Not A Lawyer

As investigators continue to look for the remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in the backyard of the man she claimed had raped her, I can’t help but feel that this young woman has been victimized by many.

Lauterbach was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared. Her step-mother last spoke to her on December 14, and reported her missing on December 19.

In recent days, before the news came that Lauterbach was dead, the media had widely reported that her step-mother had told investigators that she was bi-polar and a compulsive liar.

Now, the fact that she is dead doesn’t change the fact that perhaps she did suffer from bi-polar disorder, and maybe she was a liar. However, stating these things to the media only led people to the conclusion that she had probably just run away, or that maybe she wasn’t even worth looking for after all.

Even friends of Lauterbach posted messages online urging her to call home, saying “you know the number.” These kinds of things, while filled with hope that she was still alive and able to call home, served to further smear the reputation of the Lauterbach. Did her friends actually feel that she was the type of woman who would leave before the holidays and not contact anyone to let them know that she and her baby were okay?

I feel that Lauterbach was victimized again and again.

First, she was allegedly raped by a superior, Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, who was never arrested for the rape. Police say that because he had a lawyer they could not question him. Marine officials say that there were inconsistencies in Lauterbach’s story as well and it was also noted that she was friendly with him after the report of the rape. None of this changes the fact that this woman said she was raped and no one did anything about it. Lauterbach also said that her unborn child was the result of that rape.

After reporting the rape, Lauterbach had to move off base because her car was vandalized and she was assaulted and threatened.

Then, at 8 months pregnant, her step-mother had a conversation with her, telling her that she should give up her baby for adoption because she would not be able to take care of it. This was the last conversation the step-mother had with Lauterbach, and of course this information that “she wouldn’t be a good mother” was also all over the news, further victimizing the victim.

Now, of course, we know that Lauterbach was most likely murdered, burned, possibly dismembered and buried in the backyard by her alleged rapist, Laurean. Laurean is now on the run, having left his wife a note saying that Lauterbach had killed herself and that he had buried her in back of the house. There is currently a search going on in his back yard, while police attempt to locate him.

While Laurean deserves whatever he gets and then some, Lauterbach was also victimized by the media, police, her friends, her step-mother and the Marines. No matter what her shortcomings were in life, she certainly did not deserve what happened to her, nor the things that have been said about her.

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I think the Chicago police officer who assaulted this man should go on trial for sexual assault, and when found guilty he should have to register as a sex offender. What kind of sick human being puts a screwdriver into someone’s rectum?

I am glad that the man will receive $4 million. He deserves every penny of it.

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The mother of a 15-year -old disabled girl in England has asked doctors to remove the child’s uterus so that she will not have to go through the pain of having a period.

The doctors are uncertain whether or not they can legally do what the mother is requesting.

Scope, a charity group in England that campaigns for disabled people have already spoken up on the issue. They say that removing the girl’s uterus would set a “disturbing precedent” and infringe upon basic human rights. they believe that the invasive surgery is not medically necessary, would traumatize the young girl and they fail to see how it would be in her best interests.

The disabled girl, Katie, has cerebral palsy and her mother says that the surgery would definitely be in the child’s best interests. She says that her daughter would not understand what is going on with her body during menstruation and it would be better for her not to have to needlessly go through the cramping, bloating and hormonal changes.

So what do you think? Should the caregiver mother be allowed to order surgery that is not medically necessary for her disabled daughter? I’m on the fence on this one. In some ways I see the benefits for the disabled child, but on the other hand it does set a dangerous precedent. What if her mother, for instance, wanted to have her legs removed because she had painful ingrown toenails, and was never going to walk anyway? See what I mean? How far is too far?

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