GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: Wesley Smith on “justice for Jahi”

domingo, 17 de septiembre de 2017

Wesley Smith on “justice for Jahi”

Wesley Smith on “justice for Jahi”

Bioedge

Wesley Smith on “justice for Jahi”

by Xavier Symons | 16 Sep 2017 | 2 comments

The legal dispute over Jahi McMath -- a 13-year-old American girl alleged to be brain dead -- has received renewed attention after a Californian judge ruled she may in fact be alive. A county jury will soon hear new evidence that McMath is healthy, undergoing puberty, and is responsive to oral communication, despite her severe neurological impairment.

This week bioethicist Wesley J Smith weighed into the debate, calling for “Justice for Jahi”. Smith writes that has visited McMath in hospital, and feels there is evidence to suggest that she no longer meets the criteria for brain death. According to Smith, McMath appears to respond to requests from her mother to move her fingers, and video evidence suggests the girl is capable of other autonomous motory operations.

Smith called for a comprehensive expert review of McMath’s neurological state:

“I hope that several prominent neurologists without a stake in the situation will step forward and volunteer to examine Jahi—and not just for a day or two but over an extended period of time, to test her brain and body functions thoroughly and determine whether she does indeed respond to requests. Then, if she lacks even one criterion for brain death, Jahi’s California death certificate should be revoked—let the chips fall where they may.”

Regarding the relatively limited bioethical coverage of the McMath case, Smith remarked:

“I am stunned that the medical and bioethics communities generally show such a pronounced lack of curiosity about Jahi’s situation...Perhaps it is just a case of “experts” not wanting to know—because if Jahi isn’t dead, it would have epochal legal, social, medical, and scientific ramifications. But so what? Jahi deserves justice. If alive, she is a full and equal member of the moral community.”

Sunday, September 17, 2017

For better or worse, this week’s newsletter seems largely dedicated to topics revolving around euthanasia. Belgium’s system is finally getting the close critical scrutiny it deserves in a new collection of essays from Cambridge University Press.

Coincidentally, the doyen of euthanasia there, Dr Wim Distelmans, has just released statistics about child euthanasia. “Nothing to see here; please move along,” seems to be his message. In three years, only two children have been euthanised. Perhaps that is an index of how normal euthanasia has become in his country.

Assisted dying is a hot topic, too, in Australia, in the states of Victoria and New South Wales. BioEdge has organised a free forum on NSW’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill on this coming Thursday in Sydney. It will be held at Parliament House, on Macquarie Street, from 9.30am to 12.30pm. A number of medical and legal experts will be discussing the possibility of legal euthanasia in New South Wales. For more details, please check our Facebook page.