To
join a Facebook page in support of the
parents of Joseph Maraachli, click here.
LONDON,
Ontario, February 22, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- While things were looking up for the
parents of Joseph Maraachli this past
weekend, the picture has now become
bleaker. In the latest twist in the
case the London
hospital where their dying son is being
cared for is seeking to remove the parents’
decision-making power after they refused
to have him taken off life support.
Hospital security is also denying them
private visitations.
Alex
Schadenberg, executive director of the
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, which
has been offering support to the parents,
Moe Maraachli and Sana Nader, says they
are now only allowed to see their son
with a security guard present.
“They
fight my family. ... they put security
for me. They never give me private to
pray with my son,” Moe told Fox
News this afternoon.
“Security
watch me and security stay with me,”
he added. “When I go to hospital
I feel I am not in Canada. I feel I’m
in jail or they kidnapped my baby.”
“It’s
ridiculous. It’s not like
they could pick the child up and take
him home. The baby would die,”
said Schadenberg.
Schadenberg
said that Moe tried to bring him in
to see Joseph on Monday, but security
denied him access to the room, and told
him to leave the premises. “It’s
become crazy. The hospital’s
going overboard and it makes no sense,”
he said.
With
the help of pro-life and anti-euthanasia
advocates, Joseph’s parents have
been trying to have their son moved
to a hospital in Michigan. London’s
Victoria Hospital, where Joseph has
been treated since October, sent the
records to the Michigan hospital Monday
and the parents are still waiting to
hear back.
But
hospital officials
now say that they may go ahead with
removing Joseph’s life support
even if the Michigan hospital or another
agrees to the transfer. Because
the parents refused to have Joseph’s
life support removed Monday, the hospital
has asked the Office of the Public Guardian
to assume decision-making power. That
office is expected to take a couple
days, but could order his life support
removed at any point.
The
hospital originally appeared set to
remove his life support on Monday at
10 a.m. after a Thursday ruling by the
Ontario Superior Court.
“Monday
at 10 am. they
will kill my baby,” Moe
had told LifeSiteNews shortly after
the ruling. “There’s no
more humanity. There’s no more
chance. I’ve tried everything
for him. No more appeals, nothing.”
But
that was delayed over the weekend after
the parents hired expert lawyer Mark
Handelman, with the financial backing
of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.
To
make a donation to cover the legal costs
please click here.
At
that point, they learned that they could
refuse to consent to the life support
removal, which they did, prompting the
hospital to go the public guardian.
Though
Joseph has been at Victoria Hospital
since October with a severe neurological
disorder, his specific condition remains
undiagnosed. Nevertheless, doctors have
given him no chance of recovery. Moe
and Sana have asked doctors to perform
a tracheotomy so that they could take
Joseph home, but the doctors refused,
saying the procedure was too risky.
The
Maraachlis’ daughter died from
similar complications eight years ago,
but in that case doctors performed a
tracheotomy and they were able to take
her home. Joseph’s parents want
the same for him.
But
in January, the Consent and Capacity
Board of Ontario sided with the hospital,
and a date for removing Joseph’s
respirator was set. The family was able
to hold it off by filing an appeal with
the Superior Court.
Superior
Court Justice Helen Rady also sided
with the hospital, saying that Joseph
is in a permanent vegetative state with
no brain stem reflex.
The
hospital says nine specialists have
confirmed he’s in a “persistent
vegetative state,” but the family
and their close supporters disagree.
Family members say Joseph is fully responsive
to touch, particularly that he hates
being touched by cold hands, tickles
easily, and moves his head when his
hair is brushed. They also say he responds
to loud noises by turning his head toward
the sound.
The
hospital has warned the family that
they will be banned from the hospital
if they try to take videos, which is
preventing the family from documenting
Joseph’s responses and movements,
said Sam Sansalone, who had to fight
with the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children
for his own daughter’s life nine
years ago, and is now helping Joseph’s
family as a media representative.
Over
5,000 people have rallied behind the
parents through the Facebook page “Save
baby Joseph”.
“This
would be a second tragedy for the parents,”
said Schadenberg. “Not only must
they accept that their child is terminally
ill, ... but their power to even decide
how to care for their child is going
to be removed from them - only because
they love him.”
“Because
of love they’re going to have
their ability to make decisions for
their child removed from them - in order
for the hospital to take control,”
he continued. “That’s a
tragedy.”
To
join a Facebook page in support of the
parents of Joseph Maraachli, click here.
To
make a donation to cover the legal costs
please click here.
Contact Information:
Bonnie
Adamson
President and CEO, London Health Sciences
Centre
800 Commissioners Road East
London, Ontario Canada N6A 5W9
Phone: 519-685-8462
E-mail: bonnie.adamson@lhsc.on.ca
Dalton
McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Fax: (416) 325-3745
E-mail: Use this form.
Tim
Hudak, Opposition Leader
The Ontario PC Party
19 Duncan Street
Suite 401
Toronto, ON M5H 3H1
Phone: 416-861-0020
Toll-free: 1-800-903-6453
Fax: 416-861-9593
Email: tim.hudakco@pc.ola.org
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