Hello Readers,
RightWindDuck here with a moment of seriousness.
Drudge is reporting that Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube has been removed.
I’ve followed this story only in the recent 15 months.
Here’s my question to you guys:
If her feeding tube has been removed, thus eliminating all ‘extraordinary life saving measures’ – are they NOT required to still spoon feed her?
Can her parents then sue for discrimination or neglect if the doctors are not at least TRYING to spoon feed Terri?
Maybe this is the part where prayer comes in.
Here’s a National Review article that really hits hard on some important questions. (Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt)
Nice to know congress is investigating the truly important issues of our day – Baseball and Steroids.
If they do spoon feed her, she is likely to aspirate on food, choke, or get pnemonia……..
Imagine if, instead of starving to death, she woke up out of her coma tomorrow…
Army wife,
Wasn’t there something about her never having been given a swallow test? The husband refused it. I presume.
We don’t even know if she can swallow.
How can people not see a difference between pulling the plug and allowing a woman to starve to death?
They’re simply not the same thing!
I keep saying this but no one seems to be listening. It violates the Americans with Disabilities Act in that a DOJ finding in 1992 states, “Nothing in the Act or this part authorizes the representative or guardian of an individual with a disability to decline food, water, medical treatment, or medical services for that individual.”
See here for the actual document.
She’s not on life support, she’s on a feeding tube. It is unlawful to deny her food or water. What is so complicated about this for these liberal sadists to understand? Imagine that Saddam had to wait 10 minutes for his meal…the ACLU would deploy an army of hippie protesters to Washington.
i don’t see why the parents can’t be given guadianship and the husband given a divorce. He is a cheeting unsuportive jerk who doesn’t deserve to be hers if she does wake up. I personally don’t think i would want to see my wife in that situation. And I don’t want to be trapped in a body that does not work mysekf either. I have read both that she is responsive and that she is a vegetable. I don’t know what to beleive. If the later is true i don’t see how this is different from “pulling the plug”. Where can someone get the whole unhyped truth?
I am a Florida resident and have sent many, many emails to the Senators of this state to stop this madness. I, of course, have received no reply. If I tried to do this very thing to my dog I would be fined and quite possibly thrown in jail. How is it that a pregnant pig has constitutional rights to protection in this state (yes, it was added to our state constitution last election)but a human being can be starved to death by court order?
A friend of mine is on MSNBC right now talking about this. Right now, meaning, 4:30pm.
Unfortunately, RWD, that was claimed by the parents. The Florida Supreme Court, believing that they are somehow brilliant, said she didn’t have to be fed. DIDN’T HAVE TO BE FED!!
… if I didn’t feed my dogs, wouldn’t SOMEONE be mad at me?
Sorry RWD, these caretakers didn’t even brush her f*cking teeth for God’s sake–they just yanked them out of her mouth when they rotted. How do you expect the same hospice to now spoon feed her. And listening to this poster child for euthanasia Judge Greer, he’d probably issue some injunction to prevent it.
Most disturbing utterance: “Michael Schaivo’s attorney, George Felos, called the congressional subpoeans ‘nothing short of thuggery.’
‘It was odious, it was shocking, it was disgusting and i [sic] think all Americans should be very alarmed about that,’ he said at a news conference.”
Or this one from Rep. Henry Waxman of California, senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, who “called the subpoenas a ‘flagrant abuse of power’ and amounted to Congress dictating the medical care Terri Schiavo should receive”.
‘Congress is turning the Schiavo family’s personal tragedy into a national political farce,’ Waxman said.”
To quote Felos: “it’s odious, shocking…disgusting and I think Americans should be alarmed about that,” but I’m talking about your client, you, and judge Greer, NOT Congress or the Governor or President fighting to keep an innocent alive.
I’m a former hospice worker, VERY familiar with these issues of life and death. From what I’ve read, Terri hasn’t even had the care or examinations to accurately determine her condition. If she dies from this, it’s not her right to die. It’s murder.
Her husband declined just about all treatment…I’m very convinced he had something to do with her condition.
xtremerightwing — I copied your comments into an email to a friend of mine (the one that was on msnbc) and she forwarded it to some friends/contacts on the Hill. She forwarded me the email from her contact that said they are looking into this immediately. So…someone House side is shopping this idea around.
