Murdering the disabled again...

In case you haven't heard, there is a disabled woman in Texas named Andrea Clark who is going to be murdered by hospital staff on Sunday if her family doesn't get her transferred to another facility by then. She is fully conscious, but on a respirator and unable to speak other than mouthing words to her family and caretakers. (Hat tip to Kathy over at Relapsed Catholic.)

Apparently, there is a groovy law in Texas (signed by then-governor G.W. Bush) that says a doctor can decide to turn off a patient's life support despite the wishes of the family OR the patient, if the doctor determines that the patient's quality of life stinks. And no, it's not really about the money because the lady has insurance.

So here is a woman on a respirator and dialysis who can't do much but watch some television and crochet and smile and the many family members who come to see her, and there is the doctor, whose busy life includes downhill skiing and other high-energy activies, and he's basically decided that her life isn't worth living. Never mind that she WANTS to live. Never mind that her FAMILY wants her to live. Never mind that her brain is active, alert and working.

Andrea Clark will die within minutes of being removed from her respirator. Because her doctor thinks she's "too disabled to live." If you thought that Terri Schiavo was a one-time thing, please think again. This is happening all over the country, in every state, and we really must sniff out these cases and DO something to stop it.

Kathy linked over to Right Wing Blog, where an interview with Andrea Clark's sister reveals that the hospital is feeling the pressue of calls by pro-life people, begging them to keep this woman alive. The family is trying to transfer her elsewhere, but no luck yet.

Contact information for the hospital is here. Please be very polite! And do pray, please, very often.

--Sparki

UPDATE: According to Pro Life Blogs, there is a facility in Illinois who will take in Andrea Clark and save her from untimely death. The current hospital, St. Luke's Episcopalian, has informed the family that if they move her today, the hospital will foot the $17,000 bill. If they wait until tomorrow, the hospital will only pay half. It's not a heckuva lot of time, esp. because the family is still trying to find a place in Texas for her so they can continue to visit her daily, but I suppose it is better than watching her suffocate to death based on one doctor's arbitrary choice to play God. Keep praying!