The case of Terri Schiavo

[KTorak]

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.

[MikeDubreuil]

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.

[Ryan Albright]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

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.

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

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by KTorak

I have to agree with anyone who said that Teri's husband just wants to get remarried. ...Why doesn't he just try to get a legal divorce from her in court instead of trying to kill her.

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

[suneel112]

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.

[spadercool]

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

[Greg Ross]

Originally Posted by spadercool

they should put her out of her misery

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?)

[Daniel Brim]

Originally Posted by spadercool

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

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

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by team222badbrad

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

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.

$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

[Ryan Albright]

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.

[KenWittlief]

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.

[Jay H 237]

Originally Posted by Ryan Albright

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.

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.

[Garth1388]

RIP Terri