[VioletlightHeron]

Maybe he comes across as a villian on the 5 o'clock news because he is a scumbag??? I'm sorry but he not only is claiming that Terri's parents want her to live for the money they got out of the settlement but he doesnt have a shred of proof that she ever told him to pull the plug in an event like this. Plus Terri's parents have charged that he abused her earlier in the marriage; whether this is true or not he shouldnt be making the decisions for her.

THANK YOU!!!

They say there is evidence that he tried to kill her too!

THEY...who are THEY....he may not have proof, but neither do the parents she wants to live...the point is, keeping her alive is playing god....the proof is there she's supposed to die...let her...and ok..so terri's parents are claiming abuse...any proof of that????

Terri's parents alleged that Michael Schiavo abused their daughter based on x-rays that showed old contusions of the ribs and medical reports when she was first admitted that noted bruising on her wrists and shoulders like if somebody had grabbed her really hard by the wrists or shoulders. To be fair, the medical reports have been looked at by other experts and they have theorized that the contusions came from falls. Still, with a person's life on the line I was amazed that the state judge deciding who had custody of Terri dismissed their claims out of hand.

She's supposed to die?? We are all supposed to die, does that mean when we get really sick and things look grim the doctors are supposed to not provide potentially life saving treatment on the grounds that we are all going to die anyway??? I'd love to see your about face if you got into an life threatening accident or came down with a debiliating disease and see if you really believed the docs should give up on you.

[skippy the wonder dog]

Now, now, prz. Reason has nothing to do with this. Stop using it at once!

There is a simple reason that Michael Schiavo is being demonized. They can't win on the facts. So, they allege he has hidden motives and even go so far as to suggest he is responsible for her current condition. This appeals to a desire to see conspiracies, which is handy because the allegations themselves make no sense.

If Michael Schiavo's motivation was simply to rid himself of a millstone around his neck, as is alleged, he could simply divorce her and move on. To explain his refusal to do so, tales that he has dark deeds to conceal or an inheritance to gain are concocted. He is painted as having murderous intent.

It plays well with those who are unwilling to believe that a high-profile case could involve nothing more than the ordinary, painful lives of ordinary, flawed people. Why is it difficult for people to believe that both sides want what they think is best for Terri Schiavo?

The courts know about the allegations. They've dismissed them as bullshit. But the allegations are repeated in the court of public opinion, where they have taken precedence over the medical facts. Michael Schiavo's perceived morality is now more important than Terri Schiavo's medical condition. Black is white. Up is down. Orwell is smiling.

If Michael Schiavo wanted money, he could live comfortably for the rest of his life off the proceeds of many libel suits. I don't think he's filed any yet. He should.

[opiated]

[quote="VioletlightHeronShe's supposed to die?? We are all supposed to die, does that mean when we get really sick and things look grim the doctors are supposed to not provide potentially life saving treatment on the grounds that we are all going to die anyway??? I'd love to see your about face if you got into an life threatening accident or came down with a debiliating disease and see if you really believed the docs should give up on you.[/quote]

y'know what? pull my plug..please..i've already stated how my family feel about this, and with my dads recent health problems, it came mighty close, or very well could have...sure..the docs are providing life saving treatment, but what kind of life is it? is she alive to make the doctors happy? so they can say" look what we can do?"...

[skippy the wonder dog]

The injuries to Terri Schiavo were the subject of a nice, lengthy depostion:
http://www.hospicepatients.org/dr-walker...sition.txt

People who don't want to read those 67 pages might want the Coles Notes. The various injuries that look oh-so-suspicious are not really very suspicious after all:

12 Q Okay. The abnormalities in the multiple
13 bilateral ribs, could that have occurred during an
14 attempt at resuscitation by the paramedics or
15 hospital staff?
16 A A vigorous resuscitation could do that,
17 yes.

.... and so on.

Furthermore, the suggestion of abuse is a red herring. What possible bearing does it have on the question at hand?

