Sunrise Hospital has once again refused to give a young couple their baby’s placenta. The parents were told they have two weeks to produce the court order or the hospital will be tossing it into a big bin with all the other placentas to await its inevitable incineration. This is a living organ, one that nurtured and brought new life into this world, and which is very much wanted by the parents. Yet the hospital feels it has the right to destroy it, and can deny the parents the right to take care of it in the manner they see fit.
I feel the need to state the obvious here – THEY ARE WRONG.
Sunrise and North Vista are the only two hospitals in the Las Vegas area who are refusing to release placentas, without a court order. Every other hospital takes a reasonable stance on this issue, giving healthy placentas to healthy mothers.
I actually feel the need to thank Sunrise here, since they are the impetus for this blog. A year ago, they refused to give Anne Swanson her placenta, a decision which gave rise to my initial activism for parents’ rights, the first Placenta Rally, the petitions, the legal defense fund, and the blog. (Search the blog or visit the archives from April and May 2007 for details about that.)
Oh yeah, they reported me to the health department and the FDA. Thanks for that, too. Nothing like a massive over-reaction to a woman using natural, time-tested remedies to help herself feel better after having a baby.
We’re in the planning stages of a response to this latest development. It is actually the 4th time they have refused to release placentas since losing their last case (Swanson vs. Sunrise), and they continue to test the court’s judgment in this matter, to the detriment of new mothers. This just happens to be the first woman since Swanson who will be fighting for what is rightfully hers. Stay tuned!
