The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Well if you live anywhere in Florida or just been listening to the news for the past two years i am sure you have heard the situation of Terri schiavo. If not here is a news article News Article .

Here is a Brief summary.
About 15 years ago Terri suffered a heart attack and has been in a vegetative state since then. Her Husband wants the hospice to pull the feeding tubes and let her die, Claiming this is her wish. Meanwhile her parents are fighting to keep the tubes in, hoping that one day she will pull out of it. There has been many appeals to state and supreme court. The tubes have been pulled out twice already and the second time Governor Bush stepped in and said put it back in. They have passed laws that have left the feeding tubes in, but later was declared unconstitutional. They have pulled the tubes again as of Friday March 18 at 1:45 pm. The doctors say it will take about two weeks for her to die.

Now my question is to you, who has the right to make the decision, the parents or the husband? Is starving someone to death by pulling there tubes humane or even lawful?

Hear are some facts to play into this case to.
The husband has since found another girlfriend of a couple years, but cannot marry her because he is by law still married to Terri and he doesn't want to go through a divorce

In 2001 the parents were banned from seeing their daughter because they illegally snuck a camera into her room to tape her and show she responds to voice and touch.

There is nothing written by Terri to anyone to say if this happened to her what to do, its all what the husband is saying from word of mouth.


Well here is my opinion.
This is a very difficult situation for both sides. I understand were both sides are coming from. The husband who cared for Terri and if she really did say this does have a point, but yet on the other hand the parents feel so much love for her and if she is really responding to touch and voice that she might have a chance. Now in the legal sense i think it would go to the husband since he is legally married to her, but yet being married to her you got to know her parents really well i would presume and if i was the husband and the parents wanted to keep my wife alive i would let them. I would never draw out a case this long its tiring and very frustrating for both sides. I think there is a little more going on to with his girlfriend. He has moved on in life and i think he is trying to take the easy way out. Say hypothetically if she pulled out of this and he was with another lady, what would happen? I think its very in humane to starve someone to death, even if she is in a vegetative state.

I would really like to know everyone's opinion about this. There was a big debate in my Criminal law class about this case and i been following it since 2003 and it looks like its coming to a end very soon.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

It is a tough situation with no easy answer but I certainly know one easy answer: the GOP needs to butt out. It is none of their business and they have no right to intrude upon this private matter with their obnoxious legislation. That's what lawyers and courts are for.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

In my opinion, the court should have sided with her parents, after all, they have known her much longer then her husband. IF they want to kill her, they should do it more humanely then removing her feeding tube and stopping all food and water to here so she slowly dies in 2-4 weeks.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I haven't followed this story as much as most people, mainly because for an entire month my local talk radio station decided to talk about nothing but the case and things get boring, however I see that there are three clear chioses: Rehibilitate her, Leaver her, Or Kill her. The most moraly correct answer to this would be to try and rehibilitate her. However nobody is acting upon this chioce. This leaves us with a vegitative state or her death. Death would have been the lesser of the two evils. But now we can move on to the intentions of the family and the husband. I am sure there is alot going on in the background that we don't pay attention enough to see. Just in the past month the Husband decided to bring up a point that Terri was abused as a child and the parents claimed that the Husband abused her (in the terms of mental abuse I believe that Terri was suffering from anerexia nervosa before her accident). Now that we have mud flying every where who is there to believe.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

The fact that Terri didn't have a living will makes this case difficult.


Removing a feeding tube from someone in her condition and allowing them to starve to death is one of the more humane ways of allowing her to die. Here's a link about it.

Now states have different laws so what applies here in Connecticut may or may not apply in Florida. Whatever the outcome of this will be (remember they can still reinsert the tube) may not be the same if it happened in another state.

One thing I don't see in any of the stories is who's paying for her care. That may also influence this case, especially if it's her husband and/or the parents.

I agree with Koko Ed, this is a private matter between the husband and parents. There's no reason the legislatures should be involved with this and it will only complicate matters and possibly futher draw this case out.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I agree with Koko Ed and Jay about the intervention aspect. It is essentially between the husband and parents and no one else knows her personally enough to make her decisions.

