Case a thorny ethical issue, but pregnant woman's family says it's what she'd want

joanne laucius
the ottawa citizen


thursday, june 16, 2005


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susan torres, 26, collapsed on may 7 from a stroke brought on by undiagnosed melanoma. The virginia woman, seen here with her two-year-old son, peter, suffered serious brain damage and will not recover.

Susan torres is in a race to the death -- a race that will decide whether cancer claims her life before she gives birth.


But ms. Torres will never know how the race ends.


On may 7, the 26-year-old vaccine researcher from arlington, virginia, 15 weeks pregnant with her second child, collapsed from a stroke brought on by undiagnosed melanoma.


She suffered serious brain damage and will never regain consciousness, but the cancer is spreading quickly.


Now ms. Torres' family is hoping she will live long enough on life support to deliver the baby -- her last act of love, says her husband, jason torres.


Ms. Torres is now almost 20 weeks pregnant. Her husband hopes she and the baby can hold on to at least 25 weeks, or even 27 weeks, which would give the baby a better chance for survival and good health.


The case is an unusual one, but it didn't attract any attention until two weeks ago, when mr. Torres' brother, justin, wrote an opinion piece about the politics of abortion for the dallas morning news.


In it, he outlined the story of his sister-in-law's collapse, and noted how the doctors and the family wondered -- just for a moment -- if they were doing the right thing.


Only for a moment, jason torres reiterated last night.


"of course there's another option. But we're not going to take it," he said. "you're not going to let your child go."

ms. Torres had complained of headaches and nausea for three days before her collapse at home. Doctors discovered she had melanoma, which had metastasized in her brain, triggering a massive stroke.


Although her family says she's now brain dead, doctors say her body is still regulating its heartbeat and blood pressure. However, she needs a respirator to breathe, is completely unresponsive and will not recover.


But the question remains whether ms. Torres could remain alive long enough to save the baby.


The cancer is spreading, and it could cross from the mother to the fetus via the placenta. Although the fetus' heartbeat is monitored several times a day, and there is an ultrasound done every week, ultimately there is no way of knowing, said mr. Torres.


"it's the intersection of so many things," said mr. Torres. "you have cancer. You have brain damage. And you have to wait so long to get the baby to viability."

meanwhile, mr. Torres faces a crushing debt because of his decision. His wife has some medical insurance, but it doesn't cover all of her costs. The first 12 days of treatment, not including doctors' fees, added up to almost $100,000 u.S., said mr. Torres. If the baby is born, it remains unclear whether expensive care in the neonatal ward for two or three months will be covered.


"you know something is really bad when the bankruptcy costs are the least of your worries," said justin torres. "no one has talked about cutting us off yet."

susan and jason met as students at the university of dallas. As a biology student, susan would get up at 4 a.M. And put on muddy khakis and field boots to collect samples of an invasive plant she was researching. When she moved to virginia, she set her sights on malaria vaccine research and eventually landed a job at the national institutes for health research.


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