Michael Schiavo on 'Nightline' (Includes Transcript)

ABC News ^ | Mar. 15, 2005

[DJ MacWoW]

I posted on other threads that for her sake I hope she is PVS

If she wasn't PVS then, why would she be now?

[PFKEY]

SILENCE" THE ONLY WITNESS to SEVERAL BOTCHED MURDER ATTEMPTS on their life?

And then CREMATION to DESTROY THE EVIDENCE-BODY?

Well that would be a motive for sure but I don't think anyone has seriously suggested that her condition is the result of serveral botched murder attempts.

I have heard the theory stated before but there seems to be little if any evidence.

Like I said I am new to these threads and I admit I have not read all the information about attempted murder.

[PFKEY]

If she wasn't PVS then, why would she be now?

Not an medical doctor so I can not answer that question.

It does seem to be the position of many doctors and the judge.I know there are other opinions.

[DJ MacWoW]

My point was that they, her parents and husband, seem to have legitimate positions.

You've been on several different threads for awhile now. I've given you info and links and so have others. You start posting the same things everytime. You always get around to, "I bet she wants to commit suicide and doesn't want to live like that". Are you going there again?

[lakey]

As you suggested, I checked out Lisa McPherson's autopsy reports. Cockroaches! Gruesome. Church of Scientology. FLORIDA!!! "State Attorney Bernie McCabe dropped charges alleging the church abused and illegally practiced medicine on McPherson."

Dropped the charges....

[Nowhere Man]

"her potassium and her electrolytes will slowly diminish and she will drift off to a nice little sleep "

" Nice little sleep ", my wild Irish you know what. Michael is either an idiot, demented or diabolical. Death by electrolyte imbalance is not pleasant nor nice. Especially when premeditated and completely preventable.

I know. It is a bit of a tangent, but I was watching the History Channel about cannibalism and it went through what starvation does to a person where it eats up the carbohydrates in the blood first, then the fat, then the muscle tissue as it uses proteins to survive. After that, the digestive system shuts down, then the liver and kidneys, then the brain (if a person is still ocnscious, higher reasoning is affected while the lower reptilian brain still functions, some say this is how some people can resort to cannibalism) and so on until death. Of course, Terri might be different due to her condition, but it is no less painful to experience.

[GreenOgre]

If you were paying attention, Nightline played a clip from the Schindlers.

[LADY J]

"I can also see Michael Schiavo position as well. He does not seem to have any motives other than following what he believes were his wifes wishes."

Yep - he's really a soft hearted guy!! She also probably told him to lock her in a darkened room and never let her see fresh air and sunshine.

Her wheel chair has been broken for a number of years...guess she told him that if that ever happens to be sure he doesn't fix it.

She probably also mentioned that he'd better not allow any priest to give her communion and make sure there are no pictures - flowers or cards allowed in her room either!!

He really loves her....

[PFKEY]

You always get around to, "I bet she wants to commit suicide and doesn't want to live like that". Are you going there again?

The problem is that no one knows what she wants. The only person to claim that such a conversation ever took place is her husband.

What I can not help thinking about is Terri's quality of life.

Say she sleeps eight hours a night. Then she awakens to what?
An empty quiet room.
What does she do for the remaing sixteen hours?

If she were able to communicate she might just say whe wishes whe could commit suicide or that someone would kill her.

There are no easy answers.

I pray for Terri no matter how this situation finaly ends. Whether she dies of natural causes or dies of starvation.

[Between the Lines]

Why wasn't Michael Schiavo asked if he currently has a living will? I would like to know.

[Future Useless Eater]

heck PF, I'd be willing to suggest that! Here's the quick read of allegations...