I have only made a weak opinion on this because it is none of my business and my opinion will not influence any decision made. Also, I don't even think a big deal should be made out of this. People die EVERY day and doctors make these decisions EVERY day. People may argue that this is a matter of principle, and perhaps it is, but should we really be spending so much time and coverage on ONE person who has been in the same state for 15 years? There are so many other stories that deserve time and space on the air but are being neglected because of this story. What about the million car crashes everyday that could have been prevented? What about our education problems (ESPECIALLY in florida)? What about people dying every day of cancer? What about the debt crisis? What about our international relations? *sigh*

Finally my opinion: I want to know the likelihood of her pulling out of her vegetative state. I don't think it's fair to anyone to sustain her life. Of what purpose does it serve? There is a time for everything and she has been like this for 15 years. She was, I am sure, a good person, but things have changed. No one can bring back the same person she was years ago. I, however, feel that there is a more humane way to end her life, not by having her starve to death (although many doctors have reassured that this is painless). Finally, as cruel as this may sound, it is not fair to the husband. Is he not entitled to enjoying his own life? He has been dedicated for these 15 years; how much longer will this go for? No one knows.

This is my opinion, I hope I haven't offended anyone, if I have, I apologize, this was not my intent. I am open to counter-arguments (I love clean straightforward debates).

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

in my opinion, even as someone against the death penalty, and military action i believe that the tube should have been pulled out many years ago. The doctors have been saying that their is no chance of her making a significant recovery(being able to think again) and their are inevitably going to be times when we just need to let people die in peace, and this is one of them. i also don't agree with how the media is making this seem like they are going to be starving her to death because even though this might technically be the case they are trying to the provoke the mentally occurring image of someone being starved to death which is a person who is yearning for food but not being given it.
i also believe that the actions of her parents and the republican party in this matter are quite disgusting. I always hate having to bring the race issue up, but honestly if this wasn't a semi-rich white women who's situation can provoke controversy Governor bush, president bush and the rest of their party would not be taking so much interest. correct me if I'm wrong here but wasn't there a case when bush was still Governor of Texas were a public attorney on a death penalty case(for an African American male) fell asleep during the trial and the state supreme court did not allow an appeal, where was all their caring for human rights then? Also the whole video tape that the parents made and their wishes to have her appear in front of congress to try to gain support are just appalling. Just because she can respond to sounds and twitch doesn't mean she has any higher brain functions. From what i understand from the news iv watched, it seems like she has been in that state the whole time and no improvements have been made. also as disgusting as this comparison might be we all need to realize that even a chicken with its head cut off runs around for a bit, does that mean its still alive?

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

lol, this is probably going to be one of those debate threads that gets out of hand. Just thought I would put my 2 cents in real quick though,,,,


First off, when the husband married her I'm sure he made some sort of "til death do us part" vow in there somewhere... But apparently he already has another family and has been living his life. I agree with the whole intervention thing, I think the government should stay out, but here is something that scares the hell out of me:

From what I saw, Schiavo was not in a "vegetative" state, more of a mentally incompetent state. I'm not sure if her condition has changed since the footage I saw, but to let someone die in that state kinda scares me. Only because there are a lot of members of my family in the medical field that say they have seen people come back from this state, granted they weren't in it for that long, but if I were in Schiavo's state, and there were even the smallest chance of me coming out of it, I would want the people I loved to at least try. OK, so they have tried for 15 years, it just seems like they are giving up too easily. What scares me more is that someone else can make the decision whether I live or die. I know it happens all the time in brain dead states and otherwise, but I have never heard of them "pulling the plug" on someone still conscious. Again, I may be wrong about her condition. It might cost a lot of money and be inconvenient for some people, but I think we should give still try.

