Philly columnist changes mind on Terri Schiavo (details lead him to side with her parents)

World Net Daily ^ | Feb. 26, 2005 | World Net Daily

[ViLaLuz]

A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist who believes in the "right to die" has changed his mind about the Terri Schiavo case, pointing to "uncomfortable details" about her estranged husband that now lead him to side with the parents of the brain-damaged Florida woman, who are fighting to keep her alive.

John Grogan said in a column published today, "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."

Michael Schiavo has been living with his fiance Jodi Centonze since 1995 and has said he will marry her upon the death of his wife.

Grogan said he hasn't changed his opinion that everyone has a right to "die with dignity," but he believes that in the Schiavo case, the "devil is in the details, uncomfortable details that raise sticky moral dilemmas."

Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 after collapsing. Michael Schiavo attributes it to a chemical imbalance caused by an eating disorder, but parents Robert and Mary Schindler believe he may have tried to strangle her.

Michael Schiavo contends his wife told him she never would want to be kept alive artificially.

But Grogan points out Terri Schiavo's heart and lungs function on their own, and she requires only a feeding tube that might not be necessary if she were given physical therapy.

The columnist notes Michael Schiavo, as her legal guardian, has forbidden any therapy.

"If [Terri] Schiavo merely required spoon feeding instead of tube feeding, would anyone seriously be arguing to withhold food and water?" Grogan asked. "Does not every human, no matter how incapacitated, deserve sustenance?"

Grogan also is concerned about abuse allegations against Michael Schiavo and believes they should be investigated.

The allegations "may be nothing but scurrilous rumor spread to damage his credibility," he wrote. "But what if there is even a tiny chance he is guilty of abuse? Should such a person be in a position to decide this life-and-death issue?"

When it comes to who is best to decide, Grogan wrote, it's clear that Terri Schiavo's parents "have proved themselves nothing if not fiercely loyal, utterly committed parents. They might be misguided. They might be in denial. But no one can argue their devotion. They have not given up. They have not stopped caring. They have not stopped loving. Who are we, as a society, to tell them they must?

Grogan concluded:

"Clearly, Schiavo's husband has moved on to a new life, and who can blame him? It's been 15 long years. But parents cannot move on. Parents cannot give up. Their child will always be the precious gift they brought into the world.

If the Schindlers want to dedicate the rest of their lives and resources to caring for their brain-damaged daughter, if they want to shower her with attention and affection she likely will never recognize, who among us will tell them they cannot.

It won't be me."

[ViLaLuz]

The true facts of what is really happening to Terri Schiavo are coming to light--a good part of thanks goes to bloggers. People are beginning to see the lies being pushed on us by the MSM and their activist allies. The Truth can never be hidden for long.

[jocon307]

Two questions:

1. What took this guy so long?

2. Who deems starvation/dehydration a "dignified" way to die? Even the ghoul Jack Kervorkian would not agree with that.

[SouthernFreebird]

If the Schindlers want to dedicate the rest of their lives and resources to caring for their brain-damaged daughter, if they want to shower her with attention and affection she likely will never recognize, who among us will tell them they cannot.

From what I've been reading she most definetly recognizes the love of her parents.

[NYer]

The true facts of what is really happening to Terri Schiavo are coming to light--a good part of thanks goes to bloggers.

Bloggers need to keep the spotlight on Terri and her family. Columnists to speak their support, LOUD AND CLEAR!

TERRI SCHIAVO PING!

[nuconvert]

"I no longer am totally comfortable assuming her husband, Michael, who now has two children by another woman, is acting unselfishly.""

Sounds like this guy never bothered doing any research before he formed his original opinion.

[sirchtruth]

I have read in the past that MS stands to receive $1 Million if Terri dies?

Does anyone know if this info is correct, or where it can be found?

[KidGlock]

Hope this starts a trend.

[ViLaLuz]

Here is the original column:

John Grogan | Second thoughts on Terri Schiavo

By John Grogan, Inquirer Columnist

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.

Unanswered questions

Detail 3: The Schindlers think their daughter could benefit from physical therapy and might someday swallow on her own, but her husband, as her legal guardian, reportedly will not allow it. Which leads to an equally uncomfortable question: If Schiavo merely required spoon feeding instead of tube feeding, would anyone seriously be arguing to withhold food and water? Does not every human, no matter how incapacitated, deserve sustenance?

Detail 4: Unproven allegations that Schiavo might have suffered physical trauma immediately before her heart stopped for several minutes in 1990, leading to brain damage, have not been fully investigated. The Schindlers have long suggested their son-in-law strangled their daughter; Michael Schiavo's lawyer says the abuse allegations have never been substantiated. Before pulling the plug on this woman, don't these questions need to be fully answered?

The abuse allegations against Michael Schiavo may be nothing but scurrilous rumor spread to damage his credibility. But what if there is even a tiny chance he is guilty of abuse? Should such a person be in a position to decide this life-and-death issue?

Last month, I wrote that Michael Schiavo's wish should be granted and his wife allowed to die rather than suffer for years in what the courts have deemed a "persistent vegetative state." I still believe Terri Schiavo, if she were aware today, would instruct us to not make her linger on like this.

