Jahi McMath brain-death ruling: Family wants brain-dead girl declared alive

Jahi McMath’s brain-death ruling, signed off by a coroner last December, is being challenged by McMath’s parents in a family court petition. The 13-year-old California girl was declared brain dead after undergoing surgery to remove her adenoids, in the hopes it would relieve symptoms from sleep apnea. McMath suffered a massive blood loss; the loss of circulation to her brain caused doctors at UCSF Children’s Hospital Oakland to declare a whole brain death.

Jahi McMath brain-death ruling: Family wants brain-dead girl declared alive 49cc105c7acb2ca2d86b74ee3cab053c

Jahi McMath brain-death ruling: Family wants brain-dead girl declared alive 49cc105c7acb2ca2d86b74ee3cab053c

The incident touched off a bioethical debate regarding mechanical ventilation and whether such measures constituted the support of life. This week, McMath’s family asked an Alameda County judge to have her declared alive.

Reports CBS San Francisco on Oct. 1: “UCSF Doctor David Durand said the hospital was aware of the petition, and that the hospital trusts that ‘the California courts, the Alameda County Coroner and the State of California will evaluate any claims made by the family’s attorneys and decide them in a lawful and just manner.’ He also said that no one at the hospital had been in contact with the family since Jahi was released to the coroner on January 5th, 2014.”

Family attorney Chris Dolan claims they have compiled “medical experts, including world-class experts on brain death who will testify Jahi is not brain dead,” adding that independent test results “show that Jahi has brain activity and is not brain dead… She also responds to her mother’s voice.”

The family initially petitioned to keep Jahi on a long-term ventilator; in response, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo ruled on December 24 that he found “clear and convincing evidence that Jahi had suffered brain death.” The teen was thereafter released to her family, and has been under the care of Saint Peter's Children's Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J.

The family’s request, if granted, would be an unprecedented step – reversing a court’s findings and challenging long-standing medical and legal definitions of what death is.

“It's the only case of its kind ever,” Dolan said. “Jahi is 'Patient 1.' This is a real person we are talking about, a live person who feels pain. She isn't suffering.”

What are your thoughts on the petition to have Jahi McMath’s brain-death ruling overturned?

http://www.examiner.com/article/jahi-mcmath-brain-death-ruling-family-wants-brain-dead-girl-declared-alive

Jahi McMath brain-death ruling: Family wants brain-dead girl declared alive

Jahi McMath brain-death ruling: Family wants brain-dead girl declared alive

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