A father who was acquitted of manslaughter for unhooking his premature son from a respirator says the anguish of his trial was secondary to the pain of losing a child.
Dr. Gregory Messenger showed little emotion other than a smile when the jury returned its verdict Thursday after deliberating four hours."Like we said from the very beginning, the hardest part has been losing a child," Messenger said. "We're glad to get it over with and move on."
Messenger had faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The case pitted medical science against the rights of parents to determine medical treatment for their children.
Messenger admitted disconnecting the baby, born 15 weeks premature, from the life support machine. The 40-year-old dermatologist said the respirator was prolonging his son's death, and Messenger and his wife, Traci, feared the child had suffered brain damage.
Assistant Prosecutor Mike Ferency argued that Messenger made an irreversible decision about his son before getting enough medical information.
He said the case was emotional and difficult for everyone involved, but "not bringing a prosecution would have been equally unacceptable in our view," he said.
The baby, Michael Ryan, was delivered by Caesarean section Feb. 8. Before the delivery, the couple had been told the baby had a 30 percent to 50 percent chance of survival. If he survived, they were told he could face complications including poor lung development, bleeding in the brain and infections.
The Messengers told doctors before the delivery not to resuscitate the baby, but the doctor in charge instructed that the baby be placed on a respirator if he was active at birth.
Several witnesses described the baby as blue and limp at birth. The anesthesiologist, Dr. Subhash Gupta, said the baby was "practically dead and should have been declared dead."
"We did what was best for our baby, and I will never, ever change my mind," Traci Messenger said after the verdict. "I just want to go home now and be with my children."
The couple has two other children, ages 6 and 4.
Messenger's mother, Erna Marie Messenger, said the family now can mourn Michael Ryan.
"We're going to celebrate . . . that he can get on with his life and overcome the pain he's been feeling over the last year," she said. "There will be a feeling of loss and, I'm sure for Gregory and Traci, a big feeling of loss. They wanted a third child, and it just wasn't meant to be."