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Posted on 01/10/2004 10:20:15 AM PST by cpforlife.org
Look At The Person Attached to the Tube
By James M. Hoefler, Published St. Petersburg Times, Jan 10, 2004
There is much confusion and misunderstanding about the tragic case of Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman whose fate has become a matter of national attention in recent months. Schiavo has been seriously ill since a 1990 heart attack deprived her brain of oxygen for more than five minutes, causing severe and permanent loss of cognitive brain function. Her swallowing reflex was also compromised, so she has been kept alive hydrated and nourished by a feeding tube that was surgically implanted in her stomach.
Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband and legal guardian, consented to 10 years of medical life support and rehabilitation attempts that failed to improve Schiavo's condition. Finally, convinced that his wife would not want to be kept alive in such a degraded condition, with so little hope of recovery, Schiavo went to court to request that his wife's feeding tube be withdrawn so that she could be allowed to die.
Many including Schiavo's sister, parents, several physicians, a majority of the Florida Legislature, and Florida's Gov. Jeb Bush — have opposed this request. This opposition is based on five myths which deserve closer consideration.
Myth 1: Terri Schiavo's rights would be violated by a decision to allow her to die; everyone in America enjoys the right to life.
Reality: As important as the right of life is, the right to self-determination clearly occupies first position as a decision criterion. There is a long-standing common-law tradition in American jurisprudence that recognizes the right not to be given medical treatments against one's will.
Myth 2: Since Terri Schiavo can not tell us what she would want, we Reality: Like most Americans, Schiavo did not create a living will making her wishes clear. Still, the fact that she has no legal document indicating her wishes does not mean she sacrifices the right to have her wishes carried out. It only means that figuring out what she would want is a little harder to discern than it would be otherwise.
Florida, like most states, allows end-of-life decisions to be made on the basis of preferences that had been previously expressed orally, and informally. Failing that, decisions can be made on the basis of best guesses about what the patient would want. Florida and most other states allow the next of kin to make this determination so long as these surrogate decision makers are found to be acting in "good faith."
Myth 3: Michael Schiavo cannot be trusted.
Reality: Mr. Schiavo has been found by the Florida courts to be acting in good faith regarding his wife's wishes on numerous occasions. He has personally cared for his wife for years, going so far as to become a registered nurse, enabling him to personally provide the expert care she requires. There is no financial windfall he stands to gain, as some have suggested, and no other compelling conflict of interest that would disqualify him as his wife's legal guardian.
Myth 4: There is hope that Terri Schiavo's condition could improve.
Reality: Some physicians and nurses have testified that Schiavo is aware of her surroundings and that hope exists for a more complete recovery. Although no one can say for sure what Terri Schiavo's current state or prognosis is, court-appointed physicians who are expert in the area of brain functionality have determined that Schiavo is beyond awareness and that there is no reasonable, medically grounded expectation that her condition will ever improve.
Myth 5: Artificially provided nutrition and hydration (ANH) is equivalent to the provision of food and water by mouth, and should always be provided, if needed.
Reality: Every appellate court in the country (including the U.S. Supreme Court) agrees with the published professional ethics standards for doctors and nurses on this key point: ANH is a medical procedure that may be withheld or withdrawn like any other.
The question in Terri Schiavo's case is not about whether she has a right to self-determination (she does), nor whether this right trumps the sanctity of life (it does). The only important question to answer here is this: What would Terri Schiavo consent to, if she were able?
In the end, it's not about what Terri Schiavo's husband wants, or Gov. Bush wants, or what other family members, judges, legislators, right-to-life or right-to-die advocates want. It's about what Terri Schiavo would want, if only she could tell us.
It seems ironic that so many people who claim to be operating on her behalf have lost sight of the woman in the bed who, despite her condition, retains the unassailable right to self determination.
James M. Hoefler, Ph.D., is coordinator of the Policy Studies Program at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. He is author of Managing Death and Death Right: Culture, Medicine, Politics, and the Right to Die.
