Rushing to judge others — the Toronto Star. An excerpt:

[Jason] Wallace’s daughter, two-month-old Kaylee, has a rare medical condition and doctors had said she was unlikely to live long. Wallace and his wife Crystal Vitelli hoped their daughter’s heart could be donated to save the life of another desperately ill infant, one-month-old Lillian.

But when Kaylee was removed from a respirator she didn’t immediately die, so that transplant didn’t take place. Then the public recriminations began.

Public comments posted on one newspaper’s website included accusations that Wallace would rather have his daughter die than live with the inconvenience of a severely disabled child.

… We should not rush to judge, especially when we don’t know all the circumstances or possess all the facts. From a distance, it is difficult to appreciate the personal anguish someone else is going through.

Baby Kaylee’s case raises serious questions — Montreal Gazette. An excerpt:

Kaylee’s stubborn refusal to die after her ventilator was turned off this week at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children raises some serious questions about everything from the treatment of severely disabled children to the role of the media in such emotional dramas.

… By going public with their agony, Kaylee’s parents have given us all an opportunity to consider and discuss what kind of ethical guidelines our brave new world needs.

Earlier post here.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 8:45 am and is filed under brain injury, commentary, end of life, ethics, genetics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.