I'm sure everyone will have an opinion about this, though it won't matter, just as mine doesn't matter. My guess is Schiavo will probably die while the government battles over this issue, and the only people who's opinions matter will come too late. This is going to be an issue that divides people by party, just like most things. From what I see though I am not following most of the people in my party's opinion. Oh well, I'm done. More later maybe when someone is angry with me :D

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

very true - good point. but then again, no one could forsee having a wife that only minimally responds to affection (if any). Personally, that would kill me so much. I could not bear to live 15 years without being able to talk to my husband.
the only footage I saw was a 30 second clip of her responding. this was played OVER and OVER and there are no other videos. Then again, I think this is because the family wasn't allowed to videotape her. So I'm not sure. Also, how old is that video? She may be more responsive now or less responsive. That would greatly affect my opinion. There are rumors that they might even bring Schiavo to court. Logical? I don't know. Effective? Yes.

15 years x 365.25 = 5480ish days. 15 years is almost as long as I have been alive (i am 17). For me, 15 years seems like a long time.
I'm not sure about your last sentence. You may be correct, I have never studied this in depth.

side note: yes I'm biased, sorry, I'm only human

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I dont think any of us have the pure facts in this case (including myself) all we know is what has been filtered through the media. None of us knows her personally, or has access to her medical staff. And if we did, they would not be allowed to discuss a patients medical condition with us withour her consent.

The doctors who have been responsible for her care did all the brain activity tests, MRIs, all that good science stuff, and they say the part of her brain that allows a person to think and feel and have conscousness is all mush, there is no chance of recovery.

Medical science creates these moral issues. Its not so much that anyone intends to kill her, but that the doctors are keeping her body alive artifically. If they had not used a feeding tube she would have died years ago.

There are many levels of this, feeding tubes, heart pumps, ventilators... you could keep a dead persons body 'pumping away' for years - that doesnt mean there is anyone in there.

In a case like this I defer to the medical experts. Even a flower will turn to face the sunlight, that doenst mean it has conscousness. I have not heard any doctor who has actaully examined this woman say she can recover.

Sadly I think she has been turned into a political pawn. Whatever happens the 'losing side' will play it up big in the political arena to further their own adjenda, and it will have nothing to do with the reality of Terri Schiavo's existance.

remember that. 99.999% of the people who are involved in this issue knew nothing about this woman before she ended up in the hospital, and are only arguing the hypothetical cases about what might be true. Only her personal doctors know what is actually true.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I've been looking for a long time for someone to debate this with. When I was in high school, my friends were very "newsy" and had strong views on current events. I hope I can get all thoughts out.

Amazing point! That is a binding act. Someone needs to get across to him the point of "What would you want done, if something happened to you? Would you want her to leave you? Would you want her to leave your side? If she is responsive to some extent, obviously she knows he's there - What would he think if she stopped caring about him if the tables were turned?" I think it is horrible under any condition that she is FIGHTING for her life each and every day, and he runs off and gets another woman.

Ok, as for my original viewpoints prior to reading the thread.

This is a very tough decision. It is unusual that young individuals, or people in general think about having a Living Will. As a general thought, you should all consider it, think about your options, and have it documented, its a painless procedure, and it can be updated and changed at anytime.

My completely personal views. - I have seen this firsthand turn in both directions in the end. My grandmother suffered more than one heartattack, and a massive stroke in the same day. The medical field tried to tell the family that she wouldn't even make it more than a week if we took her out of the hospital. They proclaimed that she would never walk again, and she would be in a vegetative state for the length of time she had. As soon as possible, we removed her from one of the best heart hospitals in the nation, and put her in a Nursing Home. We kept pushing and pushing different types of rehab, and were amazed when she made it through that first week off of all "tubes". Doctors continued to say it was a matter of short time. We saw my grandmother walk again (with assistance), eat regular food like you and I (with assistance), be able to recognize familiar faces, and attempt to "hum" along with someone singing to her. This was all with what the medical field proclaimed her to be in a Vegitative State of Mind...... and she lived almost 10 years to the day after the original event. Did she ever recover, No, was she ever herself again, No, did she ever come home, No. However, she was with us.
In another case, a gentlemen from my hometown sufffered extreme injuries. Was in a coma and a vegatiative state for more than 25 years. He came out of it, and continued his life from where he left off.

