Pubdate: Fri, 18 Sep 2015
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Laura Kane
Page: A8

PARENTS DROP FIGHT TO TREAT BABY WITH CANNABIS

Severely ill 5-month-old is now breathing on her own, raising hope
she's improving

VANCOUVER- Parents of a severely ill baby girl in British Columbia
have dropped a court action seeking greater control of her care,
including the right to treat her with cannabis oil.

Michelle Arnold and Justin Pierce withdrew their application to share
custody of their 5-month-old daughter with B.C.'s Ministry of Children
and Family Development on Wednesday.

The parents' lawyer, Erin Haupt, said Mary Jane Pierce has been
breathing on her own without a ventilator for two weeks and the
parents are hopeful they can bring her home some day.

The ministry obtained a temporary custody order in August and Haupt
said the province is still planning to make the order permanent.

But she said the protection hearing won't probably be held for several
weeks, allowing the parents time to show they can be good caregivers
to Mary Jane.

The family's court battle began in August when the ministry moved to
remove the baby's ventilator and place her in palliative care.

Arnold and Pierce, who live in Chilliwack, B.C., won a temporary
injunction to keep their daughter on life support. At a subsequent
hearing, the ministry agreed not to take the infant off the machine
without the couple's consent.

Penny Washington, a lawyer for B.C. Women's Hospital, told the court
last month that the cannabis oil did nothing to alleviate the girl's
seizures and might have increased them.

She said the extensive medical treatments were taking a toll on Mary
Jane, who has cerebral palsy and suffers bleeding in her brain.

"In my view, it's becoming inconsistent with human dignity," she
said.

But Haupt said on Wednesday the girl has made remarkable progress in
the past two weeks. She still needs some support to breathe, but no
longer requires the ventilator.

"The parents are very excited that she is getting better and better,
and they want to show that they can be parents, so that's how we're
proceeding," she said.

"It's fantastic, given a couple weeks ago we never thought we'd be in
this position. They are very, very hopeful that she will at some point
be able to be discharged."

Arnold and Pierce have also said they will not give up their fight to
gain full custody of their daughter and to treat her with cannabis
oil, despite dropping the court action that sought greater control of
her care.
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MAP posted-by: Matt