Attention! Terri is NOT in a coma. Hello, have you followed the case at all? She takes food via a G-tube, but she breathes normally. Smiles, laughs, and cries. Apparently, she started crying when they told her today she was going to have to die…. What a bunch of savages. Judge Greer is going to the bighouse for thinking he’s above a federal subpoena.
Selina…thank God. It looks good to me but the way these sick people think who knows how they’ll twist it.
Maybe her family should give her steroids. Then she’d be SURE to get in front of Congress.
Where are the senators (Boxer, Clinton etc.) that were sooooo concerned with our treatment of prisoners…are they now concerned that we are going to let this woman slowly and painfully starve to death? I THINK NOT!!!
Nobody should ever have the obligation to keep another person alive. Now stop it. Right Now. You are starting to bug me.
Hey Merkeley: I kept my newborn son alive via feeding tubes.
The whole thing just stinks.
No medical treatment. No therapy. No flowers in the room. No family visits (what, is he afraid they’ll pull out her feeding tube?).
Nothing but everybody piling on to call this a right-to-die case.
I have very mixed feelings on this case.
If, as her husband claims, it was indeed her wish to be let die if she was in such a state, then indeed her wish should be honoroed. The problem is there is no proof, and her Husband may have alterior motives.
I really don’t know wich side to support here, though under the circumstances I’m inclinded to side with the parents. I do know that if it was me in her condition, I’d sure prefer to be dead. I have a living will for that reason.
I sincerely hope that out of this tragedy (however it turns out, it’s still a tragedy) will come one silver lining; a greater use of living wills.
These I consider to be vital, because without them your wishes have little legal force, and also it releives your loved ones from having to make decisions on your behalf that could well haunt them for the rest of their lives.
BTW, has anyone answered my original question?
Now that she’s off the feeding tube.. what is the legal obligation to try to feed her?
IMAO has smart readers. Who knows this?
RWD,
They’ve had that obligation the whole time per the ADA and DOJ implementation/enforcement guide of the ADA. So the answer to your question is they are legally obligated to feed her. Plain and simple. See my 1st comment.
Both the President and the Govenor Bushes out to order the U.S. Military and the National Guard (respectively) to enforce the Supeona issued by the House earlier today. The State Judge had no athority to ignore it.
That State judge out to brought to the House in shackles while Terri and family are there and he and Micheal and Micheal’s attourny out to be starved the whole time, not allowed to see the sun or brush their teeth, and that’s just the start of what out to happen to them. He’s no husband, he doesn’t even act human in my mind.
I’m telling all my friends where my loaded guns are if I’m ever in that state.
For all those who think Terri’s in a coma, on life support, etc, take a look at this website. It has the videos that show her true condition. Watch the videos and then make your decision.
http://www.Terrisfight.org
There’s a special place in Hell for Michael Schiavo and I wish him godspeed in getting there.
Wouldn’t starve a dog to death, but this is humane? If you’re going to kill her, have some balls and take her out back and put a bullet in her head.
Question:
If Michael Schaivo were to die, would Terri Schaivo’s parents then be able to take responsibility for their daughter, and make all decisions regarding her care?
No kidding, King J., the judge, lawyer (or as Michael Savage would say, filthy loyeh), and her “husband” all deserve nothing less than the most horrid and repulsive deaths for what they have done to this woman, her family, and (through precedent) other people with disabilities.
I heard on Hannity that one of the people asked Terri if she wanted to live and she tried, saying, “I waaahhh!”
This has to be the most disturbing case this country has had in a long time, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Michael Schiavo is responsible for Terri’s condition.
Keep this woman and our country in your prayers, people.
Sorry dude…. the most important person in your life after you get married is your spouse. You gotta defer to them. I have NEVER so disagreed with the vast right conspiracy war/comedy/libertarian/conservo-blogosphere so much on one issue before.
And what’s with the unsupported insinuations he is responsible for her condition?
The only new law that should come out of this is you have to sign a living will when you sign a marriage license.
As for me…. I would have wanted them to pull the tube/plug/trigger years before it got to this…
So would most people…but there’s no documentation. What’s with the insuation that she said she wanted the plug pulled(and I mean feeding tube)? No proof…just hearsay. There’s a lot of strange things surrounding her condition that lead to these types of claims. Not to mention that he denied her any therapy and blah blah blah.
