A Child is Born.
The stunning images published in 1965 have now been remastered with the help of the latest photographic technology and A Child is Born has been republished in a fifth and final edition. Nilsson says this final edition of his book is meant for the reader of the 21st century to enjoy, so that they might appreciate the mystery of a human being's beginnings. Nilsson has cut away most of the scientific text of previous versions, and largely lets the photos speak for themselves.
In a question-and-answer session with fellow Swedish photographer Hasse Persson, Nilsson remarked that although he has not photographed God directly through his microscopic cameras, "I've seen what He does."
The photographs taken by Nilsson are credited with benefitting science in myriad ways, including helping pave the way to 4-D ultrasound technology; but they have also been of invaluable assistance to the pro-life movement, helping to make its case for the humanity of the unborn.
"In the case of Lennart Nilsson's photographs, a picture is worth lives, untold numbers of lives, because those pictures humanize the child in utero," said Judie Brown, President of American Life League.
Brown told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that Nilsson's work must be placed in the context of the 45 intervening years and the development of ultrasound technologies that image the child in the womb.
"I think we would have been far behind where we are today," without Nilsson's photographs, said Brown, "because he is the inspiration for all the scientists who wanted to do what he had done, but through a realistic way, allowing the mother to see her child living and breathing in her womb."
"If it had not been for him, the whole science of ultrasonography might have been set back as well."
"Images such as those created by Lennart Nilsson absolutely reaffirm the humanity of unborn persons, which is why they are so unpopular with pro-abortion forces," Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, told LSN. "It is worthwhile to note that it is pro-lifers who call attention to the latest scientific and technological advances in fetal development research, not pro-abortionists, who seek to deny the obvious humanity of the unborn."
Nilsson himself withholds his opinion on abortion, saying that individuals must come to their own opinion. But service to truth also means service to life, and for that, Euteneuer told LSN, the pro-life movement is grateful for the contributions made by scientists and photographers like Nilsson…
…The fifth edition of A Child Is Born made its European debut in autumn, and an English language version is published in the United Kingdom. LSN sent a message to the book's publisher about the book's debut in the United States and Canada, but did not receive a reply by publication time.A photo-gallery of Nilsson's work is available for viewing at the UK Telegraph here.Readers can also check out Lennart Nilsson's website, which has more images, interviews, and news related to his work.
Read this article in full by accessing the source link provided.
Read Full Story...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
"Bella" to show at Holy Family
Holy Family Parish’s Adult Faith Formation introduces a “Faith & Film” series. Our first movie will be “Bella” (rated PG13) in honor of Respect Life Month. “Bella” is an artistic exploration of what it means to respect life. The movie will be shown on Sunday, October 25th at 6pm in the main church. Event is free, open to the public, and refreshments will be provided. Please call 368-8976 for more information.
Holy Family is located at 15 Gender Rd. (Rte. 4 & Gender Rd.) in Newark.
Holy Family is located at 15 Gender Rd. (Rte. 4 & Gender Rd.) in Newark.
Monday, September 21, 2009
October is Respect Life Month!
October is National Respect Life Month!
Delaware Right to Life celebrates October with several upcoming events.
First, October 4th is Respect Life Sunday. DRTL will sponsor life chains in each county. Life Chains are a national peaceful and prayerful witness of pro-life Americans standing for one or two hours praying for our nation and for an end to abortion. It is a visual statement of solidarity that abortion kills children. DRTL will provide the signs. Please always be respectful and courteous of passers-by.
In New Castle, the event will take place along Concord Pike (Rte. 202) at AstraZeneca, across from the Fairfax Shopping Center from 12-1 p.m. In Kent, people will gather in front of Planned Parenthood on Governor’s Ave. from 12-2 p.m. Sussex will hold two life chains - one along Route 1 and South 9th St. in South Bethany from 2-4 p.m., and another along Route 1 in front of St. Jude's church in Lewes from 2-4 p.m. Last year we had record numbers – let’s break records again and show Delaware we’re pro-life! Please click here for more info.
40 Days for Life's national fall campaign begins this Wednesday, September 23rd! In New Castle Co. we will participate in the 40-day prayerful vigil at the AWMS Clinic at 2809 Baynard Blvd. in Wilmington. In Dover, we will participate at the Dover Planned Parenthood along Governor's Ave. For dates, times, and to register for a time slot, please click here. This is a wonderful opportunity for church, youth, and school groups to get involved and volunteer! Please contact Kathy in New Castle County, or Jim in Kent Co. for more information.
