[DiamondSmiles]

Julie Gordon
Reuters

February 4, 2014

VANCOUVER — A 32 year old Canadian woman who has been declared brain dead, is being kept on life support in a Victoria, British Columbia, hospital, with doctors working to keep her alive long enough to deliver her unborn son.

Robyn Benson was just 22 weeks pregnant when she complained of a headache and then collapsed on her bathroom floor, according to postings on a blog and fundraising site by her husband Dylan Benson. Her fetus, already named Iver Cohen Benson, has continued to grow in the womb.

"On December 28th, I lost my wife to a sudden hemorrhage of blood to her brain," Benson wrote. "Based on my decision, they are attempting to keep her body alive for up to 7 more weeks ... Incredibly, they have been successful in doing this for 5 weeks now."

The goal is to wait until the fetus reaches 34 weeks, giving the baby a greater chance of survival, according to Benson. He wrote that doctors plan to deliver his son via Cesarean section and that the baby will spend his first few weeks in hospital.

That sets up a bittersweet deadline for the family, who will welcome a new baby and then take the mother off life support.

"It is very difficult to know that our son will grow up never meeting his wonderful mother, and that we will have to say our goodbyes to Robyn within hours of seeing Iver for the first time," Benson wrote. "She was my rock. She did so much for us, and I can't believe I won't get to talk to her again."

The tragic story differs from a controversial case in Texas, where Marlise Munoz, a pregnant brain-dead woman was removed from life support at her husband's request last month after a lengthy court battle.

Her husband said Munoz had told him she did not want to be kept on life support. Unlike the Benson baby, which is healthier, Munoz' fetus had already suffered oxygen depravation and appeared to have deformed lower extremities, according to court documents.

Texas authorities had fought to keep Munoz on life support in a case that sparked fierce debate over the rights of a fetus versus the right to die.

A spokeswoman for the Vancouver Island health authority confirmed that there is a patient named Robyn Benson in the intensive care unit at the Victoria General Hospital, but was not able to provide further details due to privacy issues.

The Benson family's plight has gripped people across Canada and around the world, with donations on their fundraising site topping $76,700 early on Tuesday.

That has far exceeded the $32,488 goal set by Benson, who had hoped to raise funds for bills, baby supplies and to allow him to more time at home with his new son after the birth.

"I just wanted to reach out and say thank you to each and every one of you that have read our story and to those who have donated and/or shared," he wrote on the site on Monday. "We are overwhelmed with the response from not only the community, but, now the nation and beyond."

Robyn Benson, shown here in a wedding photo, was 32 years old and 22 weeks pregnant when she suffered a sudden hemorrhage that left her brain dead at the end of December, 2013.

It's odd to me that one case emerges, in any situation, and then there are more and more.

I hope this baby survives.

[Kelseecat65]

Unlike with the other brain dead mom, this husband is 100% in favor of saving the baby. It sounds like there might just be a happy ending for baby Iver.

[Pigeon]

Not again.

I can only hope that Robyn Benson would have wanted this. That, and that the fetus can actually develop for 3 months inside a corpse and turns out okay. It has been done for one month before, but three? I guess I'll have to wait and see how it goes and just be happy this science experiment is not being performed on my body (but I guess I won't know what happens after I'm dead!).

Pretty interesting to compare the responses to these cases to that of Jahi McMath.

[Kelseecat65]

Originally Posted by Pigeon ↗

Not again.

I can only hope that Robyn Benson would have wanted this. That, and that the fetus can actually develop for 3 months inside a corpse and turns out okay. It has been done for one month before, but three? I guess I'll have to wait and see how it goes and just be happy this science experiment is not being performed on my body (but I guess I won't know what happens after I'm dead!).

Pretty interesting to compare the responses to these cases to that of Jahi McMath.

I wish there were some Jahi updates.
In Jahi' s case, there is no reason to keep her heart beating, as she is brain dead.

[bob351]

Pigeon its not a corpse.


I wondered how long this would take to get posted, glad they are keeping the baby alive, pigeon why wouldn't the mother want her baby to survive, fucking retarded.

[subhuman]

If the vegetable gives birth to a potato they can have salad

[Kelseecat65]

Originally Posted by bob351 ↗

Pigeon its not a corpse.


I wondered how long this would take to get posted, glad they are keeping the baby alive, pigeon why wouldn't the mother want her baby to survive, fucking retarded.

Well, technically she is brain dead and that makes her dead as dead can get. Her body is only serving as an incubator, powered by machines to allow that baby time to grow.

I'm happy that this father is supportive and wants that baby to have a chance!!

The other case, in Texas was more complicated. That baby had serious birth defects, so that would not be fair to the baby to bring it into this world, with that many strikes against it.

[bob351]

No dead is when you have no vital signs and are dead, brain dead and death are not the same.

[bob351]

She may be essentially dead for arguments sale but if she were actually dead dead the baby would also be dead die.

[Kelseecat65]

Originally Posted by bob351 ↗

She may be essentially dead for arguments sale but if she were actually dead dead the baby would also be dead die.

She is dead. She has irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, which = dead.
Her heart is kept artificially beating, and she is kept artificially breathing, by machines.

Take her off the machine, same brain dead person, only all forced breathing will cease, and her heart will stop beating.

As long as the doctors provide nutrients, and the mother is kept on a ventilator, the baby will continue to grow in the body, which is now an incubator.