President Bush Says Restoring Terri's Feeding Tube Was Right Decision

LifeNews.com ^ | Steven Ertelt

[najida]

I love heros.

[pollywog]

I hope that he will be a TRUE HERO for TERRI if it comes down to the end of the line, with the ball in HIS COURT!!

[JulieRNR21]

Our nation is in a life or death struggle ... with the forces seeking to frame our Republic along lines of quality of life, cancelling the sanctity of individual life as they of 'greater enlightenement' see fit. If those forces succeed, we will be mutated from a Republic governed by and of the people, to a mutated thing that is closer to a fascist or socialist state governed by an elete wielding a judicial oligarchy under their control.

Exactly why over a million have finally woken up and are joining Terri's Fight for Life.

This fight may go all the way to the USSC.....we must stay the course & continue to speak out.

[I still care]

There were too many problems with his statements. When he refused to have his wife videoed. When he barely admitted he had a girlfriend, and then someone called up and asked about his children with her. When he said his girlfriend did more for Terri than her mother does!!!

Those were just the obvious one an audience uneducated in the ins and outs of the case would pick up.
But there were many other things.

[nickcarraway]

They were recently started accounts.

[sisterjforteri]

Well, I think Michael Schiavo and sidekick should think about backing off soon! We've all seen the Bush brothers send plenty of criminals to be executed, and if I were Michael, I would be a bit concerned about being put on trial for conspiracy to murder. He's one I wouldn't mind see go bye, bye with the pull of a switch.

[floriduh voter]

President Bush's base is strong. President Bush has once again shown real leadership. He's an excellent role model in spite of media attacks that suggest otherwise.

[pc93]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007658/posts?page=2092#2092

[Ohioan from Florida]

Where is the rule of law, e.g. legal definitions, role of the spouse, etc.?

This is not a flame, per se, but just to add food for thought to those who have questions. Interesting that you mentioned legal definitions, because there is a wonderful link to the statutes of Florida where the definitions are given, and the law has been subverted in Terri's case. For instance,

(5) "Health care decision" means:

(a) Informed consent, refusal of consent, or withdrawal of consent to any and all health care, including life-prolonging procedures.

(b) The decision to apply for private, public, government, or veterans' benefits to defray the cost of health care.

(c) The right of access to all records of the principal reasonably necessary for a health care surrogate to make decisions involving health care and to apply for benefits.

(d) The decision to make an anatomical gift pursuant to part X of chapter 732.

(9) "Informed consent" means consent voluntarily given by a person after a sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable that person to have a general understanding of the treatment or procedure and the medically acceptable alternatives, including the substantial risks and hazards inherent in the proposed treatment or procedures, and to make a knowing health care decision without coercion or undue influence.

12) "Persistent vegetative state" means a permanent and irreversible condition of unconsciousness in which there is:

(a) The absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind.

(b) An inability to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment.

Here's the link to the Florida Statutes, for your perusal and general edification. http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0765/ch0765.htm

I seriously doubt that Terri had any true informed consent when she was watching a movie with her husband where she supposedly exclaimed that she never wanted to be hooked up to tubes. She would have to have foreseen into the future a good ten years to have consented to removal of a feeding tube, as she collapsed before withdrawal of nutrition and hydration was written into the law at that time. (The law was amended in 1999 to include feeding tubes as extraordinary medical intervention).

I also believe that Terri does exhibit voluntary actions from time to time, and that would nullify the PVS contention that's argued by Mr. Felos.