Thursday, November 27, 2008

Richardson's Parents Commit to Guard Life

The Alliance Defense Fund has reached a favorable settlement in a lawsuit that pitted a divorced father and mother against each another over whether their 24-year-old daughter should live.

Lauren Richardson sustained a severe brain injury in August 2006, according to an Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) press release. The doctors then declared she would be in a "persistent vegetative state."

ADF attorney Matt Bowman tells OneNewsNow Lauren's mother was fighting to have Lauren's feeding tube and water discontinued, but she had a change of heart.

"The miracle in Lauren Richardson's case is that both of her parents came to realize that life should be protected," he explains. "It's inherently valuable, and just because Lauren has a severe disability doesn't mean that her life is not valuable."

Lauren's mother became a born-again Christian and visited her daughter at her hospital facility, which Bowman believes was quite eye-opening.

"And then an amazing thing happened," he notes. "She told Lauren that Lauren would be cared for, and Lauren started crying, and they cried together and she realized that her daughter was really there and was really responding."

Lauren was also responding to pain, music, family members' voices, touch, and assisted exercise.

The parents have agreed to settle the case and share joint guardianship of Lauren.

Read it here.

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