Woman in Vegetative State Gives Birth

A woman who had been in a vegetative state for over a decade has given birth to a healthy baby boy. The woman’s identity has not yet been reported. She nearly drowned 14 years ago, leaving her in a permanent vegetative state. She now depends on around-the-clock care at Hacienda Healthcare in Arizona.

The staff was reportedly unaware of her pregnancy until she went into labor on 29 December of last year. Staff members allegedly found her moaning in her room and realized she was in active labor. Because of this, the quality of care at Hacienda Healthcare is in question, and the Phoenix Police Department has launched a sexual assault investigation.

Hacienda Healthcare has said they will get to the bottom of this. Until then, state regulators have requested better safety measures. Male employees must now be accompanied by another staff member while treating female patients.

This case has caused outrage online. Women’s advocates are questioning why authorities are treating it as a possible sexual assault case rather than an outright rape, seeing as the victim obviously couldn’t consent or defend herself, and she couldn’t report any inappropriate behavior. They want DNA from the baby to establish who the biological father is.

Local gynecologist Dr. Greg Marchard explained that the woman was not able to push. The facility’s lack of awareness also prevented safe intervention.

“It could have been an active labor for hours or even days. This easily could have resulted in fetal death,” one representative said.

Hacienda Healthcare has released a statement saying, “while federal and state privacy laws prohibit us from publicly discussing a patient’s health or case, Hacienda has and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and all the relevant regulatory agencies regarding this matter.”