Scribes and Pharisees

Friday, Marion County Superior Court judge Marilyn Moores ordered life support removed from a five-month-old boy over the objections of his mother. Judge Moores also issued a do-not-resuscitate order.

Hamad Elijah Sanda was brought to Methodist Hospital September 22. He had a fractured skull and a brain injury. The suspected cause is abuse, and the case is under investigation by Indianapolis police. A few points:

• Tiwanna Sanda, the boy's mother, was not represented by counsel at the hearing. She has a previous conviction for battery on another of her children.

• The boy's father, Hamadou Sanda, is reportedly out of state looking for work and "could not be reached to participate" in the hearing.

• The baby is not legally brain dead, but has some brain stem function.

So Congress will be working all night to get the ventilator reinserted, right? Bill Frist has ordered up a video tape so he can perform another of his patented long-distance diagnoses? The Dobsonites at the Indiana Family Institute are demanding life support be maintained per the mother's wishes, seeking a stay until the father or grandparents or any other concerned relatives be contacted?

Uh, not quite. Indianapolis Star:

While "every presumption" must be given to preserving life, there can come a time when medical technology is only prolonging death, said Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, which promotes Christian views on family issues. In such cases, it might be appropriate to withdraw extraordinary measures.

By extraordinary, Smith said, he means something like a ventilator. Under all circumstances, he said, regular care, such as food and water should be considered.

Interesting, huh? Right-to-lifers now believe food and water are considerations? That medical technology can now preclude, in some circumstances, at least, miraculous recovery? That the wishes of a parent do not even have to be ascertained before the state orders extraordinary measures withdrawn?

The baby is five months old. Had the judge issued a similar order six months ago Curt Smith would be calling her a murderer. Not without reason did Dante put political frauds in the two lowest circles of Hell.