TX - Scott Buchholtz-Sanchez, 3 wks, decapitated, San Antonio, July 2009 *Insanity*

[CHICANA]

dotseyes-- I agree with you. I mean, where do we draw the line, when it comes to keeping people alive?? How hideously inhuman does an action have to be before we say,, OK, the line is crossed-- we need to remove them from civilized society, for good?
In any other society she would have been quickly killed (or tortured for 'possession'- which would have been pointless and even more cruel). What is it about our society that insists on keeping those like her alive and 'rehabilitating' them...??? For what.....???? For the good of society, herself, and for god's sake-- the human gene pool-- she needs to be declared crimincally insane and euthanized (not executed). Yes, OK we get it- she is mentally ill-- (and if it's because of drugs then it is partly her own fault!) -but no, she should not live. And no, this doesn't mean we should put to death everyone who has depression and whatnot-- so please don't drag all that stuff out again people.

Who gets to decide who gets euthanized or not ? The government ? Doctors ?
Online bloggers ?
Should they be killed when they're first diagnosed with schizophrenia or do we wait until they "do something" ?
Should we also euthanize the mentally ill who commit crimes after being prescribed medications with side effects like hallucinations or delusional thinking, or should we euthanize the doctor who prescribed it ?
Should we start euthanizing terminal cancer patients ?
After all, they are a drain on society and it's no fun taking care of them. Might as well get it over with so we don't have to be bothered.
Oh wait, that would be INHUMAN.

 

[bogeygal]

I don't care if she spends the rest of her life in prison or in a mental institution.

She spent 2 hours or so, cutting her little boy with a knife, then ate parts of his body. No sane person would inflict such torture on their baby, let alone eat their body parts.

I hope this woman gets help, but this is one case IMO, where I feel it may be unlikely that she can be mainstreamed into society again.

 

[Penelope]

I am so heartbroken over this. That poor baby, may he RIP. WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS WHY THE H*** THE SISTER GAVE THE BABY BACK TO HER, knowing that she was "out of her mind" The mother obviously knew something was wrong which is why she kept bringing the baby back to her sister.

This has got to be one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. Sometimes I think the human race has lost all of its instincts for survival. To think that this woman's sister gave the baby back to her after she brought the baby to her is mind-boggling. Why didn't anyone-- the mother's physician, etc -- tell the family about what to watch for with this mother. OMG, I can't read anymore about this -- it is too hard to handle emotionally. God bless that poor little baby and his mother.

 

[Blackwatch]

This has got to be one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. Sometimes I think the human race has lost all of its instincts for survival. To think that this woman's sister gave the baby back to her after she brought the baby to her is mind-boggling. Why didn't anyone-- the mother's physician, etc -- tell the family about what to watch for with this mother. OMG, I can't read anymore about this -- it is too hard to handle emotionally. God bless that poor little baby and his mother.

AMEN, Penelope, AMEN. This is a horrible tragedy for all concerned.

 

[Fairy1]

AMEN, Penelope, AMEN. This is a horrible tragedy for all concerned.

Truly. Many people will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. From the family to the doctors to the first responders. It is so very tragic.

 

[CHICANA]

According to MySpace, her sister works in a Medical Office.

 

[Kat]

I'm glad my father wasn't euthanized after his first psychotic break when it was proven that he was enormously dangerous not only to himself and the general public, but to me and my Mother as well.

I was his only child. I'm not mentally ill or unstable. I grew up and like to think I'm a productive member of society who happened to have a bio-Father that was committed many times over in my childhood.

To suggest such a thing, IMHO is offensive not just to me personally but to all those that have family members with profound mental illness. To me it is right along the lines of mandated sterilization for the poor or the mentally challanged or the mentally ill.

My mouth is hanging open as I type this....good grief.

 

[AmyinTheHam]

I just read that her sister had been taking care of the baby that night because she had told her she was hearing voices and that the sister returned the baby to her after she had calmed down. So sad, just think had the sister kept the baby and taken the mom to a doctor first thing the next morning this might have turned out different.

I just pray for everyone involved, it has to be horrible for everyone. And I am sure each and every person involves thinks "if I only".

 

[laura08]

http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/1351724.html At one point during the frantic call, Priscilla Garcia tries reassuring her sister that she is alive. "Otty, this time I told you to come to me," Garcia says.

