Terry Schiavo — Page 8

The American public overwhelimgly thinks the Republicans are doing it for votes.

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the whole issue makes me very upset. i dont know how or why the family could take their problems to court, i dont know why certain decisions were made along the way, i dont know why the government thinks they know what ought to be done and i dont know why anyone here thinks they know whats best for her either. its very sad.

The problem is not the actual act itself, it's what it's beginning to stand for. We're watching our legislative and executive branch actively seeking ways to usurp the authority of our judiciary.
More importantly to me than a VERY private personal matter that has gone on far too long, this is an issue which frightens me. This administration has, all along, been more than willing to spout off certain talking points ("I won't have a litmus test for my judges"...hah. Right. As long as they're pro-life, you mean) and do just the opposite of what they say when a particular result is not to their liking.
It's not even that they fight within the system. They don't like the way it sometimes works against their favor, so off they go seeking to change it.
Legal custody of this woman belongs to her husband. He has made a decision. Her family has fought. For years. They have lost. It should be over, but it's not.

If anyone here has read "civil disobedience" you know what has to be done.
The American people must act on what they believe, and not just talk. If you don't like what is going on, than go out there and change it (I didn't even mean to quote AIDA) because if you don't, it will stay the same.

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Has there been any Presidential statements on the High School shootings yet?

Or are those kids too poor and brown to matter?

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I have not read this entire thread, but has anyone pointed out the irony that Terri's condition was brought about by BULIMIA? A desease where the victum is starving themselves to death?

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Yeah. I caught the irony, too. But technically, bulimia is a binge/purge cycle. And the purging most likely precipitated an electrolyte imbalance that lead to the events that left her in this condition. The irony to me is that she, a person who was obsessive enough about her physical appearance to have practiced extreme dieting and was bulimic, should be splayed across the national news in her current state. Mercifully she has neither the capacity to know or to care.

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Iflit, what about the organs? Are they in any shape to do anyone any good?

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Before you go harvesting the organs, please note her husband has ordered her to be cremated immediately, no autopsy permitted.

As an oncology nurse I deal w Life/Death issues daily. It is rarely simple NEVER easy nor should it be. When do u say enough is enough? It really is an individual case by case situation. I have looked after near drowning pts who were in a veg state- they opened their eyes seemed to follow light, occ spastic movement but- that was all( no they did not moan nor other sounds- they were trached) The familys visited and saw what they wanted to see -their beloved child.
Palliative care can tell u that withdrawl of support is legally & ethically not active euthanasia- u are not extending life merely prolonging the death. They also point out that the chemical changes in the body w the withdrawl of food/water also reduce any sensory awareness of pain- no sensory awareness of pain = no pain ,for all purposes. If the brain CT is an accurate representation ( WHERE did it come from PAlJoey?) there is no doubt in my mind that the pt is in a permanent veg state w only autonomic reponses no realistic hope of any improvement.
As a society we fear death too greatly- it is a normal part of life and needs to be integrated and accepted as such. That is a dialouge that needs to be opened and perhaps that is one slight benefit that could come out of all this.
(PS the only organs that could possibly be donated in this case would be corneas and the gift of sight is not to be sneered @)
PPS autopsys are not routinely done they is done to investigate the cause death/disease . This is already known so an autopsy would be irrelevant

Updated On: 3/23/05 at 08:13 PM

In response to Undi...

My much-loved father-in-law was removed from life support. But the family was united in the decision, everyone feeling certain that it would have been in keeping with his wishes.

Shifting gears...
In the '80s, as a nurse on a renal and transplant unit, I cared for two patients who, fully congnizant of the ramifications of their decisions, chose to terminate the dialysis treatments needed to keep them alive. I found those situations to be extremely difficult because in each case the patients were alert and oriented at the time they made their decisions. In each case, it took a couple of weeks for them to die. I am much clearer in my feelings when the individual in question has no cognitive abilities, such as is the case with Terry Shiavo.

And let me add that although I am totally opposed to the fight Terry Schiavo's parents are waging, I still feel sorry for them. They have clung to the shell of their daughter and created a fantasy life on her behalf..."Terry is hopeful" and various other statements I have hear them make, illustrate clearly how they are seeing what they want to see, not what really is.

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My mother was in a slow decline from diabetes...her kidneys shut down...she became blind... and in great discomfort. Finally she couldn't deal with the pain and discomfort of dialysis. Everyone decided to honor her desires to discontinue dialysis. She didn't have aliving will...but she was also conscious of what would result.

Thank you Sabrelady and Iflitfloats... Two informed opinions in a sea of conjecture and hysteria. I, too, feel sorry for everyone involved, the parents, the much-horrifically-demonized husband (I would invite anyone here to walk a mile in this man's moccasins the last 15 years. Would anyone else in his position have done what he did in the first 4 1/2 years? Think of 4 years out of your own life -- no small chunk o'time--, then imagine sitting by a wife's bedside, who doesn't know you, doesn't know her surroundings...) We're so quick to judge the motives of everyone involved. But it's the people who have intervened with cameras and microphones in their faces, who deserve our suspicion. These 'law makers,' on the side of 'life.' Life! It's pitiful, how narrowly we view the most hallowed of ground.

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