Arizona

Police Investigating Arizona Care Facility After Report That Patient in Vegetative State Gave Birth

The woman has been in a vegetative state for years, an unidentified source told a local news outlet

Police in Arizona are investigating a long-term care facility after a report, based on a single anonymous source, that a woman who has been in a vegetative state for at least a decade gave birth.

Phoenix police would only say that "the matter is currently under investigation," when asked about the report of a patient in a vegetative state at Hacienda HealthCare facility giving birth to a baby boy on Dec. 29. 

A unidentified source told local station KTVK that caretakers weren't aware the woman was pregnant until shortly before she gave birth, and a nurse only realized that the patient was in labor when she started to moan. The source, said by KTVK to be someone "familiar with the situation," said the baby is healthy.

The source also said the patient has been in a vegetative state and at the facility for about 10 years after a near-drowning incident.

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