Nationalized health care and parental authority...

(Andrew Henry) The conflict over Joseph Maraachli throws into stark relief our modern age's attack on the authority of fathers and mothers.

The circumstances are simple and painful. Several years ago, Moe Maraachli and Sana Nader lost their daughter, Zina, to a degenerative neurological condition. Her respiratory function deteriorated so severely that she was placed on a ventilator. Rather than allowing her to die in the hospital, her parents decided to take her home. A simple tracheotomy allowed her to breathe without the aid of a ventilator and she lived for six more months at home with her family before passing away.

Fast forward several years to the birth of Joseph. He was considered to be at high risk for the same genetic condition and was closely monitored as he grew. At four months old, he began having seizures and his parents worst fears were confirmed...

He is suffering from the same condition that took his sister's life and the doctors who have examined him say there is no hope. Professing their faith in God and wishing to spend their final days with their son in the peace of their own home, Moe and Sana requested the same procedure performed on their daughter, Zina: a tracheotomy.

But this time the doctors refused, claiming the procedure would be "too invasive." Instead of being enabled to take their son home to die, doctors presented Moe and Sana with a consent form which would allow the hospital to remove Joseph's breathing tube. They refused to sign it.

After hearing testimony from the doctors, a Canadian tribunal ordered the parents to consent to the removal of Joseph's breathing tube. They appealed the decision but the appelate judge ruled against them.

Not surprisingly, the case has generated enormous public debate. Under intense public pressure to allow Joseph to be taken home, the hospital finally consented to transport him to his parents house, but they continue to refuse to allow a tracheotomy, insisting the simple procedure would "needlessly" prolong Joseph's life without any positive impact on his "quality of life."

The doctors' counter-offer to the parents is that they're willing to move Joseph home, but as soon as they get him there they intend to remove his ventilator. Without a tracheotomy, this would result in Joseph's almost-immediate death.

Here we see doctors and public servants usurping the authority God has bestowed upon the father and mother. Dad and Mom are every child's natural sovereign, but when Hillary Clinton's "village" takes over, Dad and Mom are shunted aside. It takes a village to say "no" to a child dying at home under the tender, free care of his loving family.

Please pray for Joseph and his father and mother, Moe and Sana.

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More information can be found at Save Baby Joseph and in articles from the Windsor Star and the Vancouver Sun.