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Judge orders baby removed from life supportDad, charged with child abuse, can appeal
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A judge ruled Thursday that a 1-year-old boy on life support since last year has no chance of recovery and that the mother's wishes that he be removed from life support should be granted. Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Behn ordered that Christopher Ibarra be removed from life support, though still be provided nutrition and pain medication. But Behn stayed implementation of his order for 60 days until the boy's father, in Orange County Jail charged with felony child abuse, can prepare an appeal. If the boy is allowed to die, Moises Ibarra, 23, could also face a murder charge. He has opposed removing Christopher from life support. The boy's mother, 23-year-old Tamara Sepulveda, has urged the child be removed from life-sustaining intervention and allowed to die. The couple is not married. Last December, their son was taken in a coma to Children's Hospital in Orange County. He has since been transferred to nearby Tustin Hospital. Medical authorities determined the boy had been shaken. Over the past week, expert medical witnesses have testified that he has no prospect of emerging from a persistent vegetative state. In his order Thursday, Behn described the boy as being "neurologically devastated," and said his chance for recovery is nil. "Life is hope, but Christopher has no hope," the judge wrote. "All we're doing is keeping a shell alive." "We want the best for my child," the boy's mother told reporters outside the courthouse. "He can now go to heaven." The father waived his right to appear in court Thursday and was represented by his attorney, who did not speak to reporters.
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