Undisputed devotion

But she is not aware and left no written directives. So we are left to guess her wishes. Last month, I said we could look inside our own hearts and know what she would want. Today, with the latest stay barring the removal of the feeding tube set to expire in hours, I am less confident making such assumptions.

Who best to decide? In the murky mess that this case has become, we are left with one unwavering truth: Over the last seven years of fighting, Terri Schiavo's parents have proved themselves nothing if not fiercely loyal, utterly committed parents. They might be misguided. They might be in denial. But no one can argue their devotion. They have not given up. They have not stopped caring. They have not stopped loving. Who are we, as a society, to tell them they must?

Clearly, Schiavo's husband has moved on to a new life, and who can blame him? It's been 15 long years. But parents cannot move on. Parents cannot give up. Their child will always be the precious gift they brought into the world.

If the Schindlers want to dedicate the rest of their lives and resources to caring for their brain-damaged daughter, if they want to shower her with attention and affection she likely will never recognize, who among us will tell them they cannot?

It won't be me.

[The Other Harry]

I am among those who has changed his mind about Terri.

I personally would not want to be kept alive by "artificial means", but I no longer think that's what is going on with Terri. She deserves a chance, and her parents are the ones who can provide that.

I also think there needs to be a detailed investigation into her (alleged) injuries. The statute may have run, but it would still be worthwhile to know more.

This case needs to be moved away from Greer. My thoughts about him cannot be repeated here.

I might just need to go down there.

[niteowl77]

Sounds like this guy never bothered doing any research before he formed his original opinion.

I think a lot of people never bothered to do any more than take in whatever the MSM presented in this case. I have some hope that a corner has been turned.

[The Other Harry]

I have some hope that a corner has been turned.

It may have been.

[nuconvert]

I think you're right.
But since this guy writes for a living, he has an obligation to do research before he opens his mouth.

[buffyt]

Another comatose woman recently woke up after about 20 years. I don't consider Terry as being in a coma, she opens her eyes and responds to people. There are retarded children in public schools who are fastened into a wheelchair who respond about like Terry does. They don't threaten to kill them!

[John Thornton]

I think a lot of people never bothered to do any more than take in whatever the MSM presented in this case. I have some hope that a corner has been turned.

Yes. The MSM presented this as a "right to die" case. Many ill-informed people think, "I support rights. The right to die is something I would want if I were brain dead. Therefore, Terri needs to have her right to die recognized."

[nicmarlo]

Grogan also is concerned about abuse allegations against Michael Schiavo and believes they should be investigated.

The allegations "may be nothing but scurrilous rumor spread to damage his credibility," he wrote. "But what if there is even a tiny chance he is guilty of abuse? Should such a person be in a position to decide this life-and-death issue?"

ping

[nicmarlo]

Yes; Michael stands to inherit money, lots of it. I just read last night there's at least $300,000 in just one trust fund alone, in Terri's name, which he would inherit, if he's still married to Terri when she's killed. pc93 probably has better info/sources on that.

[seemoAR]

The children will be next. This case will open the door. Who will have the power to decide who will be killed?

[Conservatrix]

If Snake Schiavno divorces Terri before she is starved to death, he doesn't get the $$$.
Simply this is why he wants her dead. HE would have divorced her long ago and married his mistress if it weren't for the $$$$.

I would not be surprised if this Greer Snake also is expecting something from Sciavo in return for his "services."

A Pox on both of these evil men!

[bill1952]

The Philadelphia Inquirer is hardly a bastion of centrist reporting and responsible journalism.

It's pretty much like most other MSM newspapers. - When did they ever do more than selectively slant news to be more than "agents of change?"

Perhaps this one example became so egregious to him that he put aside the self made haze that news people draw around the truth...

[nicmarlo]

Nuclear Imaging

BONE SCAN
3-5-91

Indication: Evaluate for trauma

Procedure and findings. Multiple gama camera images of the axial [trunk] and proximal appendicular [limbs] skeleton in the anterior [front] and posterior [back] projections were obtained following 2.1 millicuries of technetium 99m HDP.

There are an extensive number of focal abnormal areas of nuclide accumulation of intense type. These include multiple bilateral ribs, the costovertebral [where ribs and vertebra come together] aspects of several of the thoracic [upper] vertebral bodies, the L1 [lower] vertebral body, both sacroliac joints, the distal right femoral diaphysis, both knees and both ankles, the right greater than the left.

Correlative radiographs are obtained of the lumbar spine and of the right femur [leg bone] which reveal compression fracture; minor, superior and plate of L1, and shaggy, irregular periosteal ossification along the distal femoral diaphysis, and metaphysis primarily ventrally. [calcification showing where bones were broken and have healed].

The patient has a history of trauma. Most likely the femoral periosteal reaction reflects a response to a subperiosteal hemorrhage and the activity in L1 correlates perfectly with the compression fracture which is presumably traumatic.

The presumptions is that the other multiple areas of abnormal activity also relate to previous trauma. Additional possibilities would be neoplastic bone disease, widespread disseminated infectious bone disease or multiple bone infarcts from abnormal hemoglobin.

CONCLUSION: Multiple areas of abnormal scintigraphic [actinographic?] accumulation, some of which are radiograph for differential as discussed above.

W. Campbell Walker M.D./mjt
Dictated 3-5-91
Transcribed ?-5-91
Lee Memorial Hospital