[emperor penguin]

She's supposed to die?? We are all supposed to die, does that mean when we get really sick and things look grim the doctors are supposed to not provide potentially life saving treatment on the grounds that we are all going to die anyway???

If you've been on life support and in that state for nearly 15 years, I don't really think you can make the argument that keeping somebody alive to continue living in that state is the number 1 prioity. I can understand that if you got in a car accident or something and there was a possibilty of things getting better than by all means, you should try to be kept alive, but when it's been more than a decade, it's just too long.

[willthenurse]

I have zero training in medicine, but I heard that in these cases, when someone is dying they just give the patient drugs so they dont feel the starvation.

If this is accurate, then I feel even more disgusted with both the courts and the medical establishment. How pithy of them to come up with a drug that helps ease their conscience that they really are not making her suffer by numbing her ability to feel the consequences of their actions. Death with dignity indeed :roll:

Ummm Ok...I would just like to point out that the courts really have nothing to do with discoverys of new drugs/therapys. And secondly, the medical establishment does not (I dont believe they do anyway, but if there is some proof that they do...let me see it) create/test/prescribe drugs/therapies to make themselves feel better...they do it to help their patients! I'm not saying that drug companies have never done anything questionable..because they have, Im say that in general the medical establishment is meant to help people, wether that be helping people and their families through devasting illnesses, or when all other options have failed or are inappropriate, helping people to die with dignity.

If i were in Mrs. Schiavo's condition, I would have wanted to be let go 15 years ago. I say that being in good health now, but my biggest fear is being in an incapacitated state. I have acquired this personal feeling through working with people who can no longer take care of themselves. If I could not effectively communicte with the people around me, had to be tube fed all my meals, had to have someone bath me, clean me up after I have a bowel movement/urinate, and have to rely on people to rotate my positions in bed so my skin does not break down...I would want to die, to me, that is my idea of hell. I personally do not know how anyone who has known the freedom of being fully-functional can cope with a debilitating illness/injury like this, and if Mrs. Schiavo's conscousness is still inside her head, but she cannot communicate with the people around her...how scary would that be...and I assume after 15 years rather depressing.

thats my opinion...

anyone see the ER episode a few weeks ago with the woman from sex in the city? where she had a strke, and we could hear her thoughts but she couldnt communicate? or on the euthanasia side of things...Million dollar baby?

~Will

[Kim]

From whatever perspective you choose to look at this case, if she is going to die, why do it in such an inhumane way? Why let her slowly dehydrate instead of giving her a simple injection?

If criminals are worth a quick and painless death, why can't Terri have one?

I find it hypocritical that her husband (and many others..i.e. US law) claim to want what's best for her, in this case death.. yet they won't step up to plate and make an end to it swiftly. No... that would be too direct... that would be murder. :roll:

[jen]

anyone see the ER episode a few weeks ago with the woman from sex in the city? where she had a strke, and we could hear her thoughts but she couldnt communicate?
~Will

I did see that episode and it really was disturbing, certainly every health care professional should have to watch that episode.


Also Will, you made alot of excellent points in your argument :thumb:

[LastStop]

I find it hypocritical that her husband (and many others..i.e. US law) claim to want what's best for her, in this case death.. yet they won't step up to plate and make an end to it swiftly. No... that would be too direct... that would be murder. :roll:

I'm quite sure that if a quick injection were a viable option, then her husband (and all of us) would certainly choose that. He doesn't have that option though. You can blame the government for that, and rightly so, but the husband deserves no blame for that.

[mark]

a friend of mine and i were talking about this and this is what he wrote to me. with both agree that it is time for her to finally rest in peace. we will never know what her husband may or may not have done to her over the last 15 years. keeping her alive is not going to change that. people say it is cruel of him to want her to die. i say it is cruel of her parents to let her live like that.

here is what my friend said:

Anybody that thinks she should continue on living needs to go to their nearest hospital, lie down in a bed, have restraints put on their arms and legs, get a catheter inserted into their bladder, have an evacuation system installed in their colon, have a feeding tube and IV hooked up, and have their mouth covered in tape. Hang out like that for 30 days. If you think it's a great way to live at the end of only one month, then you have to try it for a year. If you still think it's a big ol' party, then you are free to live your life like that forever. On the other hand, if you find it to be the hell on earth that it is, then you now see why she should be allowed to die.

