"MIRACLE BABY" BORN, TORRES FAMILY SAYS "LIFE IS A GIFT FROM GOD"

ARLINGTON, VA., USA, August 3 (CNA) - Susan Torres, a brain-dead woman who was kept alive for almost three months to give her unborn baby time to develop has given birth to a girl two months premature.

The baby is being monitored at the neo-natal intensive care unit at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia.

Torres, a devout Catholic, suffered a stroke on 7 May after an undiagnosed cancer spread to her brain. Doctors said she was brain dead but they offered to keep her alive for the sake of the baby.

She was four months pregnant with her second child. The baby, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, was delivered by Caesarean section at a Virginia hospital on Tuesday and weighed 800g (1lb, 13oz).

On Wednesday, the Torres family released a statement saying that "earlier this morning, after a brief goodbye with her husband, parents, and other family members, and after receiving the last sacraments of the Catholic Church, Susan Michelle Rollin Torres passed away after the machines, which sustained her life for the past 12 weeks. She was 26 years old."

"This is obviously a bittersweet time for our family," says the statement. "We are overjoyed at the birth of Baby Susan and deeply grieved at the loss of her mother. From the beginning, we knew that two things would get us through to the baby's birth: God's providence and Susan's determination. Susan was always the toughest person in that ICU room. Her passing is a testament to the truth that human life is a gift from God and that children are always to be fought for, even if life requires -- as it did of Susan -- the last full measure of devotion.

The family especially gave thanks "the many thousands of people who have taken this story to heart, donated to the Susan M. Torres Fund, and most especially, sent us their prayers and best wishes. This family has literally been lifted up in prayer, and I can never express adequately our gratitude for the prayers and support we have received from people all over the globe."

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I got the preceding news article from EWTN News. The following is a more recent feature from LifeSite, which delves on more details about the story of hope which has gotten considerable attention worldwide, especially in the United States. Sonny Torres -- the father of Susan's husband Jason -- offered the following when asked his opinion about why the story has gained widespread attention: “I guess, and I kind of hope it is, that people are really tired of seeing nothing but Terri Schiavo stuff, they’re really tired of reading about Laci Peterson and her baby just being thrown away. And it’s nice to see somebody that’s going the other direction.”

Susan Torres' Husband and Parents Reveal Strange Happening on Night of Susan's Tragic Collapse
As told for the first time in interview with lifesitenews.com

ARLINGTON, VA, August 5, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The story of the heroic struggle to preserve the life of the unborn child of life-support patient Susan Torres and her husband Jason, and the miraculous birth of their baby girl, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, has unexpectedly received worldwide publicity. Thousands of news sources picked up on the fight for the life of baby Susan and broadcast the evolving miracle to hundreds of millions of readers and viewers across the globe.

In lengthy interviews with LifeSiteNews.com the parents of Susan’s husband, Jason—Sonny and Karen Torres—talked about the events that have plunged their entire family into suffering beyond imagination, and provided information and insights into their struggle that they say they have shared with no other news media.

Jason’s soft-spoken father, Sonny, has given express permission to LifeSiteNews to print the details of what both he and his son have increasingly come to believe was a shared mystical experience, foretelling the great influence of the miraculous story of Susan and her unborn daughter, and ordering it to be spread. Sonny told LifeSiteNews that until now he has not provided any other news media with the following information because he was afraid that the mainstream media would fail to understand and would distort the story. “I want it to be done the way pro-life people would want it to be done,” he said.

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