But the questions could have been asked in a hostile manner. Like "Would you STILL keep Terri alive is she had diabetes?" "Yes." with the questions getting more and more specific and gruesome as they LAWYER went on, until he got to the "gangrene" question. This is how a lot of lawyers work. Even with gangrene, it isn't a reason to kill someone. I think her parents just kept answering "yes" to show the LAWYERs (probably Micheal's) that they really didn't have any reason to artificially end her life.
that kinda sounds like somthing they'd do on Law&Order. but i can see how her family kept saying yes to the questions, seeing how the lawyers seemed to be playing the "if" game, but saying yes to the question that even if she had told them of her intention to have artificial nutrition withdrawn they would ignore her request. that one i just cant comprehend.
Maggie, that is a very good point, and one that I had not considered. . . It STILL is very chilling in black and white, though. I could NEVER consent to have someone in a persistent vegitative state go through open heart surgery...now that is TOO extreme!
If all that is needed to sustain them is food and water, then I would say yes. Again, in such cases, we're not talking about someone who's terminally ill. Withholding extraordinary measures that merely prolong death by terminal illness is another matter entirely.
Arguably, Michael Shiavo was not a very nice person. He banned his in-laws from the memorial services and pimped out (using that phrase intentionally, not being coy) videos of Terri lying in bed in order to raise money. (This was on CNN television, but I would look on the website if you want proof, though I myself have not looked.) He took her off valuable therapy that at the time might have helped her more rapidly and efficiently improve. HOWEVER, the right wing fundies are always squealing about state's rights until something like this comes up. The state of Florida said Michael Shiavo is the legal guardian. They don't get to dismiss the law that very second and bring in the prez because they're not winning. Would I want to exist in a state like Terri Shiavo, even if I had all my marbles? NO! Lesson: Tell your parents, siblings, and other loved ones your decision ASAP. Pen a HANDWRITTEN note signed by a witness stating your wishes; I don't care if you just turned 18 yesterday. If it was truly Shiavo's wish to live in such a state, she would more than likely be alive today if she had put such a note in a private safe deposit box.
This is more about the arrogant abuse of power by the judiciary. The Florida state legislature passed a law to protect people in Terri's situation from being killed by dehydration, but then the Florida Supreme Court nullified the law and decreed that the unelected judiciary had sole authority to decide such matters.
Not really sure that both situations can be called similar due to the dfferent ages and different conditions but I do have to say theat it was really obvious as an outsider to both situations how much more civilised the popes demise seemed to be than terry's...that is the portrayl of how the person died...not thier actual death...both being cathlics I thought this showed a great contrast in the way that the situation of a person facing ther last moments was dealt with...why so different??
I'm only SORRY they made her wait so long for Peace and Comfort. She had to witness all the bickering among her loved ones. THAT hurt her more than not having any motor functions.
I'm glad they finally let her die, for one thing I was tired of hearing about it, it got REALLY fucking annoying after a while...
They gov't never had the right to become involved in it...the husband's decision totally...legally it is his choice
May Terry now rest in peace. I find it a bit humorous and sad all at the same time how the biggest stories in the corporate media are always the biggest stories on the hipforums! Many of you guys need to start checking out more alternative news sites!
So when you are old enough to get married, you will have no problem with the law allowing your wife to decide it is fine for you to die of dehydration or to starve to death, if she feels like it, and you can't protest?
ABSOLUTELY! The law provides an alternative, a Living Will, Advance Medical Directive, etc. If I never fill one out, I want my spouse to make the decision for me. Not the courts! Of course, I can't have a spouse, by law, but thats another issue altogether. . . .
By Jill Cohen Walker, J.D. April 2, 2005 NewsWithViews.com Well, it’s over for the time being. Terri has gone to be with the Lord and the weeping has begun in earnest. We will grieve for a week or two, maybe longer, but if we forget, we are fools who have learned nothing. Those of us who know that Terri Schindler-Schiavo was summarily removed from the face of the earth in what could be described as the perfect crime of the new century will await God’s judgment on those who perpetrated the act. I say “those” because in my humble opinion, and as I stated before, Michael had ever so much assistance in the commission of the crime. And I say God’s judgment because it’s the best there is for such miscreants. Meanwhile, I recalled a few of John Donne’s words: “Never ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” Indeed, a part of each of us who prayed for Terri and her family, who prayed for this nation and its executives, legislators, and judges, has died. Terri didn’t die alone. Little fragments from each of us were with her. While I can wax poetic about Terri and how many of us feel about her court-ordered murder, I cannot do the same regarding the cast of characters that foisted this insult, this outrage, upon all of us. Michael Schiavo may never be judged on this earth, but rest assured, he will be judged; and. like others, he will realize that he fell far short of the glory of God. In fact, he may regret spitting in God’s face for 15 years. So let’s get on with it because none of us wants to fall prey to the type of crime that befell Terri and her real family—the Schindlers. Let’s start with Michael, that maven of dedicated husbands who, according to one commentator on “Hardball” last night, spent three years wringing his hands at his wife’s bedside and drove the hospital staff crazy. Yep, that’s what was said and I almost barfed. Some people would interpret those actions as signs of devotion. I don’t. Michael Schiavo was there to protect Michael Schiavo, which means he was there to ensure that Terri didn’t open her mouth and tell anyone what really happened to her. He was there to make sure she remained as helpless and incommunicado as possible. Think