Matters of life and death

Two stories have been making national news, both involving “brain death” and “life support”. Both are reported from agenda driven standpoints, without any serious journalism, all the while ignoring basic common sense.

The first case is Jahi McMath, the thirteen year old declared “brain dead” after complications arising from a “routine” tonsillectomy.

First of all, there is no such thing as “brain dead”. Once brain function ceases, a person is dead. Period. This is not only the scientific definition of dead, but it is also common sense, as without brain function, all other bodily functions cease as well. The heart won’t beat, circulating blood throughout the system, and the respiratory system fails, no longer converting oxygen to carbon dioxide.

There has never been a reported case of brain function suddenly restarting, and the patient coming back to life. That is the realm of science fiction, and not science fact. The notion of “brain dead” is a euphemism for “machines can keep the organs functioning artificially”.

Second, the term “life support” would only apply to machines that keep a patient alive. This presupposes that the patient is alive, which Jahi McMath most certainly is not, as her brain function has ceased. A ventilator is not “life support” in this case, because the only function it has is to keep her lungs working, something that her lifeless body can no longer do on it’s own.

The media has tried to make this a tragedy, and I guess it is, but not for the reasons that have been reported. The media would like you to believe that this was a “routine” surgery, that somehow Children’s Hospital of Oakland was negligent, and that her parents have lost a child, something that no parent should have to face.

The real tragedy here is child abuse and neglect.

This was no “routine” surgery. A tonsillectomy is a routine procedure for tonsillitis, inflammation of the tonsils caused by infection. This procedure was performed in an effort to alleviate Jahi’s sleep apnea.

This child was morbidly obese. Her sleep apnea was a direct result of this condition, and not an infection. This procedure was done to help her breath at night. It was an elective procedure, and had nothing to do with her tonsils, but with her respiratory dysfunction.

In addition to this fact, Jahi’s mother, Nailah Winkfield, not only chose this surgery for her little girl, but with her mother being veteran nurse, she was well aware of the consequences and complications that could possibly arise.

Anyone who has ever been under the knife knows that pre-op releases are required which detail such things, and that anesthesia itself can cause a patient to die on the table. Especially if that patient has underlying conditions such as respiratory issues and obesity. This was in no way a surprise to her family; the surprise was that it happened to them. These things only happen to other people.

The second case is the case of Marlise Munoz of Fort Worth, Texas. Marlise was fourteen weeks pregnant when she collapsed from an apparent blood clot, and lay unconscious for at least an hour before being rushed to the emergency room.

When she arrived at the hospital, her brain had been deprived of oxygen for too long, and she too was pronounced “brain dead”. In Texas, “brain death” is clearly defined as legally dead, and would have meant automatic disconnection from a ventilator. But in trying to revive her, they detected a fetal heartbeat.

The controversy in this case is the state's fight to keep her on “life support” due to Texas’ anti-abortion laws. Although Marlise’s desire to not be placed on “life support” is well known, she too is dead, and therefore cannot be kept on “life support”.

But her child is not.

The argument that she is being placed on “life support” is fallacious, as she is quite scientifically and legally dead. But keeping her on a ventilator does not keep her on life support. Keeping her on a ventilator keeps her child on life support, that life support being her uterus. The ventilator at this point is simply the power module of her as an incubator. Her body is the life support machine until the child is either born or miscarries.

Her husband, Erick is trying - some would say valiantly - to fight this procedure in Court, saying that the state is overstepping it’s authority by keeping his “brain dead” wife on “life support”.

I am not a pro-life advocate. In fact, I am vehemently pro-choice, and actually think that in some cases, abortions should be mandatory. But this child is in it’s second trimester, and it’s parents, Erick and Marlise chose to bring it into the world.

It seems to me that, now that Marlise is no longer alive and is unable to care for the child, Erick would rather see it die as well. How’s that for a caring and sensitive husband? He says very little about the child inside his dead wife, but insists that the state remove her from a ventilator, per her wishes, and let her rest in peace. The result of such action meaning the assured death of their unborn child.

Both of these cases touch on sensitive issues that many people have their emotions heavily invested in; at least that is the way that the media report it. But both cases are obscured in legal wrangling, while ignoring the common sense implications.

Jahi McMath is dead, not due to malpractice on the part of Children’s Hospital, but due to the neglect of her parents to properly care for her health and well being. Instead of seeking restitution from the hospital, they should be charged with child abuse and neglect, and prosecuted as an example to other parents who let their children become morbidly obese, and try to fix the condition with surgery.

Marlise Munoz is dead not through anyone’s direct fault, but by an unforeseen accident. As Marlise can no longer speak on her child’s behalf, the state has, determining that her bodily function being prolonged is necessary for the health and well being of the child that it nourishes. Regardless of her wishes and her DNR order, this is no longer about her. Erick Munoz’s determination to have her ventilator disconnected, knowing full well that their child will die as a result, is nothing short of attempted murder.

One family seeks to use the legal system to place blame on others, while the other family seeks to kill an infant because it won’t have a mother to care for it.

Both cases, in reality, are people shirking their own responsibilities, and hoping that you won't notice.