Terri Schiavo case

[Patrick]

Patrick, we're going on day 5 or 6 with no water, what's your medical opinion on how long she has left?

Personally, I don't like when doctors predict how long one has to live. IMO, it's all relative. She could live 1 week, she could live 3 weeks.

Okay, okay...I'd say without water she may not make it past the weekend.

Geesh! I gave in!

Some people are fighters though, so who knows.

[Patrick]

I will say that I really feel for the parents. It's their daughter, flesh and blood, and they have absolutely no say in the case. How sad!

Either way the ruling went, it would've set a bad precedent in this case. Had the courts intervened, it would've limited indivudual liberties.

But, allowing her to die by starvation opens up a whole new can of worms. So, is it now okay in the case of a relative who is suffering, to withhold food from them in order to put themout of their misery? Kevorkian was different because he gave patients lethal meds to take their own lives, but this isn't far off....starving someone would typially be viewed as murder, if it were viewed under different circumstances.

[Patrick]

This is kind of cruel, IMO:

"Terri Schiavo has not received any nourishment since the tube was pulled Friday afternoon. By late Tuesday, Terri's eyes were sunken, her skin was parched and flaking and her lips and tongue were parched, said Barbara Weller, an attorney for the Schindlers. "

[Midtowner]

I will say that I really feel for the parents. It's their daughter, flesh and blood, and they have absolutely no say in the case. How sad!

Either way the ruling went, it would've set a bad precedent in this case. Had the courts intervened, it would've limited indivudual liberties.

But, allowing her to die by starvation opens up a whole new can of worms. So, is it now okay in the case of a relative who is suffering, to withhold food from them in order to put themout of their misery? Kevorkian was different because he gave patients lethal meds to take their own lives, but this isn't far off....starving someone would typially be viewed as murder, if it were viewed under different circumstances.

The fact is, she probably never should have been put on the tube to begin with.. If she can't feel pain, and is essentially a vegetable with no brain function, I guess it's kind of like the old question "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?".

I can understand why the parents fight.. but really, that's a long time to be in denial about their daughter's condition. Of course, I'm not a parent, so I doubt I could really understand what they're going through.

[Karried]

I'm a parent and can only imagine (my worst nightmare) how this would be... I can't really decide what would be best here but I think if my son's wife said he wanted to die then it would depend on the relationship with her before, if she was credible and believable then I might consider that he really wouldn't want to live in this state. On the other hand, no one knows if she ever said, 'if I get into an accident and can't swallow, kill me' - who knows the truth? Only the husband and he has to live with it if it wasn't true, he would then be a murderer in my opinion.

This is inhumane and cruel, do you think she feels hunger pangs? I haven't eaten breakfast or lunch today and am already hungry & uncomfortable - how does she feel I wonder?

Wasn't there a better way to end this?

This is so sad all the way around for everyone involved. Did you see the pics of her before the accident, she was gorgeous. What a horrible tragedy.

[mranderson]

The US Supreme Court has denied the appeal. Unless Jeb decides to intervene, She will soon be gone.

I have said before, I do not believe in what her husband is doing. I think it is murder.

Yes. Karrie is right. She was an attractive woman before she was injured. What a shame.

[Midtowner]

Jeb can't intervene legally at this point. He's already tried.

This is looking like a done deal.

This is worse than the Scott Peterson case though. It's being completely blown out of proportion -- or at least it was until Congress intervened. That, in my opinion is the real issue here. My heart goes out to the Shindlers, but this is so much bigger than this family tiff now. Congress has had this pattern recently of moving more things to the federal courts, which I don't like, because they are further politicizing those courts with the new scrutiny that's being placed on judicial nominations (and the majority party's attempts to pack the court).

I'm really not liking the media and how they sell these stories when there are things going on overseas that are MUCH more important and meaningful to our daily lives. I guess somewhere, someone decided that the war on terror was too boring though...

[Keith]

I'm really rethinking this issue. They didn't take her off of oxygen, they took her food and water away from her. Even if she still needed assistance eating, then she should still have a right to live.

The way I look at it, if she was on oxygen or a ventilator, and that was the only thing keeping her alive, then it would be an easier decision to take her off the ventilator than to take her food and water away from her and watch her suffer.

It makes me wonder what she really feels...is she suffering? Does she feel any pain? It's not right to watch someone starve to death.



On her wedding day...a beautiful bride.

[sweetdaisy]

You know, I'm rethinking my opinion on this, too. Part of me thinks it was the right thing to do, but part of me just aches knowing she is starving to death. I'm praying she is not suffering, and is unaware of what is happening to her. This makes me cry.

God be with her and her family...

[Midtowner]

No worries, she has no cerebral cortex, ergo, she does not have the ability to feel pain. Nor does she have the ability to process the fact that she feels pain. She can't think, she just "exists".

Death in this case is humane. I am sad for her parents though. They must be going through hell.

[Patrick]

I'm glad to see some of you guys are coming around! Starving someone to death is cruel, regardless of whether he/she can feel the pain or not.

[Midtowner]

I'm glad to see some of you guys are coming around! Starving someone to death is cruel, regardless of whether he/she can feel the pain or not.

And letting them live in such a state is worse in my opinion. Two weeks of pain vs. 15 years is no contest.

Not to mention the cost -- and to me, that is a serious factor. Why pay to keep something alive that really isn't experiencing life? I didn't know that the state was supposed to pay that kind of money just to keep the parents from feeling bad.

But I have officially lost respect for the parents. They've allowed a horrible character assassination ploy to go out against Michael -- one that had zero effect on the courts, they've told lie after lie to the press, and to sum it up, they just sold the names and addresses of every single person that's given them money to a direct marketing company. Top notch people, they are.

[Sooner&RiceGrad]

Well if you are the alleged Catholic you say you are, you agree that the value of Life is imperative.

[Patrick]

Yeah, I see Pope John Paul II just got a feeding tube. Should it be removed to stop his pain and suffering?

[Midtowner]

Well if you are the alleged Catholic you say you are, you agree that the value of Life is imperative.

I believe that brain function is a necessary component to life.

Anyhow, she died this morning. We'll all get to see whether or not she had a cerebral cortex. If not, I believe it lays the argument to rest. Without any kind of cognitive function, she was just a biological, living mass that resembled a human. My feeling is that it's thought and free will that make us human.

-- Or at least the capability for thought and free will.

[mranderson]

It was just announced that earlier today, Terri Schiavo expired. May she rest in peace.

[Midtowner]

It was just announced that earlier today, Terri Schiavo expired. May she rest in peace.

Please read the above post that was posted a half an hour before yours.

Thank you.