As for myself, I believe that there is no way they should determine her ending time. No one can do that. It would be considered murder in my book. If all she is in need of is nourishment, then they need to provide it for her. I have seem the video of her responding, and its a tough call on the state of her mind. As for the husband, I think he needs to cooperative, or get-out.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I agree with you on almost every one of your points, except these:
I know it would be hard to keep a husband in a state like Schiavo's, but you can't plan for things like those. Maybe I'm wrong and his wedding vows were different, but usually they go something like "in sickness and in health, for better or worse blah blah.." If this is the case he has already broken his promises. It's hard to stay with someone, but I guess thats my definition of love, keeping those promises. Not to say that there can't be some kind of beforehand agreement, as bad as it sounds, and the couple can't still love each other. It's just if he said those things he should mean them. If you don't mean them, leave them out of your vows or something, I think that's perfectly acceptable.

15 years used to seem like a long time for me too, but I have seen a lot of people close to me die recently. I just think every second of "life" is precious. Now I guess we have to leave it up to the courts to decide what living is, it just sucks when the body that governs you might think you are dead and you have a different opinion :|

EDIT: I forgot to add, as many people keep pointing out, I don't know all the facts and probably no one else does, its all just speculation and opinion :D

Now off to school :D

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

This thread is showing why this is such a hotly debated issue. People see it from their perspective, based on their own experiences. But like I said, we dont know the reality of her situation, and we can only speculate, then argue about our speculations.

If your family doctor tells you 'your spouse is gone, not here anymore, we are keeping her body alive artifically, but her conscouseness has left'

then has death already visited?

if your spouse is an organ donor, and you give away organs at the time of 'death' - those body parts are still alive, arnt they? couldnt you agrue you are now married to all those people who received those body parts?

it sounds aburd, and that is my point. If brain scans show she is brain dead, and her body is being kept artifically pumping, are you still morally married?

I see this from the husbands persepectice. She told him she doesnt want to be kept alive in a situation like this and LAWYERS are going against her will. Her husband has been fighting for years to give her what she asked for, her dignity.

If he wanted a divorce he could have gotten one a long time ago - and someone doenst have to be dead to get a medical malpractice settlement. The fact that this guy has tried to move on with his life (found someone else) in no way reflects poorly on him, if HE is convinced his wife died 15 years ago.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Hey guys i just want to say thanks for keeping this debate under control and not getting at each other. Thanks for all the opinions.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

the closest thing I have seen to information direct from the sources:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...03-176489.html

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I can fully understand, and in many cases agree. However, what if she never actually said those words? Without a living will nobody knows the truth if she ever told her husband her last wishes.
This is where the courts need to be involved. To best decide if her family should decide her fate.
I still have to agree, that the family would know her better than anyone else. Her overall will to live. Her earn to be alive, how much she would want to fight the inevitable to be on this planet to her last moment.
I know that I sure don't want my husband deciding this for me, and would not put such power in his hands. My family will always know how strong my will to live is.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

This goes both ways. Perhaps she did not believe in sustaining life for so long. (And i apologize, before i said it was 15 years but according to the link 2 posts ago, it is 13). I made it clear to my parents that I would not want to be sustained for so long. The biggest problem is we don't know what she wants. Even if she had specified it, things can get "lost in translation."

Ashley, your previous story is amazing. I did not know it was possible to pull out so spontaneously. I'm not sure what exactly to make of it. I guess it's up to the court now, *sigh*

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

It is issues like this one that deeply divides America today.

In a society and government based on compromise, something like mercy killing just doesn't fit, becase there is no "middle ground". You either allow it or you don't. When everyone feels very strongly about an issue one way or another, nothing gets done except a lot of politics get thrown around.

IMHO, setting conditions for when it is acceptable just won't do because every case is subjective and hardly anyone wants the fate of a loved one to be determined by a set of arbitrary guidelines.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

It appears congress has stepped in once again.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Im only going to comment because one of my teachers won't stop talking about it...and I got so into the debate that he stopped calling on me :-/

A few things that are important to remember...Terri is not considered legally dead, and since she can not speak for herself, a court will not approve a divorice between her and her husband. Thus, Michael can not infact move on with his life, since he is still "married".

