Right to Live or Right to Die

Trust is a fundamental part of every aspect within our society. A barber is entrusted with hair, a groomer with your pets, a mechanic with your vehicles. But, how much trust do you put in your medical facilities?

The family of 13-year-old Jahi McMath found themselves running out of trust for the girl’s doctor after a tonsillectomy went horribly wrong. She was getting this operation done to fix a sleep apnea problem that had made it difficult for her to breathe in her sleep. Jahi was declared brain dead on Dec. 12 and has been at the Children’s Hospital of Oakland since undergoing the surgery on Dec. 9.

We also need to think about how the family feels. A lot of news channels and viewers focus on how the hospital can keep Jahi on life support as long as they feel the need to. But, what about the mother? She has to sit and watch her child fight for every breath. How far does it have to go until the mother has a say in how the story ends? I believe she should choose what the verdict should be. If Jahi is going to pass anyway, why let her hang by a thread? It sounds terrible, but if her mother feels the need that she is in pain, she should have the right to take her out of the pain by allowing them to take her off of the life support.

The hospital does not own Jahi. They are not God, they did not create Jahi. If Jahi is meant to live, she will live. If she is not, it was all in His plan. The state should not have any say in the future of that little girl.

As of Monday morning, after I wrote this article, Jahi has been released from Children’s into the loving arms of her family in an unknown location. The only thing we have left to do is pray for her family and her health. This is considered a victory for the family of Jahi. They get to embrace the girl they love once again, even if only for a little while.

Things go wrong in surgeries, yes. But, usually it is just an injury that requires further medical attention. In this case, an angel innocently suffered the consequences of an operation she had no control over.

Tonight, a mother is sobbing and just praying to have her baby for one more night.

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