Tag: "disability"

Amelia Rivera, the Disabled and the Sanctity of Life
0

Amelia Rivera, the Disabled and the Sanctity of Life

by

by on Feb 02, 2012 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics, The Shepherd's Voice
Print This Article

Recently, local media covered the story of Amelia Rivera, a young girl with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome reportedly denied a kidney transplant by a local hospital. Amelia’s syndrome results in serious developmental delays, and according to her parents, the hospital declined a transplant due to her diminished mental ability and shortened lifespan. It’s unwise to assume that […]

When Life is Alienable
0

When Life is Alienable

by

by on Jan 17, 2012 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

It’s like peeling up the edge of tape. The instant a society places more value on some human lives than others, it’s only a matter of time until that edge has been picked, pried and yanked enough to leave unsuspecting people grieving and wondering what happened to their right to life, liberty and the pursuit […]

Down Syndrome: Toward More Successful Advocacy
0

Down Syndrome: Toward More Successful Advocacy

by and

by and on Dec 21, 2011 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

As word spread of a new non-invasive, highly accurate prenatal test for Down syndrome, MaterniT21, the headlines could hardly have been more sensational: The End of Down Syndrome! Will We Cull Those with Down Syndrome? Are Kids with Down Syndrome on the Road to Extinction? This mainstream response seems to suggest a terrible acknowledgment of what happens […]

Young Girl With Down Syndrome Becomes ‘Darling’ of Child Modeling World
1

Young Girl With Down Syndrome Becomes ‘Darling’ of Child Modeling World

by

by on Nov 29, 2011 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

When Gemma Andre submitted photos of her young daughter, Taya, to a UK modeling agency at the urging of a family member, she didn’t say anything about the fact that Taya was born with Down syndrome. “No one asked the question, ‘Is your child disabled?’ So I didn’t mention it,” Gemma told the Daily Mail […]

The Eyeless "I" of Assisted Suicide
0

The Eyeless “I” of Assisted Suicide

by

by on Nov 28, 2011 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

A Canadian court is considering a challenge to the nation’s law prohibiting assisted suicide and euthanasia. Consequently the topic is in the news. I received an email from a woman who doesn’t know what to think as the assisted suicide camp is pulling out all their compassionate sounding euphemisms to promote death. She wanted my […]

Depersonalizing the Dementia Patient
3

Depersonalizing the Dementia Patient

by

by on Sep 23, 2011 in Columnists, Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

Televangelist Pat Robertson made another high-profile gaffe last week when he told a caller on “The 700 Club” show that a husband who is tempted to cheat on his Alzheimer’s-stricken wife ought to leave her for someone new. “I know it sounds cruel,” Robertson said, “but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce […]

The Pope and the Disabled Meet in Madrid
1

The Pope and the Disabled Meet in Madrid

by

by on Aug 23, 2011 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

Among the groups honored by an audience with the Holy Father during World Youth Day, was a group of sick and disabled youth from St Joseph’s Hospital. Like the seminarians, university professors, and women religious, the Holy Father wanted to remind them of their vital importance in the life of the Church. This may surprise […]

Are Human Rights Mere Words
0

Are Human Rights Mere Words

by

by on Aug 15, 2011 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

Recently we reprinted an outstanding article entitled “The Erosion of Human Rights” that had been published in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. The author, Carlo V. Bellieni, addresses the horrific practice that involves doctors who are denying basic care and treatment to newborn children. Bellieni referred to researcher Michael Gross who conducted a study of […]

Terri's Fight Continues
1

Terri’s Fight Continues

by

by on Jul 29, 2011 in Columnists, Featured
Print This Article

The death of Terri Schindler Schiavo in 2005 is a distant memory for most Americans. But for the family that spent seven years fighting Terri’s estranged husband and the court system to stop the starvation of their daughter and sister, recollections of the 13 days Terri lingered without food or water before finally succumbing to […]

Cracks Start to Show in ‘Vegetative State’ Diagnosis
0

Cracks Start to Show in ‘Vegetative State’ Diagnosis

by

by on Jul 11, 2011 in Featured, Life Issues & Bioethics
Print This Article

After years of opposition from disability advocates, more experts are beginning to question the validity of the “persistent vegetative state” (PVS) diagnostic label that paved the way for Terri Schiavo’s starvation death. A Discover magazine article published online July 6 explained that PVS often fails to account for a broad swath of traumatic brain injury […]