It was also not, in the first place, Michael's immediate choice to stop life-prolonging measures: Rather than make the decision himself, Michael followed a procedure permitted by Florida courts by which a surrogate such as Michael can petition a court, asking the court to act as the ward's surrogate and determine what the ward would decide to do. Michael did this, and based on statements Terri made to him and others, he took the position that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures.

The trial court in this case held a trial on the dispute. Both sides were given opportunities to present their views and the evidence supporting those views. Afterwards, the trial court determined that, even applying the "clear and convincing evidence" standard -- the highest burden of proof used in civil cases -- the evidence showed that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures.

Just a few things from court documents....:

Over the span of this last decade, Theresa's brain has deteriorated because of the lack of oxygen it suffered at the time of the heart attack. By mid 1996, the CAT scans of her brain showed a severely abnormal structure. At this point, much of her cerebral cortex is simply gone and has been replaced by cerebral spinal fluid. Medicine cannot cure this condition. Unless an act of God, a true miracle, were to recreate her brain, Theresa will always remain in an unconscious, reflexive state, totally dependent upon others to feed her and care for her most private needs.

Although the physicians are not in complete agreement concerning the extent of Mrs. Schiavo's brain damage, they all agree that the brain scans show extensive permanent damage to her brain. The only debate between the doctors is whether she has a small amount of isolated living tissue in her cerebral cortex or whether she has no living tissue in her cerebral cortex.

And, about the videos showing her moving and reacting:(court document)

At first blush, the video of Terry Schiavo appearing to smile and look lovingly at her mother seemed to represent cognition. This was also true for how she followed the Mickey Mouse balloon held by her father. The court has carefully viewed the videotapes as requested by counsel and does find that these actions were neither consistent nor reproducible. For instance, Terry Schiavo appeared to have the same look on her face when Dr. Cranford rubbed her neck. Dr. Greer testified she had a smile during his (non-videoed) examination. Also, Mr. Schindler tried several more times to have her eyes follow the Mickey Mouse balloon but without success. Also, she clearly does not consistently respond to her mother. The court finds that based on the credible evidence, cognitive function would manifest itself in a constant response to stimuli.



And ive used enough of my copy/paste key for now ;)

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

interesting. It is unconstitutional for congress to pass a law targeting one person, so I wonder how this will play out now?

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I'd just hate to think how this will potientially affect anyone in Terri's position in the future, including those who have living wills.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Well, I was talking to my mom about this and she said that a living will could be disputed in court by family members. It just makes it easier to have the court rule in your favor. It makes sense considering how often regular wills are disputed.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Peter Emmett, a Christian physician, comprehensively surveyed the arguments for and against withholding or withdrawing food and fluids from PVS patients. He concluded that a satisfactory answer would appear only if humans were seen as made in the image of God. He stated that the image of God is present in all humans who have the capacity to image God, seen as some level of relational and rational abilities. In a subsequent article, he claimed that a patient in PVS "is no longer the image of God because physiological life, permanently devoid of relationality and cognition, is not adequate to be imago Dei."

Robert V. Rakestraw developed this argument further. For him, to be an image of God "presupposes some capacity, either actual or at least potential, for self-awareness and self-direction, for relationships and for the exercise of authority over creation." He concluded, "A body without neocortical functioning cannot image God . . . Neocortical destruction is both a necessary and sufficient condition for declaring an individual dead theologically."

John Jefferson Davis comes to this same conclusion. He has claimed that a patient with no potential for life, relationships or consciousness should be viewed as "biblically dead." He supported his view by noting that the soul can live without a physical body in the Intermediate State (2 Cor 5:1-8). Based on this, he concluded that in PVS it is plausible that the patient's body lives on without his or her soul.

Evangelicals are not alone in developing this type of theological argument. Schotsmans, a Roman Catholic scholar, put it this way: "The PVS patient has lost his personality, become totally dependant, cannot organize his own life. He is no longer a free human being. . . . He is socially dead . . ." The Jesuit ethicist, Kevin Wildes, wrote that with the extent of brain damage in PVS ". . . it seems impossible to argue that a substantial union of body and soul remains or that an obligation to sustain life remains."

http://www.xenos.org/ministries/cros.../donal/pvs.htm

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Ken, I completely agree with you, especially with the part I bolded. I truly believe that her undocumented wish was to have quality of life, not quantity, and I personally would not like to be laying in a bed for fifteen years, watching my beloved husband by my side in this terrible legal battle.

