Investigation re-opened in boy’s organ-harvesting case

Los Angeles police and the district attorney’s office are re-investigating the death of an 8-year-old boy, amid claims an anesthesiologist may have given him a fatal dose of fentanyl so the hospital could quickly harvest his organs.

Cole Hartman, born with a genetic disorder known as fragile X syndrome, suffered severe brain trauma after almost drowning in 2013. Paramedics revived his heart, but the boy was left in a coma and on a ventilator. His parents decided to remove life support and donate his organs. But when staff unhooked the ventilator, the boy allegedly began gasping for air. Judith Brill, his anesthesiologist, gave him 500 micrograms of fentanyl.

Denise Bertone, a coroner’s investigator, noted at the time the high dosage of fentanyl and persuaded the coroner’s office to put fentanyl poisoning as a cause of death.

Hartman took 23 minutes to die, and organ donation is time-sensitive: Bertone claimed Brill hastened his death with such a high dose to ensure successful organ harvesting. But the chief medical examiner at the time disregarded her claims of manslaughter and said near-drowning caused the boy’s death. Bertone has since convinced the new interim examiner to reopen the case. —S.G.

California prescribed death for 500 in first year

California doctors prescribed euthanasia drugs to 504 people in the first year the practice was legal, according to the pro-euthanasia group Compassion and Choices, which applauded the statistics as “a huge success.” Others disagree.

Aaron Kheriaty, director of UC Irvine's medical ethics program, noted the law doesn’t require a psychiatrist to evaluate patients seeking euthanasia.

“Would they feel differently or would they pursue a different course of action if they felt that they had the familial or the social support or the support from healthcare professionals that they needed to walk through the process?” he asked. —S.G.

Southern Baptists want Planned Parenthood defunded

During its annual meeting last week, the Southern Baptist Convention urged Congress to defund the nation’s largest abortion provider. The resolution called for the total defunding of Planned Parenthood, as “God abhors the shedding of innocent blood and requires His people to do all in their power to rescue persons from such acts.” But not all religious groups are opposed to Planned Parenthood’s grisly work.

Groups including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options, and the United Methodist Church signed a letter along with 155 other groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, to protest the potential repeal of Obamacare and revocation of Planned Parenthood funding. —S.G.

A life lived with dignity and purpose

Steven Lee Mitchell, an avid Duke University men’s basketball fan born in 1954 with Down syndrome, died on June 4 following a stroke. His lifelong connection to the Duke team helped raise awareness for the dignity and worth of those born with disabilities. When a new coach’s popularity made tickets hard to get, Mitchell’s brother-in-law negotiated a ticket right behind the Duke bench. Every season since, Mitchell wrote a brief note to Coach Mike Krzyzewski to ask permission to sit behind him again. Coach “K” always said yes. Mitchell once saved his sister from a seizure-induced drowning accident, an act that earned him the Governor’s Award for Bravery and Heroism. —S.G.