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To: ndt

"Am I the only one uncomfortable with the idea of a law written for one person?"

No, I am too. Other than its symbolic value, this bill is near meaningless. What we really need is a bill that makes it illegal for people to declare that they want doctors to "pull the plug" if they get in an accident. Suicide is illegal; so should this be.

Who knows -- maybe Schiavo really told her husband to pull the plug in such a circumstance. But she does not have the right to take her own life after an accident any more than before an accident.


60 posted on 03/20/2005 10:45:29 PM PST by BackInBlack ("The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice.")
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To: BackInBlack

"What we really need is a bill that makes it illegal for people to declare that they want doctors to "pull the plug" if they get in an accident."

We can do that later. Right now our focus, energies and wherewithal should be on saving our sister Terri.


134 posted on 03/20/2005 11:03:12 PM PST by mjtobias (Michael et al. aren't trying to starve Terri because she's dying, but because she isn't. - supercat)
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To: BackInBlack
But Terri doesn't have a plug to pull. She is NOT on life support. She breathes on her on. Her heart functions on her on. She simply receives food and water via feeding tube as do a lot of people. She's much like an infant in that she can't feed herself but otherwise functions independently. If you denied food and water to an infant would that be considered "pulling the plug" or would that be considered murder?
258 posted on 03/20/2005 11:31:30 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: BackInBlack
Who knows -- maybe Schiavo really told her husband to pull the plug in such a circumstance. But she does not have the right to take her own life after an accident any more than before an accident......

I totally agree. This is where the culture of death has gotten a big foothold. I have worked with the very disabled and often they have a good quality of life. It usually depends on if they are loved. A person when healthy may think that they would not want to live after an accident but they do not realize how much the desire to live can take over. What one says when one is totally healthy may not apply because that person has no idea how they might feel if actually in a condition such as Terri's or similar. Also, many people may be very depressed at the time of an accident or impairment but through counseling and therapy learn to live with their impairment and come to love life again. After an accident or impairment a person may be at a very fragile time in their life when they need lots of love and support not an easy way out. Also with medical miracles at the brink of coming fast and furiously we do not know all the hope the future may bring. Also, we do not know when our LORD will do a miracle of healing. It comes down to whether we value and love life and believe in the sanctity of life. The alternative is the seemingly easy fix of suicide and murder which actually would actually cause great harm and degradation for individuals and our society at large.

277 posted on 03/20/2005 11:38:05 PM PST by Bellflower (A new day is Coming!)
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To: BackInBlack

> "Am I the only one uncomfortable with the idea of a law written for one person?"

I have not yet read the wording of this act. What I've heard reported about it is that it supposedly extends the right of habeas corpus to civil law situations. Expansion of habeas corpus rights is probably better for all Americans. If it's something else (and depending on the content), I will likely feel uncomfortable as well.

> Who knows -- maybe Schiavo really told her husband to pull the plug in such a circumstance.

Likely not. On Friday, 3/18, Michael Schiavo was again interviewed by Larry King, and made this rather astounding admission:
M. SCHIAVO: I won't give it up. Terri is my life. I'm going to carry out her wishes to the very end. This is what she wanted. It's not about the Schindlers, it's not about me, not about Congress, it's about Terri.
...
KING: Do you understand how they [Terri's family] feel?
M. SCHIAVO: Yes, I do. But this is not about them, it's about Terri. And I've also said that in court. We didn't know what Terri wanted, but this is what we want...
Transcript URL: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/18/lkl.01.html


361 posted on 03/21/2005 12:17:21 AM PST by l.tecolote (doing what I can from California)
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