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Reply by Debra Vinnedge
Children of God for Life
Re: Look at the person attached to the tube by James Hoefler, Sat Jan 10
I don't know why I am so shocked that you would choose to print such a piece of utter rubbish about the case of Terri Schiavo since you have never let the public know the truth about her, but I am surprised you chose to use the maniacal utterings of an avid euthanasia advocate from Pennsylvania who knows absolutely nothing about this case. Except of course what he has probably read in the St. Pete Times, which is anything but the facts.
Myth 1: Terri's right to self determination usurps her right to life.
Reality: Terri's right to self determination has already been demonstrated. Despite the fact that Michael attempted to starve her death twice, refused her proper medical treatment for a urinary tract infection and pneumonia and has given her NO therapy since receiving 1.2 million in 1991, Terri has proved she has a determination and will to live.
Myth 2: We should not err on the side of life.
Reality: Why is it that Michael didn't remember Terri's wishes until AFTER he received the jury award? He never once told the jury she would not want to live this way and now he would like us to believe that he conveniently suddenly remembered this? And a judge actually bought that? How naive do you think we are? When there is doubt - and in this case there is considerable doubt, to not err on the side of life is equal to collaborating with murder.
Myth 3: Michael cannot be trusted.
Reality: This is not a myth. Michael cannot be trusted. How can a man who has lived with another woman for years while fathering two children with her be trusted to make an end of life decision for his wife? No compelling conflict of interest?? What planet does Hoefler live on? Would you let your cheating spouse decide if you should live or die? And what about Terri's medical reports and bone scan proving by top forensic pathologist Michael Baden and the radilogist who examined her that she was physically abused before she collapsed in 1990. Oh yeah, we should trust Michael.
Myth 4: There is hope Terri can improve.
Reality: This is no myth either! Not "some" - but numerous physicians and expert neurologists clearly demonstrate she can and has improved. But how will we ever know until Michael allows her to have the therapy he promised? She is not dying, not terminal, but she is disabled and by both Florida and Federal law, is entitled to receive pallative care and treatment for her disability.
Myth 5: ANH should always be provided if needed.
Reality: Food and hydration are the same basic needs that keep any human being alive, whether they are provided by a feeding tube or orally. Thousands of people use feeding tubes as a normal daily activity in their lives and would most certainly die if they were not provided this basic care. And they would die in about the same amount of time you or I would die if we were denied food and water. And let's not overlook one simple fact: Florida law does not allow witholding food and water orally, nor is there any court order to do so in Terri's case. That is Michael's own decision and if he did the same to his dog, he would go to jail for animal cruelty. Terri is not an animal, but she has been treated far worse. So when is the Times going to wake up and start reporting the real story?
Debra Vinnedge Children of God for Life 2130 Catalina Drive Clearwater, FL 33764
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It's not looking so great right now.
This is Terri.This picture was taken during an outing back when Michael still thought it was worth his while to get her out in her wheelchair. On this occasion, she went to a salon for a makeover. On the basis of such a reality, ie, that Terri's was a life worth living, even with some degree of brain damage, Michael won his lawsuit and vowed to care for Terri for the rest of her natural life.
So I must wonder what the heck you are talking about when you complain "It's macabre. Let her go to a better place. Let her go to God."
This is neither a conservative nor a liberal issue, but a human rights issue.
I could not get beyond the first few words of the garbage spewed by Dr. Hoefler. The merchants of death march on, or would like to. There's only one problem: "In His hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind." Job 12:10. Remember the sin of Satan? He would be as God.
Unless the merchants of death are successful in their murder of an innocent woman, Terri Schiavo will live a natural life ... she's not dying ... she never was dying, except when food and water were taken away. She's less than perfect, the same as you and I. She's loved by a family who wants to care for her, but for some reason, her "husband" (engaged to the mother of his two children) would have her dead.
Your newspaper would do well to send your youngest reporter to research and factually report this horrific situation ... the merchants of death know they have a Roe v Wade for euthanasia with this mother's child ... too bad you don't see this for what it is. But maybe you are perfect, and the "success" of this death march will be of no consequence to you.
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