DRTL's Annual Dinner Banquet & First Annual Silent Auction will take place on Wednesday, November 4th! Our featured speaker will be Pam Tebow, mother of Univ. of Florida quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner, and National Champion, Tim Tebow! Opening for Pam will be Leslie Dean, Eastern Shore Representative for Silent No More. Tickets are $50/person ($55 if postmarked after Oct. 30), and $30/student. All of the information is available here. Reserve your tickets by downloading our web registration form or by contacting Betty at 302-453-8846 or sitta789@comcast.net.
Delaware Right to Life celebrates October with several upcoming events.
First, October 4th is Respect Life Sunday. DRTL will sponsor life chains in each county. Life Chains are a national peaceful and prayerful witness of pro-life Americans standing for one or two hours praying for our nation and for an end to abortion. It is a visual statement of solidarity that abortion kills children. DRTL will provide the signs. Please always be respectful and courteous of passers-by.
In New Castle, the event will take place along Concord Pike (Rte. 202) at AstraZeneca, across from the Fairfax Shopping Center from 12-1 p.m. In Kent, people will gather in front of Planned Parenthood on Governor’s Ave. from 12-2 p.m. Sussex will hold two life chains - one along Route 1 and South 9th St. in South Bethany from 2-4 p.m., and another along Route 1 in front of St. Jude's church in Lewes from 2-4 p.m. Last year we had record numbers – let’s break records again and show Delaware we’re pro-life! Please click here for more info.
40 Days for Life's national fall campaign begins this Wednesday, September 23rd! In New Castle Co. we will participate in the 40-day prayerful vigil at the AWMS Clinic at 2809 Baynard Blvd. in Wilmington. In Dover, we will participate at the Dover Planned Parenthood along Governor's Ave. For dates, times, and to register for a time slot, please click here. This is a wonderful opportunity for church, youth, and school groups to get involved and volunteer! Please contact Kathy in New Castle County, or Jim in Kent Co. for more information.
DRTL's Annual Dinner Banquet & First Annual Silent Auction will take place on Wednesday, November 4th! Our featured speaker will be Pam Tebow, mother of Univ. of Florida quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner, and National Champion, Tim Tebow! Opening for Pam will be Leslie Dean, Eastern Shore Representative for Silent No More. Tickets are $50/person ($55 if postmarked after Oct. 30), and $30/student. All of the information is available here. Reserve your tickets by downloading our web registration form or by contacting Betty at 302-453-8846 or sitta789@comcast.net.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
National Healthcare Guidelines Allowed Doctors to Let UK Preemie Die Because He Was Born 2 Days "Under Limit"
National Healthcare Guidelines Allowed Doctors to Let UK Preemie Die Because He Was Born 2 Days "Under Limit"
by News Release : Sep 14, 2009 : LifeSiteNews
"Jayden, born at 21 weeks and five days gestation, was refused intensive care because he was two days under the limit set by the British government's National Health Service (NHS) rationing guidelines."
(United Kingdom)—A young British mother has criticized medical guidelines that, she said, resulted in doctors refusing treatment and leaving her newborn premature son to die. 23 year-old Sarah Capewell told media that her son Jayden, born at 21 weeks and five days gestation, was refused intensive care because he was two days under the limit set by the British government's National Health Service (NHS) rationing guidelines.
Capewell said that her son Jayden cried and lived for two hours before dying in her arms. During that time, his mother took photos of him and pleaded with doctors that he be admitted to the special baby unit at James Paget University Hospital (JPH). Staff at the hospital, in Gorleston, Norfolk, told her that had Jayden been born two days later they would have helped him.
Since her son's death, Capewell has launched an internet campaign to change the guidelines and says that she has received messages of support from around the world.
Health care rationing guidelines set down by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in 2006 say that intensive care should never be given to babies below 22 weeks gestation, and rarely to those below 23 weeks. In secular bioethics, this is called Futile Care Theory, which holds that in cases where there is no hope for improvement of an incapacitating condition, such as extreme prematurity, no treatment should be offered.
In the case of Sarah Capewell' son, the Nuffeld Council guidance that staff reportedly cited was backed up by advice published by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) last year. The BAPM paper itself, however, does not mandate the refusal of treatment, saying only, "This is not a set of instructions, but a framework to highlight the range of evidence and opinion that needs to be considered by staff and parents."
"The care of the mother, her fetus and the baby, will always need to be individualized and should be led by senior staff in all disciplines. The parents' hopes and expectations need to be explored with honesty and compassion in a realistic way, drawing upon the available evidence."
The BAPM paper says that in cases where children are born before 23 weeks gestation, "it would be considered in the best interests of the baby, and standard practice, for resuscitation not to be carried out." It continues, however, "If the parents wish they should have the opportunity to discuss outcomes with a second senior member of the Perinatal team."
But Capewell reports that her wishes were ignored by hospital staff. "When I asked about my baby's human rights," she said, "the attitude of the doctors seemed to be that he did not have any. They said before 22 weeks he was just a fetus."
