The big question is who has the right to decide if the life support canbe stopped?
It is an ethical decision some people think should not be made frombehind bars. But it is a decision that may very well have to be made bysomeone.
Nadine Hunter (pictured at far right), the boy's mother, is now chargedwith felony childabuse, as is her boyfriend, Tyrone Bennett (pictured at right). SocialServices now has legalcustody of the 2-year-old, but Wake County attorney Michael Ferrell saysDSS would not make such a call as general policy. The decision to stoplife support, he says, would have to be initiated by the hospital andfollowed through the court system.
Nancy King is a professor of social medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill and ison the UNC Hospital's Ethics Committee. She says the problem is intricate.
Wake County Assistant District Attorney, Shelley Desvousges, who isprosecuting this case, says she's not sure who has the authority todiscontinue life support, but added that her office would not get involvedin that decision.
"Should the boy die, I will look at upgrading these charges to murder,"said Desvousges.
Police say Hunter now wants the boy kept on life support.
King says the situation is a rare one, with the criminal charges soentwined with the decision.
The hospital's ethics committee is reviewing the case. Police say it isthe mother's decision whether to keep the boy alive. The hospital could,however, seek a court injunction to order stopping the life support ifdoctors believe that would be best for the child.
Doctors say they currently do not know how long the child couldlive either with or without life support. His condition is critical.
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