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The Sad Case of Andrea Clark

Andrea, 54, suffered complications following open heart surgery that left her dependent upon a respirator for survival. Although her motor control faculties were damaged, according to her family, her cognitive abilities were unaffected.

On April 19, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, TX informed Andrea's closest kin that her medical care would be discontinued in 10 days; an ethics committee decided to "pull the plug" in a flagrant act of (passive) euthanasia. Amazingly, the committee included an Episcopalian priest who asserted, "it's wrong to keep Andrea alive, she is suffering," despite having had no contact with her.

Until early last week, Andrea was able to make her own medical decisions and had decided that she wanted life saving treatment until the point of "natural death". However, "the physicians decided to increase her pain medication and anesthetize her into unconsciousness," revealed her sister, Melanie Childers.

Melanie explained that before sedation, her sister was very responsive, both recognizing visitors and interacting with them. Although a tracheostomy left her unable to speak, she was able to communicate effectively by mouthing words and sentences.

"When her son comes in she smiles," Melanie explained. "She told [him], 'You need to get married'."

Update: Breaking News here - the hospital is giving the family three days.

Posted by tim at April 27, 2006 11:57 AM

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