My first wife was in a coma and on a ventilator when she died. Pulling the plug on that ventilator would have
allowed her to die naturally. The doctors were pushing me to let them pull the plug. Fortunately I didn't have to make that decision; she died while still on the machine.
Terri's case is different. She's not dying. She just needs nourishment. Removing the feeding tube would cause her death.
Causing someone's death is totally different from allowing someone to die naturally. I've been there and I know the difference.
JoeFromSydney - Ausi? I lived in Sydney 5 years in the early 90’s, loved it. Hey, Great Post! Right, Terri is not dying and medical advances are totally outstripping existing laws. Of course, the existing laws in Florida s--k anyway on this type of case, IMO.
My/our position has been clear since Day One. Michael should give Terri to her parent, it they have the ability and financial capacity to take care of her for the rest of her natural life.
(Note - Many FR people are forgetting that if Michael gave Terri to the Schindler’s tomorrow, no strings attached, a Judge could block it because the Schindler’s cannot pass a “Means Test” (say they are dead broke from the legal battle) and it is not cheap to keep up with Terri...Just something to think about.) (FR’s posters that beat on me here, don’t understand there are 4 - 5 ways easy to still lose this Case...some of us are not forgetting)
If you have not seen this thread, you might want to check it out:
Miami Gardens Woman Has Been Caring for Comatose Daughter for 33 Years
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1012467/posts I will post to this thread tomorrow in a little more detail. However, I have an associate, an MD, PhD, who has a niece that has been just like Terri, for 42 years! Like this women in the article her niece lives at home and is well taken of, seems happy for a semi-PVS, “healthy as a horse” for being semi-PVS, and has totally baffled all the medical experts in the U.S. that have reviewed her Case. Only difference between her and Terri, is that she has had therapy where she can still eat spoon feed baby food and liquified food, instead of living on a gastric tube. (Note -Terri is semi-PVS, not PVS - PERIOD per a top neurologist in the world who has reviewed her case and films for us)
Per my associate, the docs thought this women would live maybe 15 years tops. 27 years later, her parents have never been able to come to the decision to stop feeding her and let her starve to death. As devote Christian’s they don’t believe it is even an option for them. You cannot fault them if you believe in the Scriptures. What are you going to do?
We are getting into a whole new arena here of problems that this Terri Schiavo Case is magnifying throughout the U.S. and world. (Also see my above post on “backwoods” politics in this deal)
For one, NOBODY really knows the number of semi-PVS/PVS people in the U.S. population. There is no census count “line item” for these severely disabled people. There is no realistic way to count them all. Many like this doctor’s niece dropped out of sight 20 years ago. My associate thinks that 60-90,000 U.S. PVS patients number being bantered around in the media, doesn’t even come close. Probably like 200-400,000 PVS’s.
And with over 2 million deaths a year in the U.S., when a PVS dies, they just slip through the numeric and statistical cracks. Most docs think they died umpteen years ago anyway, even though they are still spiritually alive.
Opens up your mind a little, hun..Sure does mine...Starts getting a little like a Stephen King novel...