somewhere, somehow, somewhen

BOSTON - The state’s highest court ruled Tuesday that the state can remove an 11-year-old girl from life support after she was badly beaten, allegedly by her adoptive mother and stepfather.

Haleigh Poutre of Westfield was hospitalized in September after her stepfather and adoptive mother allegedly kicked her and beat her nearly to death with a baseball bat.

The girl’s stepfather, Jason Strickland, asked the Supreme Judicial Court last month to block the state from taking her off life support. If she dies, he could face a murder charge for taking part in the beating that left her comatose.

Within two weeks of being charged with assault and battery, the adoptive mother, Holli Strickland, who was also Haleigh’s aunt, was found dead alongside her grandmother in a possible murder-suicide.

Jason Strickland is free on bail while awaiting trial on assault charges.

The state Department of Social Services has custody of the girl and wants to remove her from life support, citing opinions from her doctors that the girl is in a permanent vegetative state.

A juvenile court judge granted the state’s request to disconnect Haleigh’s feeding tube and ventilator, prompting Jason Strickland to appeal to the SJC.

Haleigh was adopted by her aunt about five years ago after her biological mother moved to Virginia with a new boyfriend. Jason Strickland never formally adopted the girl, argued that as the stepfather, he should be considered a de facto parent and allowed to have a say in whether she lives or dies.

The court said Strickland had not established that he was the girl's "de facto parent," or offered evidence that he was "a loving or nurturing."

**************

Why do we as humans like to play with others lives?

Haleigh is on Life support atm, and she is NOT physically dead, and certainly she is NOT spiritually dead. Just because people don't want to put in the time it would take to nurture her back to this existence doesn't mean that she should be murdered -- once by those that supposedly love her and again by OUR OWN SOCIETY.

That is just not right. People that are hanging their collective hats in this world -- albeit for a tiny fraction of time until we 'go home' fully and completely -- need to speak up and nurture others that society wants to get rid of. Who are we to tell this soul that she doesn't deserve to fulfill her own life commitment? If she or the Lord chooses that her time here in this universe is done then they shall choose that. That choice is an option for her and the Lord.

I know that the Lord always forgives and this is just a trial for our own society. The trial tests how much backbone -- FAITH AND LOVE -- do we have? Shall we allow others to continue to disconnect people's life support just because they think that certain people cannot make a recovery?

True stories abound in life about people that make a partial or even full recovery after many years on life support in supposedly vegetative states. The recoveries just goes to show that Doctors and all their tests certainly don't know the will of God.

The people that assaulted the girl are in God's hands -- perhaps they have asked for his forgiveness -- perhaps they shall leave it as karma to work out -- God knows.

Sure we can intervene, but why? It's God's domain to intervene. Did we intervene in keeping her alive for so long now? Perhaps Doctors interventions did, then again perhaps not. If God wants her 'home' and off life support then so it shall be without any of societies intervention.

I do know that without God's blessing she wouldn't be here. That holds true for whether or not someone believes in God. He exists whether or not someone believes. I do know if God hadn't wanted her to stay here on this plane of the universe she wouldn't be here right now.

May God help her.. and help all the others that our decadent society regard as misfits.

posted by Guinorion @ 7:34 AM