Dying Canadian baby denied in Detroit

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WINDSOR, Ontario, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A Detroit children's hospital has declined to accept a dying Canadian baby from across the border for a second opinion on removing life support, family said.

The parents of 13-month-old Joseph Maraachli, who suffers from a terminal neurological disorder, said the Children's Hospital of Michigan told them Tuesday night they wouldn't admit the boy, the Windsor Star reported.

The child has been in the London (Ontario) Health Science Center since last fall on life support and doctors there have sought to remove his breathing tube.

Parents Moe Maraachli and Sana Nader have fought the decision, first trying to get the Detroit facility take him for "a second, completely independent medical opinion," the family's lawyer said.

The parents have requested the London Health Science Center doctors perform a tracheotomy so they could take the child home to die among family.

Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, told the Star "it's not over yet," as the family was looking for other hospitals willing to maintain life support.