Brain-dead Mother Dies after Giving Birth
A brain-dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the child she was carrying was removed from life support on Wednesday and died, a day after giving birth.
"This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," Justin Torres, the woman's brother-in-law, said in a statement.
Susan Torres, a cancer-stricken, 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health, suffered a stroke in May after the melanoma （黑瘤） spread to her brain.
Her family decided to keep her alive to give her foetus （胎儿） a chance. It became a race between the foetus' development and the cancer that was destroying the woman's body.
Doctors said that Torres' health was getting worse and that the risk of harm to the foetus finally outweighed the benefits of extending the pregnancy.
Torres gave birth to a daughter by Caesarean section （剖腹产手术） on Tuesday at Virginia Hospital Center. The baby was two months premature and weighed about a kilogram. She was in the newborn intensive care unit.
Dr Donna Tilden-Archer, the hospital's director of neonatology （新生儿学）, described the child as "very vigorous." She said the baby had responded when she received stimulation, indicating she was healthy.
Doctors removed Torres from life support early Wednesday with the consent of her husband, Jason Tortes, after she received the final sacrament （圣礼） of the Roman Catholic Church.
"We thank all of those who prayed and provided support for Susan, the baby and our family," Jason Torres said in a statement. "We especially thank God for giving us little Susan. My wife's courage will never be forgotten."
English-language medical literature contains at least 11 cases since 1979 of irreversibly brain-damaged women whose lives were prolonged for the benefit of the developing foetus, according to the University of Connecticut Health Center.
Dr Christopher McManus, who coordinated care 1"or Susan Torres, put the infant's chances of developing cancer at less than 25 per cent. He said 19 women who have had the same aggressive form of melanoma as Tortes have given birth, and five of their babies became ill with the disease.
6 Susan Torres died soon after
A she suffered a stroke.
B she became brain-dead.
C she was diagnosed with cancer.
D she gave birth to a baby.
7 The pregnancy was stopped because
A the foetus was found seriously ill.
B the risks outweighed the benefits.
C there was no hope to rescue the foetus.
D the Tortes family couldn't afford the expenses any more.
8 Which is NOT true of the baby?
A She was born of a dead mother.
B She was two months premature
C She weighed about a kilogram.
D She was healthy.
9 Susan Torres had been put on life support so
A she could live comfortably.
B she could see her baby.
C she could die without pain.
D she could deliver her baby.
10 The baby's chances of developing cancer were said to be
A about 11 per cent
B around 19 per cent.
C less than 25 per cent.
D close to 5 per cent.
【参考答案】
6. D 7. B 8. A 9. D 10. C