When you get married, you ‘sickness and in health’ everything to your spouse. If you make a poor decision that sucks… but you gotta draw the line somewhere.
Here’s my simple flow chart
you’re married:
spouse > kids (if you have them) > parents > siblings
if you’re not married:
parents/siblings > relatives
Unless you’re Elian Gonzalez and your dad left your mom anyway, and you’re mom died trying to get you to a better place… and your dad’s in a shithole Communist country that wants to use you as propaganda.
Chri,
I said obligated. Free will baby.
I’m going the pray that the Lord takes this woman home in a merciful way. Something is very wrong in Florida. This would not stand in my state…
How are a few of you so completely sure that you would know how you would feel if you were in her situation? Healthy people can make declarations that they would rather be dead than blank – but sometimes when one is put through those trying situations, one’s mind might change. That change of attitude wouldn’t matter if a living will existed – I’m just sayin’. Who here hasn’t lived thorough bits of hell to come out better on the other side? Where do you draw the line that dead is better? Well, other than returning from being buried in a spoiled Indian burial ground.
RightWingDuck,
There is no obligation to spoon feed her. At all.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to live like Terri is living. But I wouldn’t want my bastard husband who is screwing his girlfriend to make the final decision. I would want my mother and/or father, those who created me and brought me into the world, to decide that.
I hope Michael has a debilitating stroke and is in the same boat……..
In the same order authorizing Michael Schiavo to pull Terri’s feeding tube, Judge Greer forbade anyone to feed Terri by mouth. The last time her PEG was pulled a priest came to give her last rites and was chased out of the room when he tried to put the Host in her mouth. This is not a case about a husband trying to carry out his wife’s wishes. The Florida court system is completely screwed up. Terri should have had an independent guardian ad litem with accompanying legal counsel to represent her interests before the court. The appeals courts will not retry matters of fact — yet ignore the fact that in a medical case that has gone on for fifteen years the facts cannot but have changed. The whole thing stinks.
Unfortunately no one has made any assertations that stem cells would help Terri to recover. If we could find a way to kill children to help her I am sure the libs would do whatever it would take to keep her alive.
I’ll bet that no one here who says they “wouldn’t want to live like that” has a mentally handicapped family member. There are plenty of people who are essentially in the same condition as Terri, but they’re not killing themselves, they’re actually happy.
“If they do spoon feed her, she is likely to aspirate on food, choke, or get pnemonia……..”
Wouldn’t want that to happen, she might get sick, or even die.
Geez.
May God grant us all the faith and grace to accept that sometimes He allows evil in the world to bring about a greater good.
Have faith that God has a plan, His mercy is infinite, and it is not always for us to understand.
Pray for ALL concerned, especially Michael Sciavo and Judge Greer.
In response to Knievel, Michael Schiavo went to court to get himself declared Terri’s legal guardian after her collapse in order to secure the right to make these decisions for her, so he should be held to the legal responsibilities of a guardian. As I understand it, he has not complied with the legal requirements to file guardianship reports, and he most certainly has not been acting in her best interest by denying her any stimulation or therapy, dental care or even treatment for minor medical conditions.
Michael’s case for killing Terri rests on two assertions: First, that she is PVS, and second, that she would have wanted to die. There are serious questions about both of those “facts” and how the judge in this case has handled the evidence. I think that more than anything accounts for the groundswell of support for the Schindler family and the vitriol against Michael Schiavo. That and the fact that he never breathed a word of her alleged desire to die until after he received a large malpractice settlement. Until then, he was all about standing by her and promising to take care of her for the rest of her life.
The whole thing stinks.
HeatherF Asks some very good questions;
“How are a few of you so completely sure that you would know how you would feel if you were in her situation?”
And “Where do you draw the line that dead is better?”
Excelent questions, and the answers to them can only be individual and personal. Everyone has a right to make their own decisions, and choosing to end one’s life is as fundamental a right as the right to continue living it.
But, my answer is that I personally see no point in extending my life if there is no reasonable hope of recovery and I’m past a point where life is enjoyable. For example, if I was in a situation where I would have to go into a hosptal with no chance of coming out alive (end stage of terminal cancer, for example) I’d eat a gun with no hesitation. I can’t see any reason why I would not. I can’t see the point of suffering in a hospital under such circumstances, and yes, I have had reason to very seriously plan for such an event, though in my case I was fortunate and it turned out I wasn’t ill.
