Hospital withdraws ventilator from baby
HOUSTON – At the order of a county judge, Sun Hudson, a five-month-old baby diagnosed with dwarfism and suspected of having lungs to small to support life, was removed from the ventilator which assisted the child with breathing since his birth. The Houston Chronicle reported bioethicists say it was the first time a U.S. judge has ever let a hospital discontinue life support on a living baby. Texas Children’s Hospital sought permission to pull Hudson’s plug, against the wishes of his mother. Wanda Hudson unsuccessfully waged a court battle against the hospital, insisting her baby needed more time to grow, so he could be weaned from the ventilator, but Harris County Probate Court Judge William C. McCulloch confirmed an earlier decision that the hospital was not required to continue life-sustaining treatment doctors believed was futile and medically inappropriate. In accordance with state law, the hospital ethics committee reviewed the case before recommending life support be discontinued. Texas law requires families be given 10 days to find another facility to care for the patient but no other hospital agreed to provide care for the infant.
Boycott hurting PP’s bottom line
WASHINGTON – Life Decisions International president Douglas R. Scott announced that an ongoing boycott of corporations that fund Planned Parenthood has cost the U.S.’s largest abortion conglomerate approximately $35 million over the past decade. LDI launched the Corporate Funding Project in 1992 to “convince corporations to end their support of Planned Parenthood” and thus far at least 111 corporations are known to have stopped funding of the group. Scott said, “This boycott has been successful beyond my widest expectations,” adding that many corporations eschew donating to PP once they are exposed to its “true agenda and activities” or at least once they begin hearing from concerned customers.
Congressmen call for RU-486 reappraisal
WASHINGTON – Senator Jim DeMint (Rep., S.C.) and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Rep., Maryland), reintroduced bills to their respective congressional houses, that would suspend Food and Drug Administration approval of the abortion pill RU-486 until its effects are better scrutinized. RU-486 was approved by the FDA in 2000 after President Bill Clinton ordered its review fast-tracked under provisions which are allowed for life-saving treatments only. Since then, there have been at least five cases in the U.S. and abroad in which women have died after using it and many more have suffered serious side-effects. In 2003, California teen Holly Patterson died after an infection caused by her chemical abortion. Monty Patterson, Holly’s father, said he supports the DeMint-Bartlett legislation: “It’s important not to stop asking questions about how and why the FDA approved RU-486.” DeMint said, “The FDA abused an avenue reserved for only the most life-threatening situations in order to approve this drug,” adding that “Too many questions remain as to its safety, and three women dying is three too many.” Similar legislation died on the Congressional floor last year when it failed to pass before the end of the legislative session.
Supreme Court to review law on assisted-suicide
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court of the United States announced that it has accepted an appeal by the Bush administration against Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act.The administration is seeking to prevent doctors from helping terminally ill patients die more quickly. Last year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the federal government cannot hold doctors liable for prescribing fatal overdoses. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft argued that federal controlled substances were being misused on vulnerable patients and that Washington therefore had a compelling reason to intervene. Since 1998, at least 170 people have taken their lives with the assistance of a physician’s lethal prescription. Arguments in the case will begin in October.
Michigan abortionist on the lamb
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP – Dr. Rodolfo Finkelstein, an abortionist at the Women’s Advisory Center who is accused of sexually assaulting female patients after they had undergone abortions, may have fled the United States for his native Argentina rather than face the law. He failed to appear before the 48th District Court for a preliminary examination on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and five counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The Assistant Oakland County Prosecu-tor, Barbara Morrison said, “We don’t know his whereabouts. He is considered a fugitive. We are very much concerned he is gone and out of the country.” Finkelstein is suspected of sexually assaulting, including groping and attempting to kiss, three women ages 17 to 21. Police are also investigating similar complaints against Finkelstein made by female patients who received abortions at his Livonia facility. Finkelstein’s bond was forfeited and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Anyone with information on Finkelstein’s whereabouts is asked to call Bloomfield Township police at (248) 433-7760.