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1. .... and if I sit in front of a mirror and close my eyes, I cease to exist!??
   Had these babies (who, at that stage might well have lived if been delivered) been on the outside of their mother, they would have been people, yet inside, they are not? If they had been delivered and died there would have been a funeral - a church funeral no less - does the catholic community of Colorado perform funerals for non-people?
   This poor man has had a triple tragedy of losing his wife and two children. For the church to deny this is unconscionable! For the church to try and take this away from him to avoid litigation is perverse!
   I have sat with a mum and her twin baby boys who died during delivery at 7 months gestation. They were no less ''people' moments before they were born and taken from her! Shame!

   Posted By: Peta

2. This is breathtakingly hypocritcal of that hospital.
   Another example of a Catholic hospital retreating to convoluted legalism.

   Posted By: Barbara Harland

3. In my comment I meant to refer to Catholic institutions using convoluted legalism.

   Posted By: Barbara Harland

4. In spite of my searching beyond this story onto the internet, I cannot find any reporting of the cause of Lori Stodhill's death.
   Surely this perhaps might be the reason an emergency Caesarian section was not able to be performed?
   Most tragic, a family who needs our prayers.

   Posted By: Monica Mary Brown

5. Would an urgent caesarean have been too late to have saved the twins?
   Once a pregnant woman has gone into cardiac arrest, there is a very small window of opportunity to save the foetus - less than 3 minutes.
   The article does not state whether the mother died suddenly or whether there was any discussion prior to her death as to urgent delivery in the hope of saving them.
   The emergency room caesars on a dead woman have a very poor survival rate generally as the children are either delivered already dead or succumb to hypoxic brain damage within a short time.
   A very sad story

   Posted By: JR,Sydney

6. The bishops of Colorado issued a statement on 24 January, as is mentioned in the NCR report. Here is the text of that statement: http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/9767

   Posted By: Fr Sean Coyle

7. At the end of the day, the court determines matters according to the law.
   Richard Land is right, there is a difference here between the law and the truth but one wonders if it was right to rely on the law in this case. Perhaps this is one of those cases where truth would have been better served by a loss - we have a precedent for that in the trial of Jesus.

   Posted By: B T Walters

8. This is a tragedy for all concerned. Immediately, the tragedy is that of the father who lost two children because of a mistake on the part of the hospital.
   More generally, however, the tragedy is that of an institution which has sacrificed its principles to its financial needs.
   B.T. Walters is right - the truth would have been better served by a loss.
   The financial loss might very well have been enormous, and extremely difficult for the management to contemplate - but in the end the decision should have been made on the principle.
   This is just so sad.

   Posted By: Joan Seymour

9. In the US what makes a hospital 'Catholic'?
   Can it have the privilege withdrawn by the bishop if it goes against Catholic teaching?
   My take on this is: a perfect opportunity to fight a law suit while totally accepting that from conception the thing in the womb is a human being with spirit, soul and body.

   Posted By: Dr Phillip Chalmers

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