A brain-dead woman who was kept alive for three months so she could deliver the child she was carrying was removed from life support Wednesday and died, a day after giving birth. Susan Torres, a cancer-stricken, 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health, suffered a stroke in May after the melanoma spread to her brain. Her family decided to keep her alive to give her fetus a chance. It became a race between the fetus’ development and the cancer that was ravaging the woman’s body. Doctors said that Torres’ health was deteriorating and that the risk of harm to the fetus finally outweighed the benefits of extending the pregnancy. Dr. Donna Tilden-Archer, the hospital’s director of neonatology, described the child as "very vigorous." She said the baby had responded when she received stimulation, indicating she was healthy. Doctors removed Torres from life support early Wednesday with the consent of her husband, Jason Torres, after she received the final sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church. The couple have one other child — 2-year-old Peter, who has been staying with his grandparents.
