Comatose woman taken off life-support starts breathing for herself
June 25, 2009 - 6:28AM A brain-dead 76-year-old patient remained alive on Wednesday, the day after her life support system was turned off when a court approved South Korea's first "death with dignity" request, a hospital said. The woman, identified only by her surname Kim, continued breathing on her own for a second day after being separated from machines, Severance Hospital said. "There are still high risks of her suffering from pneumonia or a heart attack," Park Chang-Il, a senior Severance doctor, told journalists. "The next two to four weeks will be crucial for her to survive." Kim was declared brain-dead in February last year after she fell into a coma while undergoing a lung examination. Three months later her children filed a court petition after the hospital rejected their request to remove the life support system so that she could die in peace and with dignity. Her children claimed that extending life using medical devices would prolong her "painful and meaningless" existence. A district court in December approved the request, saying she had no chance of recovery and her wish to die could be inferred. It said its ruling should apply only when a patient has no chance of recovery and medical treatment is limited to maintaining his or her brain-dead state. But the hospital appealed against the ruling, noting that in 2004 doctors at a different hospital were charged with aiding murder after they removed life support systems from a brain-dead patient following a request from relatives. In 2007 a father was given a four-year suspended jail term for the removal of a respirator from his brain-dead son. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision in favour of the patient's children last month. AFP <http://www.smh.com.au/world/comatose-woman-taken-off-lifesupport-starts-breathing-for-herself-20090625-cx3c.html>http://www.smh.com.au/world/comatose-woman-taken-off-lifesupport-starts-breathing-for-herself-20090625-cx3c.html Yes, it's real postage! <http://holypostage.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=46> A Wedding to Always Remember + <*}}}>< <http://holypostage.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=46>A Wedding to Always <http://holypostage.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=46>Remember <*}}}>< Yes, it's real postage! <http://holypostage.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=46> A Wedding to Always Remember + <*}}}>< <http://holypostage.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=46>A Wedding to Always <http://holypostage.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=46>Remember <*}}}>< --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Catholics on Fire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
