Maine will not impose 'do not resuscitate' order on infant: governor

By Dave Sherwood BANGOR Maine (Reuters) - The mother of a severely brain-damaged infant violently shaken by her father should be allowed to make life-and-death medical decisions for her child, who is now in the state's custody, Maine Governor Paul LePage said. The governor's statement on Tuesday reversed the state's previous position on the case, which prompted a lawsuit by Virginia Trask, the 18-year-old mother of the 1-year-old child, who said the state was imposing a "do-not-resuscitate" order on her child against her wishes. "This case is disturbing and is not reflective of my administration's position that a parent who is the legal guardian of their child should have final say in medical decisions about life-sustaining treatment," LePage said. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services took custody of the child after she was rushed to a hospital on Dec. 21, showing symptoms of having been shaken. The state subsequently determined that neither the mother or father, who is currently awaiting trial for assaulting the child, were capable of caring for her and placed her in foster care in January. Doctors said the child is suffering and will never be able to walk, talk, see or hear, a finding that prompted a Maine judge to affirm the state's right to carry out a "do-not-resuscitate" order. The child is still hospitalized but now breathing on her own. But now the state will defer instead to the child's parents. "If the higher court upholds the previous decision that a parent's rights can be overridden by the Department, this administration will not exercise that misplaced authority," said Mary Mayhew, the state's health and human services commissioner, in a statement. The mother initially agreed to the do-not-resuscitate order after doctors put the child in her arms and told her she would be dead in 10 minutes after being taken off life support, according to court filings. But the baby revived and began breathing on her own shortly afterwards, and she changed her mind, court papers showed. "I don't think they should give up and ... watch my child die," Trask said in the documents. Her case has attracted the attention of national church and conservative groups, and a strong response from LePage, a Tea Party-backed Republican governor who is in a tight race for re-election in November. Maine's Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on the mother's suit later this month. Trask's attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment. (Editing by Scott Malone and Sandra Maler)