"I tried, but you told me that you died," Sanchez responds.

"I'm not dead, Otty," Garcia says. "I'm standing right here talking to you."

 

[lizzybeth]

I'm glad my father wasn't euthanized after his first psychotic break when it was proven that he was enormously dangerous not only to himself and the general public, but to me and my Mother as well.

I was his only child. I'm not mentally ill or unstable. I grew up and like to think I'm a productive member of society who happened to have a bio-Father that was committed many times over in my childhood.

To suggest such a thing, IMHO is offensive not just to me personally but to all those that have family members with profound mental illness. To me it is right along the lines of mandated sterilization for the poor or the mentally challanged or the mentally ill.

My mouth is hanging open as I type this....good grief.

I agree with you. My father suffered with depression and possibly other issues that weren't diagnosed until the day he died (suicide). In between all those "episodes" he was a productive member of society and a good man. He helped many people/animals.

I understand wanting to protect innocents from people that are dangerous (even if it's no fault of their own), but it sort of reminds me of Hitler. He wanted to remove all those that he deemed imperfect.

 

[21merc7]

My mouth is hanging open as I type this....good grief.

Respectfully snipped:

I have to admit I typed out a lenghty and enraged post last night. Thank goodness it did not go through or I would have been banned.

All of you have expressed yourselves so diplomatically. I understand everyone has a right to their opinion, but I just find this opinion beyond belief. I am reminded of Atilla the Hun. I should leave it at that.

I hope this poor woman's case will help to increase awareness of the tragic possibilities, and the need for continued and constant care and to insure medications are being taken on time. Sad as it is, perhaps something good will come of it.

 

[Nessa]

Hi all....had to come out of lurking mode.

As a person who works in the medical profession and has daily access to a mental hospital medical records, I can see how this case has people torn on both sides of the issue. On the one hand, it doesn't seem fair that those with severe mental illness be walking among us and pose a threat to innocent people. However, on the other hand, I also know that those with severe mental illness never asked to be mentally ill. I'm sure given a choice they would love to get rid of the voices in their head and the torment that they live with.

The doctors are to some degree bound by law and other factors. They hospitalize the patient, tweak the medication and when the patient is deemed stable they are discharged.

Also, not all crimes are by mentally ill people. A forensic psychiatrist told me once that some people are just evil (not saying this is the case here obviously). She said that when a human being does something unthinkable we as a society automatically determine that person is mentally ill. In some cases yes they are; but in other cases, they are just plain evil.

I think in this case the family had some responsibility. Very sad.

IMO

 

[southcitymom]

Hi all....had to come out of lurking mode.

As a person who works in the medical profession and has daily access to a mental hospital medical records, I can see how this case has people torn on both sides of the issue. On the one hand, it doesn't seem fair that those with severe mental illness be walking among us and pose a threat to innocent people. However, on the other hand, I also know that those with severe mental illness never asked to be mentally ill. I'm sure given a choice they would love to get rid of the voices in their head and the torment that they live with.

The doctors are to some degree bound by law and other factors. They hospitalize the patient, tweak the medication and when the patient is deemed stable they are discharged.

Also, not all crimes are by mentally ill people. A forensic psychiatrist told me once that some people are just evil (not saying this is the case here obviously). She said that when a human being does something unthinkable we as a society automatically determine that person is mentally ill. In some cases yes they are; but in other cases, they are just plain evil.

I think in this case the family had some responsibility. Very sad.

IMO

Welcome to WS, Nessa, and thanks for your input. I hope we will hear more from you on this thread and others!

 

[Disguiseduser0308]

Just an article about mandatory postpartum screening. I hope a lot of people read this information. Especially this part:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,535342,00.html

The savage dismembering of a Texas baby allegedly by his own mother this past Sunday is the most recent example of why new mothers need to be carefully monitored by their physicians during and after their pregnancies, doctors say.

Although it only makes the news when a new mother harms her child or children — think Andrea Yates — due to postpartum depression, the truth is, said one doctor, there are also many cases where new mothers harm, even kill, themselves in the months after giving birth to a child.

“All obstetrical doctors that deliver babies need to do pre- and post-natal assessments of new mothers,” said Dr. Manny Alvarez, managing editor of health for FOXNews.com. “This is a real disease. It affects 15-20 percent of all pregnant women. And it’s not only dangerous for the child, but also for the mother.”

