In Portland, Maine, a mother is fighting the State over the imposition of a do not resuscitate order on her daughter who has brain damage. She is set on going against the State regulation saying that she must be responsible for medical decisions that involve her own child. However, Child welfare officials in the city have intervened, saying that imposing life saving measures in the event that the severely injured baby stops breathing would only draw out her pain.
Virginia Trask, mother to her 6-month old infant daughter, Aleah Peaslee, who was assaulted and severely injured by her father in December, had initially consented to a do not resuscitate order. Her injuries had left her as "a spastic quadriplegic who cannot see or hear and who relies on a feeding tube for nutrition." Trask reportedly changed her mind about the order when, at one point, they removed the infant from life-support with the intention of letting her die in her mother's arms. However, while Trask was holding her, the baby opened her eyes and began to breathe on her own.Since her decision to go against the state and appeal for the upliftment of the order, she has gained the assistance of support groups including the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian Civic League of Maine, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine.
Steve Aden, a representative from the Alliance Defending Freedom said that, "Everyone deserves a fighting chance to live. All she's doing is fighting for her baby."
Some people are already finding this to be a very unusual case. According to Dir. Art Caplan from the Division of Medical Esthetics at the NYU Langone Medical Center, he has never heard of a do not resuscitate order being imposed in opposition to a mother's wishes. "It could set some precedent for setting parental rights in some pretty horrible circumstances. It could set some precedent with regards to medical authority," he said.