TERRI SCHIAVO IS EACH OF US -A Must Read

[Rosie]

This writer has some points to be seriously considered by each of us.

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An individual ordered by a court, sentenced to death by starvation because she is "a useless feeder" is each and every one of us under similar circumstances, a human over whom the state has exercised the power of life and death absent any crime and punishment being involved. The punishment is for being useless, a burden to the state, considered a soulless offspring of the detestable theory of evolution that renders all of us just an accident in primordial slime.

She is me because I am disabled with a spinal fracture. She is every maimed and "useless" veteran of the wars in which America has involved itself for political reasons and left behind the unnamed military personnel, some teenagers, whose lives will be spent as disabled persons requiring continual medical care. She is each elderly person whose life has been spent going to school, getting married, having children, being a productive worker for the government's tax program and a contributor to Social Security. She is you and me and all of these people who were disabled by an accident at work, at home, in an automobile.

She is an American who was once an able-bodied person welcomed by the gods of the state. Now she has been sentenced to die as a useless feeder.

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It can happen to anyone, yes it can happen to you, and the anyones and you and I no longer have any say in our "representative" government. Ask the people on the street if they feel adequately represented. Look at the articles, the statistics, you will find that the people want one thing and the government wants another. Guess who wins?

Terri Schiavo is one individual, a living soul who is about to suffer death by starvation at the mandate of the court of "justice" as it is now interpreted in this godless land. If our military starved an enemy captive to death there would be an international uproar and courts martial. But a helpless woman whose husband wishes to remarry? A burden to the state? Not a problem for the judges to order such a person to die.

But remember, she is not just one individual.

She is all of us, each of us, one of us.

Her judgment and sentence is ours also.

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Full article:

http://www.newswithviews.com/Seese/dorothy6.htm

[Jeannieb43]

with all due respect... there are other opinions on this subject.

because of my -temporary- disability i've just lost my lengthy post so won't try to reconstruct it till i get out of this cast. but letting nature take its course is merciful. schiavo can no longer contribute anything to her family's life. her disability bears no resemblance to someone who is handicapped due to a fractured back.

i myself have asked to have heroics withheld if i am ever in a permanent vegetative state.

[bevin]

Terri's case, like many others, is extremely sad.

Not for her - she died a long time ago. The doctors are clear and consistent about this. The part of her brain needed for rational thought is irreversibly gone.

But for her family - husband and parents. Her parent's are deeply into denial. Let me remind us of the stages of grief - in approximate chronological order, they are...

Denial

Anger

Bargaining

Depression

Acceptance

Her parents have never got through stage one. They are victims as well here, because people have been exploiting them rather than helping them.

Her parents have lost a large portion of their lives because of this abuse. Her husband has had the same theft performed.

The money that has been siphoned out of the public's pockets - via taxes and via insurance payments - into the pockets of the parties who are GETTING PAID to keep this case going could have done a lot of good instead of just buying some lawyer yet another BMW.

And all because people are ignorant and irrational about how the brain works.

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance...

/Bevin

[Ron Lambert]

Bevin, the judgment of some doctors involved has been seriously called into question. Believe it or not, but doctors can be biased and even bribed. There is contrary testimony provided by many people that Terri Shiavo is not "brain dead," but is still capable of reacting intelligently to others.

Terri's husband has been living with another woman for years, and has had a couple of children with her. The only reason he will not divorce Terri is that he might not get all her money then. He wants her to die so he can get all her money. Her parents, on the other hand, are the ones really seeking what is in Terri's best interests.

Your accusation that Terri's parents are in denial, etc., is judgmental and based solely on your prejudice. What is needed is for some responsible medical experts who have absolutely no connection to the doctors currently treating Terri at the behest of the husband to render a truly objective and honest evaluation. Perhaps this should be combined with a medical ethics review, to determine if the doctors involved up to now have been going along improperly with the wishes of the husband, and have been inexcusably ignoring all evidence that Shiavo is still conscious and alert and able to interact with people. If that is the case, then the doctors deserve to receive official reprimand, perhaps even including a suspension of their license to practice medicine. If Terri's parents (and other witnesses) are right about her condition, then the doctors involved do deserve to be censured for their breach of medical ethics.

