--
Richard Chudacoff, MD
[We stand] today poised on a pinnacle of wealth and
power, yet we live in a land of vanishing beauty, of
increasing ugliness, of shrinking open space and of an
overall environment that is diminished daily by pollution
and noise and blight. This, in brief, is the quiet
conservation crisis.
Stewart L. Udall
If the MD at Utah had reason to believe than she was not competent, then
they did
have a duty to institute guardianship proceedings in the best interest of
the fetuses. It
appears that this will be a case of note against a deranged individual who
probably
should have been under care of psychiatrists as well. We will see what the
facts of
the case are! RJC
On 12 Mar 2004 at 16:24, Gail Waldby wrote:
> Members, this is a difficult case. The civil rights movements brought
> rights to the mentally ill to chose treatment, unless declared
> incompetent. To be declared incompetent because of mental illness,
> you must be a danger to yourself or others. Clearly, she was a danger
> to others, her babies, so should have been declared incompetent and
> essentially committed to the hospital to have the C-section. This is
> not a well-trod legal path, though, which means that to get this
> through the courts in time to make a difference, would be difficult.
>
> The question is, then, whether she was competent until declared
> incompetent by the slow moving legal system. Even, then, what will
> they do? Of course, the Andrea Yates case showed that being legally
> incompetent because of psychotic depression did not keep her from
> being legally responsible in the US court system. Gail Waldby, MD
> Huron SD
>
> Garry E. Siegel, M.D. wrote:
> > Boy, what a tough one.
> >
> > Can a person refuse an operation? Of course!
> >
> > Was she competent to refuse?
> >
> > Joe, we need your legal eagle opinion, please.
> >
> > Garry
> >
> > --
> > Garry E. Siegel, M.D.
> > Private Practice
> > Roswell, GA
> >
>
Robert J. Carpenter, Jr. MD
6624 Fannin, #2720
St. Luke's Medical Tower
Houston,TX 77030-2339
713-795-4600
