Some forty people were brought together by the Hispanic Evangelical Church for a vigil of prayers and hymns. They were greeted with the news that she was once again receiving nutrition.

"Thanks be to God, our sister is being cared for," said Bolivian Pastor Guillermo Espinoza.

Sources at the state's Department of Human Services told the EFE wire service that the woman's gastric feeding tube was ordered reconnected after the visit by an inspector to the house where she is being attended.

Authorities would otherwise have ordered her moved to a hospital.

According to Espinoza, the state's intervention resulted from pressure by the press and right-to-life organizations in the US.

"Her husband could think it over, and now there will be more appeals at the legal level," he affirmed.

Peter Farrel, Clara's brother, followed the vigil from a distance and said he was grateful for the prayers.

Asked about his sister's condition, he responded with "She's fine" and no more.

Before the start of the vigil, Peter and other relatives approached Pastor Espinoza trying to dissuade him. The family has tried to keep the matter out of public scrutiny, although in private they have declared their opposition to the husband's decision.

Clara Martínez, 39 years old and mother of children aged 5 and 7 years, has been brain-dead [see note below] for a year and a half. For the previous 30 days she was taking only water.

After suffering a stroke, she was attended in a hospital, then in an intermediate care clinic, after which she returned to the hospital. A year ago she was taken to her home in Chicago's southeast side.

Salvador Martínez, her 35-year-old husband and legal guardian, also Mexican, decided that his wife should not live artificially. He signed a "Do Not Resuscitate" order so she wouldn't be revived by artificial measures and disconnected the feeding apparatus.

The case, made public by "La Raza" newspaper, had immediate repercussions in the community of almost a million Mexicans who live in Illinois.

Furthermore, several right-to-life organizations, especially the movement that emerged with the Terri Schiavo case, pressured authorities with threats of recourse to a restraining order for legal protection for the Mexican woman.

These organizations also offered legal assistance to the family of Clara Martínez to fight in court against her husband's decision.

Schiavo, an American, was disconnected from her feeding tube on March 18 by judicial order. She died of starvation fourteen days later, after a drawn-out judicial and legislative battle between her relatives and her husband.

BlogsforTerri Note - we appreciate the article but wonder if the choice of "brain-dead" to describe Clara's condition was a translation error considering she consumes fluids orally and reportedly responds to others.

Lydia adds the following in our comments section:

She absolutely cannot be brain dead if she breathes on her own, etc. There certainly are problems with "brain death" (I know CURE talks about these), but at a minimum it is not supposed to apply to people with functioning brain stems who breathe on their own. The extension of the term to apply to people in a PVS (which Clara probably isn't, anyway) IS A MERE ERROR. I'm sorry to see LaRaza perpetuating it, but it's happening a lot in the media these days.

Related Posts:

Taking Actions Against the Odds - Schiavo-Like Case Addressed by Local Pastor

Help Clara - Protest Prayer Meeting TODAY

Senator Sandoval - Will You Help Clara?

Clara Martinez Case Continues to Unfold - Action Requested

The Fight for Clara: A Battlefront Update

BREAKING NEWS - AFTER NEARLY 30 DAYS CLARA IS BEING FED

Hat tip - BlogsForTerri

I have sent Mr Mederos an email suggesting he not use terms like braindead..vegetative. I explained how the public thinks that means an unresponsive blob of flesh.( That is not what he has observed )I explained that it could even ultimately color the Courts opinion and rulings since those words create such negative emotional walls...I pointed out how the MSM misrepresented the facts in Terri's case right up to today (still) I suggested that he use an alternative description like "post stroke condition" since that would better help Clara's cause.

FYI
I was very polite and praise his courage and his successful efforts to get help for Clara. (Smile)