Teen mom fighting to extend life of infant now paralyzed, spastic, in pain from shaking

PORTLAND, Maine (AP)

A teenage mother is fighting a do-not-resuscitate order imposed on her brain-damaged daughter, saying she should be responsible for medical decisions. Child welfare officials who intervened after the baby was severely injured by shaking say life-saving measures in the event she stops breathing would only prolong her suffering.

The child, Aleah Peaslee, was 6 months old in December when she was shaken by her father at their Augusta home while her mother was at work, prosecutors say. The girl, now in foster care, suffered profound injuries that have left her a spastic quadriplegic who cannot see or hear and who relies on a feeding tube for nutrition.

She will never advance beyond an "an early infantile level," cannot suck or swallow and exhibits a high-pitched "neurological cry" that she suggests she's in pain, according to court documents. Her brain injuries are so severe that she'll suffer a premature death, state attorneys said. Her foster mother observed, "She's just miserable."

If she stops breathing, life-saving procedures would only increase the severe pain she's already experiencing, state officials contend.

State child welfare officials believe the do-not-resuscitate order is appropriate, given the extent of the injuries to the girl, who stopped breathing and suffered from oxygen starvation after being violently shaken, according to court filings.

The mother, Virginia Trask, 18, originally agreed to the do-not-resuscitate order. At one point, the infant was removed from life support and placed in her arms to die, then opened her eyes and began breathing.

Trask, who previously expressed an interest with reuniting with Peaslee, according to court documents, believes the do-not-resuscitate order amounts to a wrongful termination of her parental rights. She is fighting to make medical decisions for her daughter.

Scott Hess, Trask's attorney, said the case involves "a very important legal issue for all parents."

However, a state judge who gave child welfare officials authority to make medical decisions doesn't put as much stock in the judgment of either parent and noted Trask has visited her daughter "only a handful of times." The judge found that "neither parent can be counted on to be physically or emotionally available to make the necessary informed decision when needed."

The judge also noted a potential conflict of interest regarding the father, Kevin Peaslee, 22, who is no longer involved in the decision-making. Peaslee is due to stand trial in October on charges of aggravated assault, but charges could be upgraded to manslaughter or even murder if Aleah dies.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine and Christian Civic League of Maine are joining the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based conservative legal group, in supporting Trask's request to lift the judge-approved order.

"Everyone deserves a fighting chance to live," said Steve Aden, from the Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief. "All she's doing is fighting for her baby."