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Hi, chas...I'm certainly not afraid of death! However, I AM definitely afraid of manipulative, scheming, self-absorbed individuals who hold the power of life and death in their own fallible hands, those who demand the blood of a completely innocent person to advance their own agenda (or pocketbook, as the case may be). Terri is not old, she is not sick, she is not on a respirator or dialysis machine. She is not comatose, she is not PVS, she is not in intensive care, she is not dying (other than in the sense that we all have been "dying" since the day we were born). The only life support she is on is food and water, again, as are we all. She is mentally handicapped, as are millions of others in this country.

I'm not afraid of DEATH, no. I am afraid of state-sanctioned, court-mandated, estranged-husband-initiated KILLING. See the difference?

If Terri is allowed to be killed, it will set the precedence for allowing others (who are very much alive) to be killed as well. Down's Syndrome children? Yup. Elderly bedridden? Yup. Paralysis victims? Yup. IQ below 50? 60? 90? Where's the line? Who gets to draw the line? Felos? Greer? Mikie? You?

By the way, chas, did you even read the article at the head of this thread? I would suggest you at least scroll back to post #33. It's a real eye-opener.

People in retirement homes, wanting to die, have the choice of eating and drinking liquids, or not.

My elderly aunt chose to die by refusing to eat solid food or drink the milk shakes brought to her by family members, though they tell me she did take a sip of water every now and then. Death came in only two weeks.

Funny thing (wrong choice of words, perhaps) about starvation, within four or five days, the human body no longer feels hunger pangs. The opposite effect occurs when hydration is denied. Extreme thirst is torture.