13 yr. old Girl Refuses Heart Transplant

[MA-Caver]

updated 2:16 p.m. ET, Tues., Nov. 11, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27665174/
LONDON - Hannah Jones, 13, is not afraid of dying — she is afraid of spending her remaining days in a hospital bed.
In a case that raises a host of medical and ethical issues, the British teenager from a small town northwest of London has won a battle to refuse a heart transplant operation.
That decision by British medical authorities has ignited a debate over whether children should have the right to refuse potentially lifesaving medical treatments or if health authorities have an obligation to intervene.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27664215#27664215

She won her case and isn't having the operation. It's brave but in a sad way. One wonders if the authorities have the right to intervene in this situation because she is a minor (under British Law)?

One hopes she will be able to live her dream of visiting Disneyland before she dies. Just have to find an insurance company with enough heart to cover her.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27664215#27664215

 

[arnisador]

What a sad story! I think she's earned the rigbht, though, after cancer and many operations.

 

[Empty Hands]

Sure she's a minor, but it's not like 13 is 2 or 3. She is fully cognizant and aware, and fully understands death and what this decision will mean. It wouldn't feel right to force such a child to undergo such a painful and drawn out procedure.

 

[theletch1]

I applaud her courage both for refusing the operation and for standing up and saying "No". Hopefully, her legal worries are over. I wish her and her family the absolute best for what time is left.

 

[Drac]

I saw that story on the news..We all should be as strong as that little girl..

 

[Tez3]

The decision is being regarded as final and she has her wish to go home. You can understand the hospital and the doctors wanting her to go on to have more treatment, from their point of view it's unethical for them to say about a child okay we'll just stop treating her. Once it was proved she knew her own mind it seems it was agreed by everyone that her wishes should be respected.
I watched an interview with her and she comes across as a charming, intelligent and brave young lady. I have the feeling she intends to get more out of her remaining time than many of us do in our whole lives! My thoughts are with her and her family.