While Congress tries to make
political hay out of the Schiavo tragedy, a
mother in Houston was forced to watch as the breathing tube was removed from her infant son. She held him in her arms as he died.
Where were the
vigils for Wanda and Sun Hudson?
I'm not sure what the right answer was in this case-there certainly was no good answer. Sun's condition is most often fatal, and there's some question of the mother's
mental competence. She recently claimed to be communicating with her baby telepathically and according to one reported claim his father was literally the
sun. The Right To Life organization that is even now fighting to keep Terri Schiavo breathing against her husband's wishes helped draft the Texas law that enabled the hospital to take Sun off the breathing tube against his mother's wishes. (
Texas Children's Hospital seems to have done everything they could to mitigate this tragedy. I honestly see no blame to be attibuted there.)
But if every life is so precious to the
Right to Life movement, then you'd think they'd take an interest in this case. Or, in the fact that Ms. Hudson had no
prenatal care (look for Texas at 41 in the linked list) and is apparently in need of
mental health services that she's even less likely to get:
Mental health services in Texas are underfunded and inadequate to meet the state’s need. Texas is consistently at the lowest tier of the 50 states in spending for mental health services. In 1993, Texas ranked 44th in per capital spending for mental health. In 1997, Texas ranked 43rd. These figures have real meaning for the citizens of Texas who are unable to secure necessary mental health services. Mental health services have a significant impact on the lives of adults and children with mental disorders. Access to services can determine whether or not an adult will get the mental health treatment necessary to prevent homelessness, unemployment or even incarceration. (from linked PDF, emphasis added)
Too bad Sun was too young to answer a subpoena, eh Senator Frist?
links: digg this del.icio.us technorati reddit