[bevin]

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What is needed is for some responsible medical experts who have absolutely no connection to the doctors treating Shiavo at the behest of the husband to render a truly objective and honest evaluation.

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It has already been done

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/02/22/schiavo.court.ap/

"But the court-appointed doctor has said the noises and facial expressions are reflexes"

You are quite right doctors can be bought. Her parents have got themselves one such...

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/10/25/Tampabay/Doctors_defend_life_f.shtml

" But Felos said doctors used by the Schindlers, especially Hammesfahr, don't have the credentials of physicians on the other side.

[:"red"]In a 2002 order by Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer ruling that Mrs. Schiavo could not recover, Greer labeled Hammesfahr a "self-promoter."

The judge noted that Hammesfahr testified that he had treated patients worse off than Mrs. Schiavo yet "offered no names, no case studies, no videos and no test results to support his claim."

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"There is no doubt the judge looked at the credibility of the doctors," Felos said."

/Bevin

[Ron Lambert]

Bevin, that is still not convincing. Let's consider the whole paragraph:

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Still, her parents, who visit her nearly every day, report their daughter has 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.

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This one doctor may be desiring just to side with the doctor who was already on the case. There needs to be more opinions rendered, along with proper, definitive tests. Notice that Terri's parents are calling for this, as stated in the same story you referenced:

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The parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, sought the stay in hopes of keeping their daughter alive long enough for them to file additional legal pleadings. They are trying to oust their son-in-law as her guardian

and seeking medical tests

which might back their assertion that their daughter has some mental capabilities.

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Why not do this? Why leave it up to the subjective opinions of one or two inviduals who may be biased and prejudiced in the case?

[fifiqueen]

I remember watching a documentary about this case a while bak. although I do not wish to judge one of the things that struck me was the husbands rush to have his wifes life ended. What also struck me was that it was her parents that seemed to be doing the caring and looking after his best interests. One of the things that did come out in the programme was that the money he had received in compensation had not at all gone towards Terri's care.

There are definitely issues to deal with in this case, what makes it harder to deal with is the money trail. I smell it in this case quite strongly. I may be very, very wrong, but something does not settle well with me about the husband. I do not mean to judge at all but it's very difficult to come out one way or another when there is so much money involved.

[bevin]

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and seeking medical tests

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As the judge recently pointed out - her parents and their lawyers have been using every trick they can think of to delay the cessation of feeding.

They are not calling for the first lot of definitive tests. They are simply calling for EVEN MORE definitive tests to be done.

Each time her parents do just enough to get one more delay. Then when that is up, they come up with one more reason for delay. They are playing the court system, and the judge has had enough.

There must be a lot of health-care professionals who have seen and dealt with Terri. I find it hard to believe they are all in on a conspiracy, along with the judge and the court appointed doctors.

You need to understand more about how the brain works to understand what the parents are seeing - and it is truely sad.

/Bevin

[Neil D]

Hey, Fifi-

This is a sad case...There is just no way around it.

If there wasn't money involved, I think that the parents wouldn't have a leg to stand on...As it is, there seems to be some pretty shady things being done with the wife's money by the hubby....And it isn't settling well with various individuals....

Oh well....

[Ron Lambert]

If Terri Shiavo is truly a mindless vegetable, then she is not suffering by being kept alive. She is not consciously aware.

If Terri Shiavo does still have a functioning mind, and wants to continue to exist, then there is a chance she could improve if given the rehabilitation therapy her parents would like to see her given. However slim this chance might be, there is absolutely no chance if she is killed. That would be final, with no turning back.

If it is ultimately proven to the satisfaction of everyone that Terri has no conscious mind or even the potential for a conscious mind to awaken, then at any time the feeding tube could be removed. But once she is killed, then there are no more options remaining.

[Bravus]

This goes to the difficulty of such decisions: one person sees a reflex grimace, one sees a smile... We don;t even really know enough about brain function for tests like EEGs and even PETs to be completely conclusive.