[Destro]

I disagree with the Pope. If the natural body can not feed itself, God has designed it to expire naturally. Keeping people alive unaturaly for protracted periods without hope of recovery is torture and a sin. Christianity does not fear natural death nor does it consider natural death a sin. This is not the same as euthenasia where you force the death through an unnatrual method like injecting poison, etc.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die..." From The Bible, Old Testament Ecclesiastes iii

[IMRight]

I disagree with the Pope. If the natural body can not feed itself, God has designed it to expire naturally.

I'll be sure to tell my newborn that.

[FR_addict]

"I disagree with the Pope. If the natural body can not feed itself, God has designed it to expire naturally. Keeping people alive unaturaly for protracted periods without hope of recovery is torture and a sin."

By your words, Christopher Reeves and Stephen Hawkings should "expire naturally" instead of being kept alive by being fed.

[codyjacksmom]

Sorry, I completely disagree with that. How is giving nutrition and hydration unnatural. You get these on a daily basis...is that torture and sin? I'm sure you don't grow, raise, prepare etc.. everything that your body takes in. That is someone else providing these things for you.

The Bible also tells us to take care of the elderly and the sick. We need to complete the context and not just pick and choose to serve our own agenda.

[Aliska]

If the natural body can not feed itself, God has designed it to expire naturally

Babies cannot feed themselves.

[EggsAckley]

You're missing out on one important element. That is, that no one knows whether Teri could improve through treatment and therapy because her monster of a husband HAS NOT ALLOWED IT. So you see, we don't know if there is hope of recovery; it's never been tried.

[phenn]

I have an immediate family member who had to recieve TPN for over a year because of botched surgery after botched surgery.

You think she should have naturally been forced to die?

[Aquinasfan]

Keeping people alive unnaturaly for protracted periods without hope of recovery is torture and a sin.

The Church's position is that food and water do not represent "extraordinary care." There's nothing torturous about giving a person food and water. The opposite is the case. "When I was thirsty..."

[jonrick46]

I had a girlfriend who showed me the tooth they had to knock out in order to get the feeding tube in her for six months. It was then that they realized that the medication she was being given for epilepsy had caused a severe allergic reaction which caused her to become immobile and unable to open her mouth. By the way, during this time her uncle raped her several times and she remembered everything that happened. This is to those who have no clue and to those who will suffer judgement for what they have done to those who are unable to speak.

[mtbopfuyn]

If the natural body can not feed itself, God has designed it to expire naturally

Go hug your mom. Your natural body couldn't feed itself, but she stepped in and saved you from dying of starvation. Although I do feel sorry for her whenever she gets too old to care for herself and you're put in charge. Be very careful because one fall in the shower or slip on the stairs might just bring on a change of mind.

[supercat]

Keeping people alive unaturaly for protracted periods without hope of recovery is torture and a sin.

Glad you realized the difference between feeding tubes and life support, but I'd like to add another question: if God wants to take someone home, do you really think anyone can stop him?

[Conservative til I die]

I disagree with the Pope. If the natural body can not feed itself, God has designed it to expire naturally.

Oh really? What about the severely retarded? What about babies? Or quadripilegics? All incapable of ingesting food on their own. But, once fed, all capable of processing and digesting food to sustain life.

You seem to be making some sort of special case for people who are perfectly capable of being kept alive, but because they are tube-fed rather than spoon-fed, they somehow have less of a right to live?

And you're supposed to be Orthodox right? I'm a bit surprised by your position, and rather dissappointed.

[tutstar]

Hey Destro, be sure to write this school and let them know that the parents of these kids ought to let them pass on....

Local Students Reach Out to Terri Schiavo

By Chris Mitchell (cmitchell@wmbb.com) News 13 On Your Side Joshua Farver and his teacher Susan Perry display the card they made to be sent to Terri Schiavo...

Panama City, FL - Students from Margaret K. Lewis School in Panama City are reaching out to Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman in Pinellas Park whose feeding tube was recently removed for six days so she would die. While court battles continue between Terri's parents (who want her to live) and Terri's husband (who wants her to die), Panama City students want Terri to know they care.

Dozens of special needs students learned they could send birthday wishes to Terri who will turn 40 on December 3. Several students needed help from teachers and assistants to draw their cards and sign their names. Many are being fed the same way as Terri.

"So many of these children are children with feeding tubes," says Susan Perry who works at the school. "They are human beings just like Terri. They want her to understand they know what she's going through, and if their feeding tubes were taken away from them they would go hungry. They just want to wish her a very happy birthday," says Perry.

Students at Margaret K. Lewis School are not the only ones getting involved in Terri's fight. Clients at St. Andrew Bay Center in Lynn Haven are also making birthday cards. The Center serves adults with disabilities. Over 100 cards from both schools are being collected and hand-delivered to Terri's parents Saturday.

Birthday cards are some of the few things Terri is allowed to see in her hospice room where she's been for several years. According to Terrisfight.org, the official website of Terri's family fighting to keep her alive, Terri's husband does not permit her to have flowers in her room. However, her parents are allowed to take her cards and other gifts while court battles continue.

Birthday greetings can be sent to The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, 4615 Gulf Boulevard, #104-103, St. Petersburg Beach, Florida 33706. For more information, go to Terrisfight.org.

http://www.wmbb.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WMBB%2FMGArticle%2FMBB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031772198741&path=%21news%21archives

[cupcakes]

This is not the same as euthenasia where you force the death through an unnatrual method like injecting poison, etc.

____

How about hopping up grandma on morphine so she can't physically feed herself or drink and expires from dehydration a little over a week later? What would you consider that? Remember, without the morphine, she would have eaten and she did so before she was moved to hospice and pumped up on a medication that put her out of it.