• Michael is abusive and giving her black and blue marks
• Terri tells brother and girlfriend she wants to divorce him but doesnt know how
• Michael calls her at work often and leave her in tears
• they have a HUGE fight that day over her $80 hairstyle, he leaves for work, not to return home till the wee hours.
• Terri tells girlfriend about the fight, she offers to come stay the night with her. She says she will be asleep or PRETEND to be asleep.
• Michael claims he called 911 first and then held Terri in his arms until they arrived.
• Her father says Michael called him first and said "I'm sorry Bob, but Terri is dead."
• Paramedics report she was found face DOWN
• brother says Michael waited on a couch in the other room, and IIRC reading a magazine
• later bone scans show broken bones recently healed
• nuerologist says he's only seen one patient like her in his lifetime and that was a strangulation case.

and THATS just the tip of the iceberg!

[supercat]

I can also see Michael Schiavo position as well. He does not seem to have any motives other than following what he believes were his wifes wishes.

Do you believe Terri hates her parents and siblings?

If Terri's condition really is as Michael describes, there are many things he could do to make Terri's family much happier. Unless Terri hates her family--and I've seen no evidence whatsoever that she does--I'm sure she'd want Michael to do such things.

Of course, if Michael is sandbagging Terri's condition, then it would be quite clear why he'd refuse such things. But in that case, Terri's wishes would almost certainly be to have Michael stop sandbagging her condition.

Therefore, I find it very difficult to believe that Michael's interest is really "following Terri's wishes".

[nicmarlo]

What happens in lay-terms: When someone is being starved to death, the body is eating itself, as nourishment, to try to stay alive. How can that NOT be painful?

[PFKEY]

I didn't know all these details. Was there an investigation? What was the official conclusion?

[Aliska]

No, there are no easy answers, but people don't have a "right to die" if they did not leave written instructions and the courts side with a husband who gives hearsay testimony.

It did sound that way (like she had to pass some test in order to be considered worthy to continue living), but I accept that was not your intention.

Terri's religious head, the pope, says a feeding tube is not artificial life support. I'm not sure how I think about that across the board. I am not real keen on feeding tubes if they prolong suffering, but nutrition is not the same as a ventilator, etc. It has been pointed out countless times that people get arrested for starving their animals.

I'm not convinced what Terri wanted one way or another. Because we do not know for sure what she wanted (I don't give any credence to anything her husband or lawyer say), I believe we must do everything possible until she dies a natural death. That's the key for me. Natural death. People on feeding tubes die natural deaths all the time.

15 years is a long time, but in the beginning of the ordeal, her husband went to court so he could get money so she could live and when the going got rough and she didn't die to suit him, he suddenly comes up with the story that Terri wanted to die. That should have come out at the trial.

Michael Shiavo seems driven by a vendetta against Terri's parents. He loathes them and is going beyond the bounds of reason to punish them by intending to cremate her remains and send them back to Pennsylvania. That is bizarre any way you want to look at it.

Terri is Catholic, and Catholics are not supposed to be cremated without sufficient cause. Her religious rights are not being respected, and she is being denied communion because of legal nonsense.

[Future Useless Eater]

>>Whether she dies of natural causes or dies of starvation.

WHY just those TWO choices, how about the 3rd one?

She moves back home with the Schindlers, enjoys sunshine, music, kittens, warm baths, gets back a little (or lot) of her functioning, and lives happily for as long as Michael predicted on the witness stand - 60 more years!

[nicmarlo]

If she were able to communicate she might just say whe wishes whe could commit suicide or that someone would kill her.

WRONG. She'd more likely say MICHAEL SCHAIVO TRIED TO KILL ME AND HAS BEEN ABUSING ME FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS.

Now, give me some FOOD, THERAPY, and get me OUTSIDE so I can FEEL the sun and the air and see colors!!

[Deo volente]

"SCHIAVO: Big Brother is going to do that."



ARE YOU KIDDING???

Big Brother would love this guy!!!

[DJ MacWoW]

What I can not help thinking about is Terri's quality of life.

I knew you'd get there sooner or later. So she should be cruelly starved and dehydrated because others judge that her quality of life isn't up to their standards? We don't judge others value in that way. Her life is precious, God gave it to her and no one has the right to say she's meaningless and should die.