The genius of my friend Wampus.
Posted on 03/15/2005 12:54:28 PM PST by nickcarraway
I’ve been wanting to lose some weight and I suppose now’s as good a time as any.
With an execution by starvation and dehydration date of March 18, 2005 set for disabled Terri Schiavo, a number of activists are planning a hunger strike and I’m going to join them.
The act of self-deprivation in the form of a hunger strike is nothing new, but it’s a hazardous stunt to say the least.
In 1981, ten Irish Republican activists joined in a hunger strike as a political statement and soon wound up dead. Through the years, countless political prisoners have met the same fate by denying themselves nutrition over long periods of time.
The effects of starvation are a bit grisly. Organs and muscles can become seriously damaged; the individual can become delusional and begin to hallucinate; weakness, shortness of breath and hypothermia can set in; and – if not cautious – a healthy person could end up dead within two weeks.
A political activist web site gives advice to those wanting to engage in a hunger strike by saying: “Drink lots of water, consume fruit juices.”
Citing the fact that a healthy body will surely die a horrible death without proper hydration, the site further cautions readers that a hunger strike is a dangerous undertaking and something that is not to be taken lightly.
I get it. It’s a pity Florida judges and lawmakers don’t.
If nothing changes between now and March 18, a disabled and innocent woman will be subjected to this kind of physical torture, but she is not a political activist and she’s not a criminal. She’s simply brain injured.
Terri Schiavo lost consciousness on February 25, 1990 following a mysterious medical event. She emerged weeks later with significant brain damage that rendered her helpless and dependent on others for ordinary care. Ordinary care is defined medically and under Florida’s statutes as food, water, clothing, shelter, warmth, treatment for infection and cleanliness. The rub is that two of those items have been defined elsewhere in Florida’s statutes as medical treatment: food and water.
With that, Terri’s guardian and estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, set out in 1998 to obtain authority from Florida’s courts to remove Terri’s food and water – currently delivered by a gastric tube. Such action takes place every day in Florida’s nursing homes and hospitals, but the patients are typically in the dying stages and no longer able to accept food and fluids. That is not, however, the case for Terri Schiavo.
Terri is in good health. Her lungs, kidneys, liver and heart are all doing as they should, according to the court testimony of attending physician, Dr. Victor Gambone. She’s not terminally ill. She’s not unconscious. She’s not dying.
The only conceivable thing that would cause Terri Schiavo to die is a deliberate act. That deliberate act has now been enthusiastically approved by Circuit Judge George W. Greer in the form of ordering her husband to removie the tube that provides Terri with nutrition and hydration so that she will die over the course of several days. Greer further ordered that Terri may not be given food or water by mouth.
This last item should cause more alarm than the first because, under Florida law, such an act is willful abuse of a vulnerable adult and a felony. It has, of course, not caused any discomfort for Judge Greer who will, no doubt, go home on March 18 to a warm meal and a tall drink.
It bothers me, however, because it’s breaking the law and Florida’s lawmakers are sitting on their hands while this judge gleefully tramples their statutes.
It also bothers me because of the shear torture Terri Schiavo is scheduled to undergo in only a few days. Dr. Curtis E. Harris, M.D, writing for a publication titled “Life Cycles” explains the medical aspects of dehydration and starvation deaths in the following steps:
“Dry mucous membranes (mouth, nose throat and genital organs), constipation and impaction (buildup of stool in the body), severe abdominal cramping and bloating, nausea and vomiting, electrolyte imbalances (salt and water problems in the blood and tissues), arrhythmias, myalgias and malaise (muscle pain and marked fatigue), cough and shortness of breath, severe depression and confusion, severe agitation and fear, delusions, dry, cracked skin, urinary, vaginal and bowel infection, bronchitis and pneumonia, blood in the bowel, stomach, kidney and lungs, kidney failure, general systemic collapse and death.”
Does that sound to you like the painless, peaceful and dignified death Michael Schiavo and his attorney, George Felos, keep shamelessly marketing to the American public?
If nothing changes between now and March 18 and Terri Schiavo’s food and water are taken from her, I’m joining in with the other objectors and denying myself food. Why not? It’s a relatively safe bet for me because, unlike Terri I won’t be without water. Unlike Terri, I can call it off at any time. Unlike Terri, I don’t have a death order hanging over my head. And, unlike Terri, no one will look the other way because they view me as a burden on society.
Shame on any Floridian who stands by and lets this happen.
“I can tell
You know what it’s like
The long farewell
Of a hunger strike”
(“Save Me” – Aimee Mann)
------------------------------------------------------
Pamela F. Hennessy is a marketing and media executive in Florida and has volunteered for the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation (www.terrisfight.org) since November of 2002.
ping
Bump
Did some of those Florida "Judges" have Saddam Hussein as a former employer? I certain they make him proud.
We hold up as examples the founding fathers who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, but when a judge orders Terri to be executed, will there be any who do anything more than say "This is wrong, but the judge ordered it, so there's nothing I can do."?
I don't know, but there is a question as to whether Saddam Hussein would starve and dehydrate Terri. He probably would, but at least we wonder, unlike the "American Republican Nazi" George W. Greer, for whom there is certainty.
Please keep in touch with us.
Ping!
As usual, right on the money.
What are you doing this Friday?
Permission to post Welcome to Florida. Or, would you?
And Greer. He's the one who's ordering this and preventing anyone else from stopping it. He is TOO CLOSE to this case.
When did we become a country where a judge can order someone to not take food or water by mouth?
I wish I could, but some of my medications must be taken with food.
But this is a good idea, which is making me think. Maybe I can do this for a limited period of time to be in spiritual solidarity with Terri and those doing a fast.
I can do *something*.
Once they pull her tube I bet I can forego that pretty easily. I just can't let go of the water.
The genius of my friend Wampus.
Wow! That's one I haven't seen! I agree with you that Wampus is great.
I'm a Roman Catholic, so I only have to fast on Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday - but it's still more food than you guys are permitted.
As far as Terri is concerned, I think that the majority of people can do *something* concerning a fast, even if it's for only an hour. Ultimately, what makes it valuable before God is the intention and the desire of the heart.
ProLife Ping!
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Thanks for posting this, pal. Keep up the good work!
Bump
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