What in God's name is going on here about Terri Schaivo?! Why are there so many Forum threads on this? She's a living brain stem only, there are no higher functions... let her husband fulfill her wishes to rest in peace. If everyone thinks he is only trying to kill her off for the insurance money, then pool your cash and offer it to him as an incentive to divorce her. If he does not take it, then you know he is doing it out of his love and respect for her. She has been dead a long time now. A brain stem will let the body breathe and eliminate wastes. From what I have heard, she has no higher brain functions. This is different than someone who is in a coma and has these functions and might one day wake up....
Why is my federal government getting involved in this state matter?! This is NOT what I want out of my Republican leadership, an over extending federal grip on some nonsense about one woman on whom local courts have already judged. Calling her body and brain stem to Congress is outrageous to say the least. We have a LOT of problems I need my Republican leadership to concern themselves with, like using the Constitutional option to get judges on the bench, getting more oil, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, a whole host of matters. Terry Schaivo is not a Federal matter.... having Bush call in Federal Agents to take possession of her body is ludicrous, and if it happened the Republican party would start its downslide back into minority city. Remember, a lot of average Americans like me are Republican and we are not keen on watching a bunch of zealots with their bibles in their hands trying to make an issue out of a brain stem. Away with this issue you should put. Concentrate on more practical matters at hand if you can. Maybe a good thing can come out of this, like pushing for folks to explicitly put in writing thier wishes if they should lose their brain functions and/or become dependent on machines. I sure did after this... I don't want my body and brain stem paraded up to Congress someday or become fodder for the media. Go write spell out your wishes today or this could happen to you. And ask yourself one thing, I know if my wife had expressed a desire not to be artificially kept alive, I would do everything I could to try to fulfill her wishes... even if they were not written down.
And your evidence for that is .......?
There are many, many threads with information on Terri. In just one (long) paragraph, you have shown that you know nothing about this case. Please inform yourself about Terri before you post your opinion.
Even if she only has brain stem function - in my opinion, that's not true - she does not meet the requirements for determination of death. Brain death entails brain stem death.
What is the purpose of removing the tube rather than just not using it? If Schiavo can prohibit anything by mouth, then surely he did not need to have the tube removed.
Have you ever seen a person with only a functional brain stem? Following movement across the field in front of them is not how a decerebrate person with only a brainstem responds. Brainstems do not say "I love you" to their mother, as is reported copiously.
"And ask yourself one thing, I know if my wife had expressed a desire not to be artificially kept alive, I would do everything I could to try to fulfill her wishes... even if they were not written down."
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Hey, Blast_Master, take a look at the following, a statement from a girlfriend of the estranged husband:
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Regarding that alleged conversation [that Terri supposedly said she would want to die in such a situation] -- Cindy Shook said that Michael Schiavo said:
"How the hell should I know, we never spoke about this, we were young."
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:yzE5tNjKsYMJ:ottawa.indymedia.org/en/2005/02/628.shtml+schiavo+how+the+hell+should+i+know&hl=en
If God wanted her yet, he'd have taken her long ago.
The reason many of us are concerned is that Michael has deliberately tried to conceal any evidence of what Terri's true condition actually is. The small amount that's been able to get out despite his efforts suggests that his claims that she's PVS would not withstand scrutiny by disinterested persons (doctors with links to the Hemlock Society et al. cannot be considered "disinterested") were most of the evidence not concealed.
If Terri's condition were as bleak as Michael claims, allowing the parents to have videorecorded therapy sessions etc. would bolster his claims; Terri, being 'only a brain stem', wouldn't mind, and her privacy would be no more invaded by that than by Michael's blabbing about her gynecological problems on national television.
So why doesn't Michael allow any such thing? The most rational explanation would be that he knows he's lying about her condition.
Also, another thing to consider: if Michael could give Terri over to her parents without going to jail, shouldn't he do so for his fiancée's sake? Surely he's putting an awful lot of strain on his fiancée, for no good reason I can see. Unless, of course, he's afraid of what would happen if he didn't.