Right to life?

[dio]

We've all heard the story of Terry Schiavo,the Fla lady who suffered brain damage 15 yrs ago and is kept alive only by a feeding tube.Currently her husband is engaged in a legal battle with the state of FL to have this tube removed so his wife can die with dignity(as he says).Her parents and Gov Jeb Bush are the primary people against his desires,Gov Bush going so far in 2003 as to push thru a law forcing dr's to reinsert the tube after a 6 day hiatus,the Fl supreme court later ruled this law unconstitutional however.


"While she breathes on her own, she relies on the feeding tube to survive. Doctors have ruled she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery.


Still, her parents who visited her nearly every day report their daughter laughed, cried, smiled and responded to their voices. Video showing the dark-haired woman appearing to interact with her family has been televised nationally. But the court-appointed doctor has said the noises and facial expressions are reflexes.


Both sides accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance. The Schindlers argue Michael Schiavo should divorce their daughter. "



I am curious as to how others here feel about such cases,We constantly argue that the State either has or doesn't have the right to execute murderers,does the State also let a person in this individuals shape die with some dignity,or are they to be forced to live by grace of machinery for years on end?

[Luca]

Why in earth keep her alive?
Death.

[Rev. Agave]

All I can say is that if they decide to terminate her life, they should give her lethal injection. Removing her feeding tube and allowing her to starve to death is inhumane.

[Donnie wo login]

dio said:

Both sides accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance.

This comment is a little odd. The malpractice award was to pay for the high expenses of keeping her alive. If she dies, the money would not be used for that, it would go to her husband or potentially, to some degree, to her other family members. So keeping her alive could not motivate greed. That is because as long as she is kept alive, the $1 million award is being depleted. Actually, since the lawyers took between $300,000 and $400,000, there was less than $1 million to begin with.

[dio]

Guest-Donnie said:

This comment is a little odd. The malpractice award was to pay for the high expenses of keeping her alive. If she dies, the money would not be used for that, it would go to her husband or potentially, to some degree, to her other family members. So keeping her alive could not motivate greed. That is because as long as she is kept alive, the $1 million award is being depleted. Actually, since the lawyers took between $300,000 and $400,000, there was less than $1 million to begin with.

I wondered about that myself,but it was in the news article?

[Felix]

I understand that pro life groups hold the view that she should be allowed to die if keeping her alive involves using extraordinary techniques over a lengthy period of time?

[Deleted]

I think they should allow her body to die. She is brain dead and nothing can bring back the brain. Just as spinal cord injuries are permanent, so is brain death. She is already dead and they need to let go and begin to heal.

[Felix2]

I cant say I disagree, that appears to be the appropriate response in the circumstances!

[Baltimore]

Guest-Donnie said:

This comment is a little odd. The malpractice award was to pay for the high expenses of keeping her alive. If she dies, the money would not be used for that, it would go to her husband or potentially, to some degree, to her other family members. So keeping her alive could not motivate greed. That is because as long as she is kept alive, the $1 million award is being depleted. Actually, since the lawyers took between $300,000 and $400,000, there was less than $1 million to begin with.

This is one gnarly case. I've read where her death, her autopsy, would show abuse/old wounds. So, no autopsy. Hubby has a whole 'nother family. Mom & Dad are responding like, a mom & a dad. I am VERY curious to know how much money has been generated by the legal goings' on. I don't trust either's side on argument. Strange, we don't hear of other cases the governor has interest in. Now, that legal business, that's full of holes! I wish there was a clear command from a seasoned jurist for one way or another.

[Pameeeeee]

I just finished watching the videos of her that are available over the internet (google search). She does seem to be able to respond and even laughs when er favorite music is played, she definately does not appear brain dead in my uneducated opinion. I would not starve her to death by removing the tub. That seems cruel to me, she obsiously shows discomfort so wouldn't starving her be a very slow painful death??

[Pameeeeee]

please pardon my spelling errors in the above post..

[Rev. Agave]

Pameeeeee said:

I just finished watching the videos of her that are available over the internet (google search). She does seem to be able to respond and even laughs when er favorite music is played, she definately does not appear brain dead in my uneducated opinion. I would not starve her to death by removing the tub. That seems cruel to me, she obsiously shows discomfort so wouldn't starving her be a very slow painful death??

Thats why she should get an injection if they decide to let her pass. I am not a doctor, but I do not think she is coming back. My father was in a coma for 7 years before he died of pnemonia. Her parents' lawer said that she was trying to say I love you the other day. That is wishful thinking; I thought the same about my dad, but I knew deep down that it was hopeless. I agree with the doctors that her brain is damaged beyond all hope. I can't say whether they should let her live or not. I can say that if the decide to let her die, they should give her an injection instead of starving her.

