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John Grogan | Second thoughts on Terri Schiavo
Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | Feb. 25, 2005 | John Grogan

Posted on 02/25/2005 7:57:51 AM PST by AliVeritas

Sometimes even newspaper columnists change their minds.

In the matter of Terri Schiavo, the permanently brain-damaged former suburban Philadelphia woman caught in a life-and-death tug-of-war, this columnist has changed his.

I no longer so blithely believe Schiavo's feeding tubes should be pulled and her life allowed to end. I'm no longer so sure her parents do not deserve a say in their daughter's future. I no longer am totally comfortable assuming her husband, Michael, who now has two children by another woman, is acting unselfishly.

That's not to say I have changed my opinion about the right of all of us to die with dignity when life has lost all meaning. But for Terri Schiavo, who lingers in a Florida nursing home, the devil is in the details, uncomfortable details that raise sticky moral dilemmas.

Detail 1: Terry Schiavo is not dying. She is not being kept alive artificially. Her heart beats and lungs breathe without help. She cannot swallow food or water. Once the feeding tube is removed, she would slowly starve to death over days or weeks.

Detail 2: Schiavo is not comatose. Her eyes open, and she sometimes responds to stimuli. Doctors say there is no brain activity and her responses are simply reflexive. Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, want to believe otherwise.

(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: devilinthedetails; euthanasia; integrity; johngrogan; schiavo; secondthoughts; terrischiavo; terrisfight
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I have several journalists to send this to. There is hope.
1 posted on 02/25/2005 7:57:52 AM PST by AliVeritas
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To: AliVeritas

Actually, we should remove journalist's feeding tubes before they are allowed to write on this subject.


2 posted on 02/25/2005 7:59:18 AM PST by muawiyah ( (do I really have to put the /sarcasm tag on things like this?))
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To: AliVeritas

Just FYI - I checked DU yesterday just to find out what they were saying, and it appears that a large percentage of them (over 50% and possibly growing) are on Terri's side too.


3 posted on 02/25/2005 8:06:34 AM PST by ZGuy
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To: AliVeritas

Re Detail 1, if she cannot swallow, what keeps her from choking on saliva? Where's it going? It doesn't evaporate.


4 posted on 02/25/2005 8:13:21 AM PST by Graymatter (There are times when the Rule of Law needs an override.)
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To: ZGuy
Just FYI - I checked DU yesterday just to find out what they were saying, and it appears that a large percentage of them (over 50% and possibly growing) are on Terri's side too.

Wow! Really? I am surprised to hear that. Last night on Fox, Alan Combs did his best to defend her creep of a husband. He kept repeating that a doctor had written that she is in a persistent vegetative state. 'Rings pretty hollow to me.

5 posted on 02/25/2005 8:13:27 AM PST by luv2ski
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To: AliVeritas

BTW, this is one of those "must register to continue" sites. Any chance of posting more of the article? Or are we prohibited from doing so?


6 posted on 02/25/2005 8:15:10 AM PST by luv2ski
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To: ZGuy

Well that's news to me! I checked it out 2 days ago and they were all (except one person) on Michael's side. I'll see if I can find that thread, and the one you're reading.


7 posted on 02/25/2005 8:16:16 AM PST by Graymatter (There are times when the Rule of Law needs an override.)
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To: ZGuy

>>>Just FYI - I checked DU yesterday just to find out what they were saying, and it appears that a large percentage of them (over 50% and possibly growing) are on Terri's side too.>>>

Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if for one moment, a beautiful woman like Terri brought together the impossible? Free Republic and Democratic Underground joining forces? Wow, that would be monumental, LOL.


8 posted on 02/25/2005 8:17:12 AM PST by sandbar
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To: AliVeritas; floriduh voter; nickcarraway; pc93; Pegita

FYI.....PING

Look at this.......keep on calling, emailing & praying!

John Grogan in Philly Inquirer:

"In the matter of Terri Schiavo, the permanently brain-damaged former suburban Philadelphia woman caught in a life-and-death tug-of-war, this columnist has changed his.

I no longer so blithely believe Schiavo's feeding tubes should be pulled and her life allowed to end. I'm no longer so sure her parents do not deserve a say in their daughter's future. I no longer am totally comfortable assuming her husband, Michael, who now has two children by another woman, is acting unselfishly."


9 posted on 02/25/2005 8:17:16 AM PST by JulieRNR21 (Memo to MSM: Free Republic is a forum; not a blog!)
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To: ZGuy

That's terrific.

What if someone were to go over there openly as a FReeper and say...looks as if this is a bipartisan issue...let's make news by getting it out there that many on both the left and right agree on this.