It's a paradox that no one can counter. If she's cognizant of her surroundings(doubtful since all her expressions are those of the lower brainstem-only type) the last fifteen years have been a living hell and she should be allowed to die. If she's not cognizant of her surroundings, then she's a vegetable and is brain dead and should be allowed to die.

[mark]

people also say that letting her die is playing God. Well that may be... but letting machines keep her alive is also playing god.

[CanuckCourage]

a friend of mine and i were talking about this and this is what he wrote to me. with both agree that it is time for her to finally rest in peace. we will never know what her husband may or may not have done to her over the last 15 years. keeping her alive is not going to change that. people say it is cruel of him to want her to die. i say it is cruel of her parents to let her live like that.

here is what my friend said:

Anybody that thinks she should continue on living needs to go to their nearest hospital, lie down in a bed, have restraints put on their arms and legs, get a catheter inserted into their bladder, have an evacuation system installed in their colon, have a feeding tube and IV hooked up, and have their mouth covered in tape. Hang out like that for 30 days. If you think it's a great way to live at the end of only one month, then you have to try it for a year. If you still think it's a big ol' party, then you are free to live your life like that forever. On the other hand, if you find it to be the hell on earth that it is, then you now see why she should be allowed to die.

It's a paradox that no one can counter. If she's cognizant of her surroundings(doubtful since all her expressions are those of the lower brainstem-only type) the last fifteen years have been a living hell and she should be allowed to die. If she's not cognizant of her surroundings, then she's a vegetable and is brain dead and should be allowed to die.

Exactly how I feel.

[emperor penguin]

a friend of mine and i were talking about this and this is what he wrote to me. with both agree that it is time for her to finally rest in peace. we will never know what her husband may or may not have done to her over the last 15 years. keeping her alive is not going to change that. people say it is cruel of him to want her to die. i say it is cruel of her parents to let her live like that.

here is what my friend said:

Anybody that thinks she should continue on living needs to go to their nearest hospital, lie down in a bed, have restraints put on their arms and legs, get a catheter inserted into their bladder, have an evacuation system installed in their colon, have a feeding tube and IV hooked up, and have their mouth covered in tape. Hang out like that for 30 days. If you think it's a great way to live at the end of only one month, then you have to try it for a year. If you still think it's a big ol' party, then you are free to live your life like that forever. On the other hand, if you find it to be the hell on earth that it is, then you now see why she should be allowed to die.

It's a paradox that no one can counter. If she's cognizant of her surroundings(doubtful since all her expressions are those of the lower brainstem-only type) the last fifteen years have been a living hell and she should be allowed to die. If she's not cognizant of her surroundings, then she's a vegetable and is brain dead and should be allowed to die.

I agree completely, case closed, you can't argue with that.

[LastStop]

here is what my friend said:

Anybody that thinks she should continue on living needs to go to their nearest hospital, lie down in a bed, have restraints put on their arms and legs, get a catheter inserted into their bladder, have an evacuation system installed in their colon, have a feeding tube and IV hooked up, and have their mouth covered in tape. Hang out like that for 30 days. If you think it's a great way to live at the end of only one month, then you have to try it for a year. If you still think it's a big ol' party, then you are free to live your life like that forever. On the other hand, if you find it to be the hell on earth that it is, then you now see why she should be allowed to die.

It's a paradox that no one can counter. If she's cognizant of her surroundings(doubtful since all her expressions are those of the lower brainstem-only type) the last fifteen years have been a living hell and she should be allowed to die. If she's not cognizant of her surroundings, then she's a vegetable and is brain dead and should be allowed to die.

Beautifully put.

[jen]

That is the best argument I have heard and I completely agree....