It's clear that both parties love Terri very much, but I think her parents are just not ready for their daughter to go and have been trying to delay the inevitable, while her husband has accepted that she's gone, mourned the loss, and did exactly what she wanted from everyone: he moved on with his life.

I mean, I find it hard to believe that anyone's wish would be, "If I am in a hopeless vegetable state for fifteen years, I would like my family to spend all of their money keeping my heart pumping, and to spend the rest of their lives mourning me."

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

That's the problem though and basically is the whole argument of the her parents. There have been people who have actually been diagnosed with the same condition as Terri and are now alive and well.
Actually Terri has no machine hooked up to her. The only thing she actually needs is water and food through a tube.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

keeping her heart pumping in the sense that they are pumping Ensure into her stomach 4 times a day, because she has no swallow-reflex and cannot eat in a normal manner.

I wonder if the good intentioned people outside her hotspice understand that if they did bring her a glass of water and pour it in her mouth, that she would drown?

MRIs of her brain show that most of it, except the cerebal cortex, are completely gone, and have been replaced by spinal fluid. There is nothing there that can recover. Brain cells do not grow back.

All the doctors that have examined her and her tests came to the same conclusion, there is nobody in there, and she will never improve.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Yeah I know. I was just providing the counter point. Fourteen years nothing is going to happen. This is a delicate issue and everyone has their own opinion.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Well the parents have exhausted all of there options with the latest rejection from the supremem court

Article

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

My Opinion:

LET TERRI SCHIAVO LIVE!

YOU KNOW AND I KNOW WE ARE SPENDING MORE MONEY ON THESE STUPID COURT CASES THEN WE WILL SPEND ON HER HOSPITAL BILL!

WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVE MR. SCHIAVO?

I have a cousin similar to her.
My cousin was born with a situation similar to Terri's.
She has been in a wheelchair for life and is now in her 20's.
She can be fed regular food, but this has to be done with someone by her side.
She cannot speak, yet she smiles, laughs, and understands things.
Just because Terri may have had a led a normal life before she suffered of this condition does not mean she should be starved to death.

I also do not see any motive for Mr. Schiavo to care about what happens to her. The only big reason I can see for her to be dead is the fact that he can get married again.

I have read/heard bits and pieces of the story so I may have missed something.

Use all of the extra money they are spending on these court cases and non-sense battles to help try and create a way to restore people like her back to a somewhat normal life, if possible.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I have to agree with anyone who said that Teri's husband just wants to get remarried. He probably see's Teri as a "ball and chain" keeping him from some way moving on in life, which is kinda true becuase he can't become re-married. Why doesn't he just try to get a legal divorce from her in court instead of trying to kill her.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

This is of course a very delicate case. Whether someone should be kept a live with advanced medical techniques or should they be allowed to pass away. Unfortunately, many people want to rely on personal experience to make their decisions when what’s best for Mrs. Shiavo should really be determined by making an objective decision based on facts and law.

We’re technical people so let’s examine the facts. Her doctor’s have said she is in a persistent vegetative state. Much of her brain is no longer there and is in fact filled with spinal fluid. Although her parents say she reacts to her surroundings there are no facts to prove this. Her prognosis is that she will spend the rest of her life unconscious on a feeding tube without ever regaining consciousness.

Objectively, we can say that she is unable to make her own decision and given her prognosis will never be able to make her own decisions. Therefore, we must turn to her legal guardian Mr. Shiavo, who has decided that she should pass away. Her parents have zero legal ground to stand on as to whether she should be kept alive artificially. Federal and State courts who make their decisions based on law must rule that Terri Shiavo should remain off her feeding tube.