But, it has to be a personal decision, either way. It’s not a decision anyone has the right to make for you against your wishes, whatever they might be. And, living will or not, any conscious person certainly has the right to change their mind.
One thing I would like to add about Terri’s case;
Regardless of which side one takes in this case, I find the method appalling and disgusting. This society puts a great deal of effort into finding and implementing humane execution methods for serial killers, but it’s OK to inflict death by dehydration/starvation on a medical patient? That I find revolting beyond words. Surely, if she is to die, there is no reason it couldn’t be done humanely and quickly, such as via a lethal drug overdose?
Frank, as usual you hit the nail on the head.
The MAIN QUESTION IS what can WE do?
E-Mail and write and call your senators and congresspersons (men is no longer a word. No I don’t believe that) and DEMAND TO KNOW
DO THEY CONDONE THE MURDER OF TERRI SCHIAVO?
When your time comes to face your Maker, and He asks you, “what did you do with the life I gave you?”
I hope you can answer, “I did my best to help someone who did not deserve to die like Terri Schiavo.”
DON’T LET HER DIE LIKE THIS!
IF YOU’RE IN FLA. SWARM THE HOSPITAL!
It shows how backwards the Democratic Party and the ACLU are- They fight to have an innocent woman’s tube pulled so she can starve for the next ten days until she dies while they argue to end the death penalty for the rapists and murderers…what is wrong with these people
If he wants so badly to be away from her, let him have the divorce. At this point with so much contribution to her current (even if not original) difficulties laying at Hubby’s door, it ought to be illegal for him to still be married to her. And make sure the malpractice settlement goes to her care, not his new house.
Next question: is there a life insurance policy that he currently benefits from, but will not if she is deemed divorced rather than dead?
And, Amen to the comment that people who face health challenges can find life worth living, even though their condition is not what they would have chosen previously. The examples abound – anyone with cancer, heart disease, Parkinsons, spinal cord injuries (ooh, did I say that Reeves?) – or just that common malady called “aging.”
As one aging friend with the assorted aches and pains that go along with age said, “I hate birthdays now that the numbers are higher, but it’s better than not living to see them come!”
A change of venue is seriously in order, as are our prayers for Terri and about the larger social issues.
I have another question.
The Democrats are blocking the Terri Schiavo legislation that would prevent the courts from legally executing ‘brain-dead’ people.
Howard Dean just called Republicans ‘brain-dead’.
Can anybody else see where this is leading?
I agree that Mrs. Schiavo should be given every chance to live and every chance for her own parents to take care of her. I think most of the more obvious moral arguments have been made and I find the anti-life perspective rather emotional and wanting to say the least. However, I haven’t heard much from the MSM (or anyone else) on what this legal precedent will do to our justice system. Perhaps I just haven’t hit the right station at the right time.
Leaving aside, for the moment, sarcasm concerning the effects this case may have on marriage and contract law, I do think this will affect the United States legal framework but, not being a lawyer, I can’t quite coalesce my fears into a good verbal argument. I wish someone would broach the issue with someone who knows… or just speak right up yourself.
I seem to dimly remember something like this happening very slowly in Europe back in the 20’s and 30’s. I’m not sure but I don’t think the end result was very good for a large segment of the European population. Our own population didn’t care too much for the results at the time either, if I remember rightly.
I also seem to dimly remember (from long-ago lessons in my history books) these kinds of issues (mercy killings, terminations of life unworthy to live, etc.) popping up here in the United States but I can’t seem to remember a good reason why these ideas didn’t “take”, or perhaps I’m mistaken and they did take and no one has really started exercising them, that is, carrying them through to their logical, legal and final conclusion, until now.
In any event, Mrs. Schiavo’s problem is one of the few instances when I’ve seen my elected representitives in congress jawing about a subject and I don’t feel completely ripped off. Human life is what government is there to help protect. As far as I’m concerned Congress should be in session on overtime this weekend 24×7 until the issue is resolved and you can rest easy on the idea that I’m keeping an eye on the obstructionists. I will remember come voting time.
Of course, we may have to get around the U.S. Supreme court next. I know Justice Kennedy turned the issue away before but Congress hadn’t gotten fully involved yet. Wheels within wheels and all that.
I don’t think the shroud of circumstance can EVER substantiate this hideousness of this act.–