I still don't know what to think, but hocndoc's exposition of medical ethics and her level of experience in similar situations give me something to think about.
I had been exposed to the other side's POV in the trot-through George Stephanopoulos arranged with someone on that side of the argument who was very well-versed and articulate; but I still got the feeling, watching Stephanopoulous, that he was acting politically, trying to "show up" the opposition as a bunch of right-wing, "Church of Churchianity" tent-revivalists and droolers. So I didn't quite trust what he and his interviewee were telling me, and I was mildly repelled by what I saw as smugness around the edges.
I still don't have enough information to decide, one way or another, but as a practical result of this affair, the secret enthusiasts of institutionalizing euthanasia for policy and profit have to be encouraged, I think.
As much as I talk about ethics and science, there's something to the "Yuck factor."
We might be confused about some of the technicalities, but when the time comes, we would naturally feel wrong about not giving a bit of ice chips to Terri.
At every relived stage of this 15 year odyssey, the truth was either twisted or discounted in order to make that case. It started with unsubstantiated rumors about Michael strangling Terri, Michael injecting her with insulin, stating as fact that Terri only told Michael about "pulling the plug" (and he's biased and lying), that Michael was killing her for the money, that she wasn't really PVS, that a feeding tube isn't life support, that a verbal "living will" is not legal, that hearsay is not admissible, that Terri can really swallow, that Michael and Scott and Joan conspired to lie in court to share the money, that Judge Greer was on the Board of Directors of the hospice where Terri was admitted, that Judge Greer was "on the take" from George Felos (and here's the campaign contributions -- $500. -- to prove it), lie after lie, rumors, denial, propaganda, conspiracies up the ying yang that I hardly touched on .... and this was not found on DU or some such forum, but Free Republic.
I love a good debate. That's why I'm here. But I expect both sides to be arguing the facts and making their case based on those facts. The Terri threads were an embarrassment and a black mark for Free Republic. Many posters commented to me that they were leaving the board because of it, and I've never heard complaints before like that. THAT, to me, is telling.