President of Pontifical Academy for Life Welcomes Baby Born to "Brain Dead" Mother

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, applauded the doctors in Milan whose work made it possible for a baby girl to be born on June 10, several weeks after the child's mother had been declared "brain dead."

The mother, identified to the public only as Cristina, suffered a celebral aneurysm on March 23. Although she was irreversibly comatose, doctors kept her alive in order to save her unborn child. Finally on June 10 the baby was delivered by Caesarian section. Although she was born 2 months premature, the tiny 1.5-pound baby-- named Cristina, after her mother-- was soon breathing on her own strength. Her mother, removed from the respirator after the birth, died the same day.
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