This is misleading,,,,is the vegetative state person married or single??????
I do not like this poll...in Terri's case there is more to look at than just the spouse or the family.
If you're talking about "fate" as in...."what treatment facility they should go to?"
That should be their spouse or next of kin.
If you're talking about actively killing someone by removing food and water?
This needs to be FORBIDDEN in cases where there is no prior written directive.
To do otherwise is to allow hearsay as evidence - very dangerous territory.
PVS is not an exact science.
The line between pvs and minimally aware is fine.
http://www.comarecovery.org/artman/publish/ReportOnTheVegetativeState.shtml
I think this poll is yet another example of the media distorting this issue, just as they did the Clinton impeachment. This isn't about parent vs. husband; this is about a person who only needs to be fed, and not leaving a legal document delineating her wishes, and her family being in disagreement. In such cases, should we continue to feed them, as any human needs to be fed, or do we actively kill them? THAT is the question--it's just not as simply stated as the one above.
My Living Will would state (if I had one)
"In the event that I become disabled, unable to survive without life support equipment, and incapable of communicating my desire to either live or have the equipment removed; I hereby grant exclusive authority on that decision to my wife. This authority will be removed from my wife and granted to my nearest living relative in the event that my wife becomes killed, incapacitated, or romantically involved with another person."