I have a personal opinion on this matter as well. I’m sure Terri Shiavo never intended for herself to remain in this state for the rest of her life while Mr. Shiavo remained faithful to her while she remain unconscious in a hospital bed. I certainly wouldn’t want to put my spouse through that. Her parents should realize that right now the body laying in that bed is not their daughter Terri, it is a machine only trying to keep itself alive until the inevitable.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I totally agree with what you said, without going on my personal opinion and going by the facts you are totally right and the courts are making the right descion since Mr. Shiavo legally does have the say. The minute they both said I do, the parents lost any legal saying in there daughters future

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

hmmm...............

read this link from page one, then come back and tell us if you still find any fault with Mr Michael Schiavo (her husband).

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...03-176489.html

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

I don't think the Terri Schiavo case is any of our business, unless we are completely informed. I completely disagree with the Republican Party making an issue out of this for politics and attention. I am very upset when I see people suspecting Mr. Schiavo of wanting to kill his wife. I am sure that he went through terrible emotional pain when his wife went into the vegetative state. I am sure it kills him to this day to see his wife in such a state. His girlfriend could be to slowly take away that horrible pain of seeing his wife in such a condition. He probably believes that it would be morally right to "liberate" his wife from the pain of her suffering, and not force her to wait decades until she can be cured. Anyways, that is his beleif. He may be grim, and Terri's parents may be optomistic, but that is the way it is.
I feel it is horrible when the GOP steps in and tells the Schiavos, and the world, what is right and what is wrong.

My 2c.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

It is a miracle she lived over the weekend and they should put her out of her misery

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

That's what we do to animals. When that is done to humans, it's called murder. (Remember the story about the soldiers who got in trouble for putting an Iraqi teenager out of his misery?)

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Putting out of misery is the same thing Dr. Kevorkian did to his patients. He went to jail. This is the only legal way to take her life (naturally), and she may not be feeling anything.

-Daniel

More money in general
 

$432.01 per day. That is what Medicare will pay for hospice care (as of 1999). $432.01 per day for 10 years is $1,576,836.50. Thats just hospice care, and does not include any testings (MRI, CAT, PET, ECG, EEG), evaluations by specialists, any number of things. The cost of her care has likely surpassed 2 million dollars since she suffered her heart attack.

That said, I don't think that we should nessicarly spend tons of money finding ways to restore Terri to the way she was. I do believe that research should be done, but the reality is that research dollars are limited. The truly unfortunate part is the way that the money is spent. The money spent on research for AIDS/HIV breaks down to about $2,150 per patient with AIDS/HIV in America. The research for breast cancer comes to about $200 per patient with breast cancer. For patients with diabetes, only about $20 per patient is spent on research each year.

If you do the numbers by how much was spent on research by the patients who died of the diseases, the National Institute of Health spent $2.77 on heart disease research for each person that died of heart disease. Terri is where she now because her heart stopped. $15.05 was spent on diabetes research for each person that died of diabetes. $110.81 was spent per AIDS/HIV death.

Politics drives just about everything in this country, including how research money is spent. Hopefully this case will help drive additional sorely needed money into medical research, rather then politics reallocating how the pie is to be cut.

Wetzel

Re: More money in general
 

After 13 days Terris has passed away Article

One thing has appalled me. The parents were denied access by the husband to be by her bed side as she passed away, they were let in afterward. I dont care what court battles happened, THIS WAS THEIR DAUGHTER AND THEY WERE DENIED ACCESS TO BE WITH HER. This is unacceptable and i am angry with this. That's just like taking a knife to the heart. After this i think this man is heartless and a coward even after all the court battles i dont think he had the best interest for Terri.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

Its terrible when family squabbles end up in hatefull situations.

I saw on the news the other day that Terri's father said she was "responsive and was begging to be fed'. Im sure he meant that as a figure of speech.

but something so personal as this case really doesnt belong in the pubic spotlight like this.

Terri is smiling down (and probabally laughing) at all of us now. Rest in peace.

Re: More money in general
 

According to this article Terri's brother got into an arguement with one of the officers guarding her when they were asked to leave so the staff could examine Terri. After that Michael asked that the Schiavo's be kept out because of the arguement and Terri passed away minutes later.

Who really knows what happened since we weren't there. Neither side of the story may be entirely true. Same goes for what's on the news.
Of course with her husband having custody of her he has the final say as to who he wanted present in the room.

Re: The case of Terri Schiavo
 

RIP Terri