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Only two things I have to disagree with your post on.

One, I am not dispassionate about this at all. I care about Terri, and the future ramifications of this ghastly case, a great deal. My arguments have been aimed not at marginalizing the importance of the situation, but at making sure the blame goes to the proper place - those hell-bent on killing Terri, as opposed to those who are just as powerless as we are to prevent it.

You basically state that we can pray that "Terri's will to live will triumph, and she will wake enough to eat and drink."

Unfortunately, this is simply not possible, unless we're hoping that she'll get out of bed, walk down to the nearest snack machine and get herself some food. She's not even being allowed the -chance- to swallow food or water - she's not even allowed to have Communion as part of last rites! I find that deeply apalling.

If she were disconnected from the tube, but fed orally and given the chance to swallow it on her own, I'd be a lot less morally outraged at this situation. If she couldn't swallow it, well, then I could at least appreciate on some level the argument that the feeding tube was "extraordinary measures". But the fact that Greer refuses to even allow Terri to be -tested- to see if she can swallow what she is fed on her own is what I find apalling, and what he should be impeached for. She's being denied even ordinary measures, and I find it shocking.

That said, Bush's hands are legally tied. What I'm trying to get people to accept is that it's not Bush that's corrupt and refusing to act - it's the LAWS and the judiciary that are corrupt. I'm trying to get them to focus their anger and their desire to seek change on something productive rather than destructive of the causes they're trying to defend.

Qwinn

she's not even allowed to have Communion as part of last rites! I find that deeply apalling.

When I first read that, I couldn't reply. My hubby had to calm me down. I am Pentacostal/Baptist blend, not Catholic, however I cannot stress how the continuing extending cruelty of what they're doing to her - adding insult to injury (murder actually) - is wretching my guts. This is like watching a nightmare unfolding on tv, only there is a knight on a white horse (Jeb) but he's standing off to the side sweating and wringing his hands, whining that he can't do anything. I don't buy that for a second. Do something, Jeb, right, wrong, indifferent, for goodness sake, just do SOMETHING. The entire country would rally around Jeb if he saved her. His political ear is full of wax.

Quinn-
Perhaps logical or factual would have been a better term than dispassionate. I did not mean to imply you don't care- only that you have a grasp of the reality of this terrible situation, and argue your viewpoint well.
As for a will to live- I have seen many miracles medicine cannot explain, by people who simply refuse to die. Survival is the strongest of all primal instincts- as we saw with Karen Quinlan. I know the court order denies her food and water- but the staff are caregivers, not executioners. If she begins to wake- they will do the right thing. Having been in similar situations so many times, I am confident the hippocratic oath is stronger than any order Greer signs.
When Karen's respirator tube was d/c'd- she began to wake- she FOUGHT for her life- against all odds, and proved the doctors wrong. Granted, she did not make a full recovery- but she lived for 10 more years. She was the first publicized case of a right to die- but her parents were the guardians. Others have not survived the order.
This legal euthanasia is contrary to everything medical professionals have devoted their lives to- they are suffering as much as any of us- and hate being in this position. Hospice staff are dedicated to helping people die with dignity- at peace with themselves and their loved ones- as free from pain and discomfort as possible. It is a difficult job, but they are compassionate people, or they would be giving shots in a doctors office somewhere. They understand what is happening here- and know better than any of us what her true condition is.
Because Terri has been on total care for so long- she would have to have therapy to strengthen her tongue and throat muscles to learn to swallow again. They have atrophied from disuse- which is the rationale for denying her the communion wafer. Pointlss, I agree, but Michael seems to think starvation less cruel than aspiration/choking to death. (She did receive the other sacrement,however.)
Nonetheless, it is a long process.
Judge Greer is elected- and will stand for relection. If all else fails, I am certain the voters will send him to an early retirement.