I’m nuts? That’s your choice. I think the man was obsessed with Terri because she knew the truth, not because he loved her. That’s my humble opinion. In fact, I still want to know how long Michael waited to get Terri medical attention when she collapsed. I was advised by one sound researcher that he didn’t do a thing until his brother arrived on the scene. How long did that take and is it true that Michael was sitting calmly on the couch while his wife lay dying? Perhaps he was hoping for his idea of the best even then—her death. Since I’ve already pointed out how Michael worked two frauds on the court in my last piece on the subject (The Imprisonment and Execution of Terri Schindler-Schiavo), I can only weep, rant, and scream that so many missed the cues that were right in front of their faces. Michael wasn’t just Terri’s jailor during those early years; he was in a prison of his own because of what he did. Rather than being honest, he lied, sued, and murdered, and fooled a lot of folks along the way to achieve peace. Well, he won’t have what he wanted because those actions never lead to peace . . . unless Michael has no conscience—a debatable point at this time. No, I don’t feel sorry for him. Like Scott Peterson, he deserves scorn, not compassion. Michael’s need for total control in the situation bordered on pathologic. While on the surface he came across as the loving and dutiful husband, his real motive may very well have been as I’ve stated: self protection. Nothing short of Terri’s silence, hence her eventual death would allow Michael, in his own mind, to be free of guilt. He could claim he did everything for her while doing nothing for her. He could claim he loved her and wanted her wishes carried out while carrying out his own wishes and silencing Terri at the same time. He could lie so well that few, if any, would ever know the truth, if they even cared to know it. In the end, he even denied her family a chance to be with her as she took her last, dying breath. Now that’s the height of narcissism and selfishness. Well, I have a belief that the truth lets a lie go around the world a few times before it makes itself known. Someday, the truth will come out, but if you’re counting on that autopsy to implicate Michael, the judges, lawyers, and doctors, get over it. The likelihood of that happening is as slim as atheists giving up their battle against the God they don’t believe in. Look at the number of government officials who’ve been complicit in this crime. Do you honestly believe they will allow an autopsy to vindicate the Schindlers? Not a chance! Much to my dismay, we’re probably going to be fed another pack of lies. I don’t know who was in that van that drove up to the coroner’s office, but I’ll eat my shoes if it was Terri Schindler-Schiavo. And if it was, I’ll bet that autopsy report was written three weeks ago based on snippets from court records. The e-mail I received about the Masonic influence in this matter noted that numbers were important with regard to this case. I was suspicious, but kept reading. It’s ironic that he was right. Terri died on March 31 after 13 days of starvation. Their little hex worked this time, but they forgot one thing. God is just and He will dispense the ultimate judgment on those folks in His own time—not a minute too soon or too late. And quite frankly, God’s vengeance, which is ever so perfect, far exceeds man’s vengeance. Michael Schiavo, with the help of folks who have proven their affiliation with evil through their own words about death being “beautiful,” and how “death by dehydration and starvation isn’t painful” ignored the words in the New Testament, “Death, where is thy sting?” They also forgot that most folks “reap as they have sown.” Judge Greer, who refused to accept valid evidence from Terri’s parents, friends, co-workers, nurses, doctors, and a host of other reliable folks who could have put Michael Schiavo to shame, made this crime possible. George Felos was the devil’s agent in the mix. Without Greer and George Felos, that sterling example of the New Age anti-God agendas, Michael would have had to bear the brunt of his wife’s condition for years or return her to her parents. With them, he was surrounded by evil and diabolical men who appear to be knee deep in the euthanasia movement. The conflicts of interests are coming out slowly, if anyone even cares. More may very well come to light, but it will take the American people to demand retribution for Terri’s murder and for the lies they were told by the lawyers, the judges, the doctors, and the media. In the meantime, write an air-tight, Hillary-proof living will. Don’t miss a thing, even if that living will has to be longer than a set of encyclopedias in print form. And while you’re at it, add a few paragraphs to those pre- and anti-nuptial agreements. You never know when evil will invade a loved one’s mind and turn it into something akin to the mind of Michael Schiavo. Then get down on your knees and repent, as Daniel did, for personal sins, and the sins of the judges . . . for the sins of the nation.
Because the pope was still able to communicate, unlike Terry who was basically diagnosed as brain dead.
The big difference is that Terri was not in her last moments! The Pope's body shut down completely on its own; Terri was dehydrated to death.
"Meanwhile, I recalled a few of John Donne’s words: “Never ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” Indeed, a part of each of us who prayed for Terri and her family, who prayed for this nation and its executives, legislators, and judges, has died. Terri didn’t die alone. Little fragments from each of us were with her. " What the hell? WHY do people make such a huge fucking deal about it? Didn't you see the scans of her brain? There was about 1/5 of it left, lining the inside of her skull and leaving a giant gaping hole in the center of her head. Her parents claimed that she tried to say she wanted to live, but in actuality all she said was something to the effect of "AAIIIEE. . . . . WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Her desperate parents, unwilling to accept that their daughter was already gone, claimed that Terri was trying to say "I want to live", as though she could even comprehend her situation. As usual, republicans (for the most part anyway, and you know it's true) oversimplify the issue, casting it as an attempt to "preserve life". They question the ethics no farther; rather, they believe that all life should be preserved, and the specifics of each case ignored. Terri Shiavo was only physically alive. If humans have souls, her's had most certainly left her body years ago.