Edited to add: Postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency. If you or anyone you know is suffering please call your family and your Dr. or head immediately to your local emergency room.

 

[SleuthyMama]

I gave birth almost 2 years ago next month. I can attest to the fact that I was given questionnaires to fill out at a few visits to my obgyn after my child's birth. I even remember at one early pediatric visit the doctor asking me about ME, which I really took comfort in.

Thankfully, the most I ever experienced was a tremendous lack of sleep (but only for the first two months) and some feelings of being overwhelmed at first.

I'm torn in two about how I feel about this case. There is a part of me that feels tremendous anger over what Baby Scotty was subjected to and there is also a part of me that feels tremendous pain for the living hell his mother was in, hearing those voices in her head. It's just a heartbreaking situation all around.

 

[Native New Yorker]

There was something mentioned in one of the linked articles about the mother being on drugs ( according to a family member), but I am sure that will come out if true.
However........

I agree that the mother should have been under observation, but what I really do not understand is WHY it is ok for the mentally ill to have children???( and I know there are wonderful exceptions, and cases where medication works wonders, so please do not bash me)
I have a distant cousin who had mental problems, and she had a child with another mental patient....their son ended up in foster care, and it was very, very sad....I am not advocating a Nazi type of "sterilization of the unfit", but where is our common sense?
There are so many unwanted and abused children, why add mental illness into the mix, and by that I mean a handicap which makes it harder to parent?

I also have a friend who had a history of breakdowns, and yet went ahead and had four children. She is now dxed as Bipolar, and her children are complete wrecks. Basically, they have never had a mother! She is in and out of mental hospitals, and it is just heart breaking. And so selfish of her to have ignored her own history.

 

[Kat]

There was something mentioned in one of the linked articles about the mother being on drugs ( according to a family member), but I am sure that will come out if true.
However........

I agree that the mother should have been under observation, but what I really do not understand is WHY it is ok for the mentally ill to have children???( and I know there are wonderful exceptions, and cases where medication works wonders, so please do not bash me)
I have a distant cousin who had mental problems, and she had a child with another mental patient....their son ended up in foster care, and it was very, very sad....I am not advocating a Nazi type of "sterilization of the unfit", but where is our common sense?
There are so many unwanted and abused children, why add mental illness into the mix, and by that I mean a handicap which makes it harder to parent?

I also have a friend who had a history of breakdowns, and yet went ahead and had four children. She is now dxed as Bipolar, and her children are complete wrecks. Basically, they have never had a mother! She is in and out of mental hospitals, and it is just heart breaking. And so selfish of her to have ignored her own history.

The most simple answer to your question that I respectfully highlighted in quoting your post above is:


I am one of the reasons it's okay for the mentally ill to have children. I am the Mother of five healthy children.

If my father had been forbidden to procreate then I wouldn't be sitting here typing this post.

Food for thought and just my humble opinion.

 

[Nessa]

You know being born with a predisposition to mental illness in no way guarantees you will inherit an illness. I think it goes back to the nature vs nurture argument. In many cases, you can be born with a predisposition toward say bipolar illness, however, if you are raised in a relatively stable, nonabusive environment your chances of "igniting" the illness can be slim. Emotional, sexual and physical abuse in childhood is a huge determining factor in many psychiatric illnesses.

IMO, every time a baby is born healthy is a blessing/miracle. Many things can go wrong even in a healthy family that can cause a child to develop problems during the prenatal period and the birth itself, things that are not in our control.

I think dealing with mental illness is at times difficult because it does and can affect those around the person, unlike say diabetes, cancer, etc. I think family education is extremely important. I also think there needs to be more public awareness of disorders, particularly personality disorders. The stigma needs to be removed IMO.

 

[Kat]

911 call released ::warning:: caller emotionally distressed (understandably)

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12945748?source=rss

click on video and 911 call audio plays.

 

[21merc7]

911 call released ::warning:: caller emotionally distressed (understandably)

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12945748?source=rss

click on video and 911 call audio plays.

Oh why did I listen to it. That poor family. I also watched the slide show, such a beautiful baby. (You can tell the mother is not okay though in the photos. She looks distant and depressed.) Oh geez. Listen with caution.