That should create a media blip of some size.

On some other threads I've posted that we should hook Terri herself up to some type of lie detector device and question her. See what she thinks of her husband, if she wants to starve to death etc.


10 posted on 02/25/2005 8:18:32 AM PST by From many - one. (formerly e p1uribus unum)
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To: AliVeritas

It has been a huge mistake on the part of the don't-kill-Terri activists to frame the case as a pro-euthanasia/anti-euthanasia battle. It is nothing of the sort. I am very pro-euthanasia, but it obviously has to be done only with strong legal protections in place, and in line with the clearly expressed will of the person being euthanized. In Terri's case, the only evidence that she would want to be euthanized is the flimsy word of a "husband" who clearly has a vested interest in getting her dead ASAP. Furthermore, the doctors who assert that she should be allowed to die, are simultaneously asserting that she is incapable of any awareness or pain, i.e. that she is not suffering (and severe suffering would be the only reasonable circumstance under which to euthanize someone who had not clearly expressed such a wish).


11 posted on 02/25/2005 8:19:13 AM PST by GovernmentShrinker
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To: AliVeritas
It's wonderful to see people finally starting to get it. He now gets that she is not dying, not being kept alive artificially. It's a start. But this part gets me:

I no longer so blithely believe Schiavo's feeding tubes should be pulled and her life allowed to end.

Pull the feeding tubes and 'allow her life to end'? Get him a medical dictionary. Pull the feeding tubes and she dies a long slow death by starvation and dehydration that can take up to 2 weeks. People would protest if animals were treated thusly, yet it is somehow deemed 'death with dignity' for people by certain groups. Where is the dignity in a death where even the tiniest bit of water to ease a dehydrated mouth is not permitted? And yet Michael tried to do just that - prevent people from giving her drops of water the first time the tubes were pulled.

12 posted on 02/25/2005 8:19:50 AM PST by fortunecookie
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To: AliVeritas; Jersey Republican Biker Chick; 4Godsoloved..Hegave; 8mmMauser; a5478; Annie03; ...

LOOK HERE......a columnist has changed his mind on Terri.


13 posted on 02/25/2005 8:20:07 AM PST by JulieRNR21 (Memo to MSM: Free Republic is a forum; not a blog!)
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To: Graymatter

Unlike FR, DU research is a pain. I checked probably 10 threads to see what was being said. I didn't do a name-by-name check of the posters though. I was just trying to see what percentage of the comments were life vs. death. I really didn't know what to expect, but this may be one of those times where you join with the Russians to defeat the Germans. (And hope that some of the Russians will defect!)


14 posted on 02/25/2005 8:22:15 AM PST by ZGuy
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To: AliVeritas

Can someone post the entire article, or is this on the "excerpt only" list?


15 posted on 02/25/2005 8:36:52 AM PST by Rutles4Ever (Warning: may eat own)
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To: luv2ski
"He kept repeating that a doctor had written that she is in a persistent vegetative state. Rings pretty hollow to me."

And Doctors aren't always correct in their diagnoses. We've seen it time and time again.

I'm a little tired of her husband's claims that he knows his wife would rather be allowed to die than being kept alive this way. Someone should ask him how he thinks his wife feels about his committing adultery and knocking up another woman. I bet Terri wouldn't want that either.

16 posted on 02/25/2005 8:39:41 AM PST by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway~~John Wayne)
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To: luv2ski

I noticed he said the word "vegetative" MANY times. He creeps me out any more. I had thought when he married he might ellow a bit but seems too wacky left for me!


17 posted on 02/25/2005 8:51:14 AM PST by LYSandra
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To: JulieRNR21

I'm glad someone posted this....I read it earlier this morning and sent John Grogan a brief note of thanks. Took the edge off the stupid AP piece about Terri having and eating disorder and how ironic it all is (barf). It seems that more and more people are seeing Terri as a living, breathing human.


18 posted on 02/25/2005 8:55:49 AM PST by Annie03
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To: AliVeritas; Ohioan from Florida; floriduh voter; tutstar; Chocolate Rose; dandelion

Hi, Ali. Great find -- thanks for posting this. When you post an article, would you pls do a courtesy ping to Ohioan from Florida, floriduh voter, cyn, (any others you think of)? Thanks so much -- it's hard to keep up, and it's gonna get harder.


19 posted on 02/25/2005 8:57:14 AM PST by cyn
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To: Graymatter

I thought she has been seen to swallow by the nursing staff, but the estranged husband will not allow people to feed her by mouth.

Am I incorrect?

Does anyone know the answer to my question?


20 posted on 02/25/2005 8:59:27 AM PST by texasbluebell
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