What do you think of this from " TERRI SCHIAVO MARCH 2005 DAILIES ," post # 6,439
....Kenneth W. Goodman, co-director of the Florida Bioethics Network and head of the University of Miami Bioethics Program..... said the legislation would create barriers for people who want to control the end of their lives.
It also "misjudges" the medical use of artificial nutrition and hydration tubes, which are intended to be used as a "bridge" when someone suffers a debilitating medical problem until they can get better, he said. Goodman said those devices are not intended to be permanent.
So how long should they be allowed? If someone is otherwise healthy but has needed a feeding tube for over a year, should it be simply pulled so as honor the "intention" that such devices not be permanent?
I agree with him for the most part. We hoped that my Dad would get better (nobody moreso than he!) and the feeding tube was needed in order for him to get his nutrition and hydration in order to fight the disease. We all hoped there would come a time he would no longer need it. Unfortunately that was not the case with him, but for many, many others it IS the case. There are thousands of people who are put on feeding tubes who eventually do not need them anymore because they get better and are able to eat and drink in a normal way.
Having experienced a loved one on a feeding tube I will argue that it is no way "artificial" the way a heart and lung machine is.