[dio]

We maty well find out what the end result is in a few days.A judge today denied yet another stay saying "I'm tired of issuing a new stay everytime there's a new issue....There will always be new issues".This is the same judge that has been issuing a lot of stays for her parents so perhaps this case will sonn wind down to a final conclusion.

[Deleted]

Taking the feeding tube out is not as cruel as it sounds. When someone is brain dead they do not "feel" pain, discomfort, etc. The brain is not there to interpret the transmissions from neurons and hence they can feel nothing. It is the same with people who are paralyzed. They can't feel anything below the injury.

[Deleted]

Man Cleared to Remove Wife's Feeding Tube

By VICKIE CHACHERE
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - A judge gave Terri Schiavo's husband permission to remove the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube in three weeks, handing him a victory in his effort to carry out what he says were his wife's wishes not to be kept alive artificially.

The ruling by Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer will allow the husband, Michael Schiavo, to order the tube removed at 1 p.m. on March 18. In the meantime, the woman's parents, who want her kept alive, are expected to ask another court to block the order from taking effect.

The judge wrote that he was no longer comfortable granting delays in the family feud, which has been going on for nearly seven years and has been waged in every level of Florida's court system. He said the case must end.

``The court is no longer comfortable granting stays simply upon the filings of new motions,'' Greer wrote. ``There will always be 'new' issues.''

The decision came on the 15th anniversary of Terri Schiavo's collapse, when a chemical imbalance brought on by an eating disorder caused her heart to stop beating. The feeding tube keeps the 41-year-old woman alive.

``It's a relief, a temporary relief,'' Terri's father, Bob Schindler, told reporters in a news conference outside the hospice where his daughter now lives. ``I don't see it as a victory, the victory is when we take Terri home and we get her therapy.''

Schindler lamented there is not much time to pursue an appeal. Greer previously granted the parents a stay until 5 p.m. Friday.

The judge made his decision after pleadings from the parents that they need more time to pursue additional medical tests which might prove their daughter has more mental capabilities than previously thought.

George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, issued a statement applauding Greer's decision.

``I am very pleased that the Court has recognized there must be a finality to this process.'' Felos said. ``I am hopeful and confident that the appellate court will also agree that Terri's wishes not to be kept alive artificially must now be enforced.''

State officials also are trying to intervene in the case. Attorneys for the Schindlers said the state wants a 60-day stay to investigate allegations that she is being mistreated by being denied appropriate medical care and rehabilitation.

The Schindlers and their son-in-law have fought each other in court since the late 1990s on whether Terri Schiavo should live or die. The two sides have battled through scores of opinions and rulings and tens of thousands of pages of filings.

The feud has taken on elements of a soap opera, with allegations that it began as a fight over more than $1 million awarded to Terri Schiavo in a medical malpractice case which her husband stood to inherit. Michael Schiavo has also been accused by his in-laws of having a conflict of interest in wanting his wife dead because he has started a new family with another woman.

The Schindlers do not believe their daughter is in a persistent vegetative state as court-appointed doctors have ruled.

A handful of people protested outside the office of Michael Schiavo's lawyer, part of a coordinated effort that has included petition drives, e-mail and telephone calls to Gov. Jeb Bush and state lawmakers.

``I am here because Terri deserves the right to live,'' said Mary LaFrancis, 70, a retired nurse who drove from Iowa to join in the protests.

In Tallahassee, the family's supporters kept up pressure on Bush and lawmakers to act. A petition from the Fort Lauderdale-based Center for Reclaiming America claiming to bear 100,000 signatures collected online was delivered to the governor's office.

A spokeswoman for Bush said the governor will continue to look for ways to keep Terri Schiavo alive. Bush had intervened in October 2003 to keep her alive six days after the tube was removed. But the governor's law was later struck down as unconstitutional.

A leading Vatican official also has weighed in on behalf of keeping her alive.

``If Mr. Schiavo legally succeeded in provoking the death of his wife, this would not only be tragic in itself, but it would be a serious step toward legally approving euthanasia in the United States,'' Cardinal Renato Martino told Vatican Radio on Thursday.


02/25/05 17:53

[Etta]

CM said:

Taking the feeding tube out is not as cruel as it sounds. When someone is brain dead they do not "feel" pain, discomfort, etc. The brain is not there to interpret the transmissions from neurons and hence they can feel nothing. It is the same with people who are paralyzed. They can't feel anything below the injury.

There's a big difference between being brain dead and being in a permanent vegetative state. When a person is brain dead they are legally dead. A brain dead person cannot breathe on their own.

It's impossible to access how much a person in a vegetative state comprehends, but they do seem to feel pain.