Under British criminal law, an unborn child can be killed by abortion up to 24 weeks gestation without any cause being stated and up to the time of full gestation if he is suspected of suffering from some disability.
The British national health care rationing body, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (N.I.C.E.), has plainly stated that such guidelines are based on financial motives, in consideration of how expensive a treatment will be compared to the "quality of life years" it can provide. This is an expression of a new utilitarian trend in the philosophy of medical care that has replaced classical medical ethics in recent decades.
In traditional medical ethics, the governing principle, according to the ancient Hippocratic Oath, is to "do no harm" to the patient. In modern utilitarian bioethics, the guiding principle is to produce "the greatest good for the greatest number," whether that good benefits the patient or not.
Under this principle, which has swept the medical world in most western countries that have adopted government socialized medical care; it is increasingly common for medical guidelines to allow doctors to decide, against a patient's wishes or those of his family, that further medical treatment is "futile" and can be discontinued. In countries such as Britain and Canada, where the provision of food and water are considered "medical treatment," this can mean that a patient can be legally dehydrated to death, often while being placed in permanent sedation.
Click on the link provided to find link to an interview with British politician Daniel Hannon on British health care rationing.
Read Full Story...
by News Release : Sep 14, 2009 : LifeSiteNews
"Jayden, born at 21 weeks and five days gestation, was refused intensive care because he was two days under the limit set by the British government's National Health Service (NHS) rationing guidelines."
(United Kingdom)—A young British mother has criticized medical guidelines that, she said, resulted in doctors refusing treatment and leaving her newborn premature son to die. 23 year-old Sarah Capewell told media that her son Jayden, born at 21 weeks and five days gestation, was refused intensive care because he was two days under the limit set by the British government's National Health Service (NHS) rationing guidelines.
Capewell said that her son Jayden cried and lived for two hours before dying in her arms. During that time, his mother took photos of him and pleaded with doctors that he be admitted to the special baby unit at James Paget University Hospital (JPH). Staff at the hospital, in Gorleston, Norfolk, told her that had Jayden been born two days later they would have helped him.
Since her son's death, Capewell has launched an internet campaign to change the guidelines and says that she has received messages of support from around the world.
Health care rationing guidelines set down by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in 2006 say that intensive care should never be given to babies below 22 weeks gestation, and rarely to those below 23 weeks. In secular bioethics, this is called Futile Care Theory, which holds that in cases where there is no hope for improvement of an incapacitating condition, such as extreme prematurity, no treatment should be offered.
In the case of Sarah Capewell' son, the Nuffeld Council guidance that staff reportedly cited was backed up by advice published by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) last year. The BAPM paper itself, however, does not mandate the refusal of treatment, saying only, "This is not a set of instructions, but a framework to highlight the range of evidence and opinion that needs to be considered by staff and parents."
"The care of the mother, her fetus and the baby, will always need to be individualized and should be led by senior staff in all disciplines. The parents' hopes and expectations need to be explored with honesty and compassion in a realistic way, drawing upon the available evidence."
The BAPM paper says that in cases where children are born before 23 weeks gestation, "it would be considered in the best interests of the baby, and standard practice, for resuscitation not to be carried out." It continues, however, "If the parents wish they should have the opportunity to discuss outcomes with a second senior member of the Perinatal team."
But Capewell reports that her wishes were ignored by hospital staff. "When I asked about my baby's human rights," she said, "the attitude of the doctors seemed to be that he did not have any. They said before 22 weeks he was just a fetus."
Under British criminal law, an unborn child can be killed by abortion up to 24 weeks gestation without any cause being stated and up to the time of full gestation if he is suspected of suffering from some disability.
The British national health care rationing body, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (N.I.C.E.), has plainly stated that such guidelines are based on financial motives, in consideration of how expensive a treatment will be compared to the "quality of life years" it can provide. This is an expression of a new utilitarian trend in the philosophy of medical care that has replaced classical medical ethics in recent decades.
In traditional medical ethics, the governing principle, according to the ancient Hippocratic Oath, is to "do no harm" to the patient. In modern utilitarian bioethics, the guiding principle is to produce "the greatest good for the greatest number," whether that good benefits the patient or not.
Under this principle, which has swept the medical world in most western countries that have adopted government socialized medical care; it is increasingly common for medical guidelines to allow doctors to decide, against a patient's wishes or those of his family, that further medical treatment is "futile" and can be discontinued. In countries such as Britain and Canada, where the provision of food and water are considered "medical treatment," this can mean that a patient can be legally dehydrated to death, often while being placed in permanent sedation.
Click on the link provided to find link to an interview with British politician Daniel Hannon on British health care rationing.
Read Full Story...
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