"This was in the days ... when it was hard to get enough pain medication for late stage cancer (as it can still be)."
No kidding. I am sure that many people here will know what I'm talking about when I say, that literally EVERY TIME my sister and I walked into my mom's room, her, what do you call it, like a tree with all her fluids, meds, etc., was hanging, was beeping because something was missing.
I have no doubt that they shut off food. Or they were VERY slow to give it to her.
We had to ask for pain meds for her. And I mean, every single time we were there. My mom would say that she hurt, but only if my sister or I asked the nurses, would morphine be given.
Someone another time said that this happens every day.
I think that it does. If there isn't a family member there 24/7, the people that the institution considers dead already, are, well, ignored as much as possible.
"One night he tried to commit suicide with a hand gun it hurt so bad, but my grandmother stopped him. "
I'm so sorry about the suffering your grandfather endured.
"Because she represents a personal nightmare, they concoct stories of suffering, or other reasons why she should be put down."
Exactly. Who among us hasn't feared losing control of their bodies or losing a great part of their mental faculties?
No, no one wants to end up like Terri. But the thing is, we have to look at this logically.
First. If we must choose between life and death: Life is the only option that allows a reconsideration.
Second. If Terri has a healthy brain trapped in a damaged body, well, we can look to Freeper expatguy and numerous other examples to see why we should preserve her life, her physical body, in case her consciousness returns.
Or, if Terri has a damaged brain trapped in a damaged body, but she can still exist, then can someone tell me why she "would have wanted to die?" I mean, she wouldn't have the mental ability to say, "this totally sucks! I want to die! I am not what I was!"
Because that is the "healthy brain" trapped in a "damaged body" voice talking.
But please, let us ask Stephen Hawking if even that is so bad.
O thank you for mentioning Stephen Hawking. He communicates because people have made it possible for him to communicate. He is trapped by his body, and if he was just some poor guy, unable to talk, needing help to live,rather than the internationally known scientist that he is, he might have been put down already.