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Can a court and a hospital take away the life of an allegedly “brain-dead” child on life-support system even if the child’s parents still want to fight for their kid’s life? Sadly, the answer is “yes” in Los Angeles, California.
Although his parents fought hard to keep him alive, two-year-old Israel Stinson died last Thursday when the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles decided to detach him from the hospital’s life support system. The hospital reached this decision, which ran counter to the wishes of the child’s parents, after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge lifted the temporary restraining order keeping him alive.
The hospital facilitated the death of the innocent child despite the fact that Israel’s parents were in the process of filing a court appeal, according to a report from Life Site News.
Alexandra Snyder, executive director for the Life Legal Defense Foundation (LLDF) who helped fight for little Israel’s life, was shocked and baffled by the hospital’s decision. She maintained that the doctors were supposed to keep the child alive, not hasten his death.
What’s even worse, Snyder said, was the fact that the child died away from his parents.
“As soon as it happened, they told the parents to leave, to get out of the hospital,” Snyder told Life Site News, “which means they could not properly say goodbye to their son. It was just horrendous.”
“There’s got to be a better way to do this,” she added.
Israel was transferred to the California hospital earlier this month, after spending over two months in a medical facility in Guatemala. The child has already been declared “brain dead.”
Despite this, Israel’s family refused to give up on him. His parents still tried to find a long-term care elsewhere to keep him alive, maintaining that the child was still showing signs of responsiveness.
“Why would a hospital with no obligation to take him agree to take him and give these parents hope, with the singular intention of ending his life?” Snyder said.
