Okay guys,
I know that this is not in line with my usual blog posts, but it is incredibly important.
Two year old Amelia Rivera has been denied the life-saving kidney transplant that she needs by doctors at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
They have denied this because she has brain damage and is developmentally delayed. She also has Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome.
So, basically, they say her life is not worth saving.
In this powerful article Mia’s mother explains how they were sat down by a doctor and a social worker and told by the doctor that “she is not eligible because of her quality of life. Because of her mental delays”. When her mother said that they would fight to get Mia the transplant she needed, the doctor replied “I will tell them I do not recommend Amelia for a transplant because she is mentally retarded and we will vote”. (Don’t even get me started on the use of “mentally retarded” sadly in America it is still used.)
Sounds like something from the middle ages doesn’t it? That a person, a child, is denied her right to live.
It’s astonishing, horrifying, but what’s more terrifying is that Mia is not the only one:
In 1995, Sandra Jensen was told she could not have a heart and lung transplant because she has Down’s syndrome. (She eventually won the fight and had the surgery).
Makes you feel sick doesn’t it?
Do these doctors think they can pick and choose the patients they save based on I.Q?
Please take time to sign this petition and show your support.
