Terri's Last Chance

The Weekly Standard ^ | mar. 23, 2005 | William Anderson

[Zivasmate]

Terri's Last Chance It's time to try giving Terri Schiavo orally administered liquids. by William Anderson 03/23/2005 12:45:00 PM

THE CHIPS ARE DOWN. We have had a surfeit of due process. It is now well past time to consider the facts which process has willfully ignored. There is no reason, medical, moral, or legal, to refrain from an attempt to provide Terri Schiavo with orally administered liquids.

There are only two possible explanations for having employed gastric tube feeding. Either (1) her neurologic damage has brought about a swallowing dysfunction with danger of aspiration pneumonia; or (2) it was simply a matter of convenience to avoid labor intensive hand feeding.

In either case, no medical reason now exists to refuse a trial of natural drinking. She may have impaired swallowing function, but that at its worst cannot be as bad as death by dehydration.

Allowing her to drink water would be the definitive test of swallowing function. She may be able to swallow water and other clear liquids, in which case she will avoid death by dehydration, even if she later succumbs to malnutrition. Or she may be able to swallow pureed food, which will avoid death by malnutrition. Or she may not be able to swallow water without aspiration into the lungs, and so would develop pneumonia, and have a quicker and more peaceful death.

As to legal concerns, a guardian may refuse any medical treatment, but drinking water is not such a procedure. It is not within the power of a guardian to withhold it, and not in the power of a rational court to prohibit it.

The moral case speaks for itself. When we awaken from this queasy nightmare, people will ask how it could have been that a court could post a police officer by the bedside to insure that a dying woman succumbed to a ghastly death by thirst.

William Anderson is a lecturer at Harvard University and Senior Psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

[Zivasmate]

A short article which makes a compelling point. At least allow the poor woman to drink water, even if the system is too cruel to reinstall her feeding tube.The last sentence says it all.

[InvisibleChurch]

remember the New York Times said that it is a painless and dignified death

[conservative cat]

They won't let her do even that.

[bikepacker67]

How universally hated is Michael Schiavo right now?

What a heartless bastard, this SOB is.

[Diogenesis]

=======ADVERTISEMENT TO KOPECHNE MURDER ANYONE BY COURT ORDER =======
=======================================================================

“I'll 'Kopechne' anyone you want. Call me at MurderbyGreer@aol.com.
Contribute enough to me, or arrange the money to go to a lawyer who contributes to me
and I will starve them to death. Trust me. There will a policeman at the bedside so no water
will be snuck to the 'bitch'. There will be no CSI here, either.
I'll deny their parents giving the 'bitch' a single drop of water. I'll even have them strip searched.
It just takes a stroke of my pen with me in my slick black robe. I'll even arrange cremation, too."

===== ORDERED TO BE MURDERED BY STARVATION BY GREER ======

WATER AND WARM MEALS SINCE ORDER-TO-MURDER-AN-INVALID BY REAPER AND JUDGE GREER
Murderer-At-Will Judge Greer 21
................... Terri Shiavo 0
................... Lee Malvo 18

[trisham]

The moral case speaks for itself.

**************

Indeed it does. It's the strongest case we have.

[Calpernia]

Not now. If that was tried Saturday, maybe. If her veins haven't collapsed, she needs an IV.

[cinnathepoet]

Not nearly universal enough.

[afraidfortherepublic]

The reason they won't allow Terri to drink water is that Judge Greer has prohibited anyone from giving her food or water orally, or any other way. Evil, evil people!

[conservative cat]

Darn-it- I missed it. Was it directed at me (post 6)? It was posted to me...

[northernlightsII]

Great article.
I agree: the craziness of those policemen standing guard to make sure she starves to death,I can't get over that.
Around here the police motto on their shield is to serve and protect.
I would not want to have to deal with their connscience.

[M Kehoe]

Good post. Normally I would say that logic and reason have no place in the Liberal mind, but many liberals I know say there should be an attempt to feed and/or hydrate her.

Many have said this issue (Ms. Terri Schiavo's life) cuts across party lines. It does, but there are also a large minority that sit on the proverbial fence. To that large minority, I say jump, one side or the other. Because imo, the one's in black robes are starting to get out of hand.

5.56mm

[diamond6]

What a beautiful woman! I heard that she had esteem problems, I can't believe that.

[bama4bush]

Why were the feeding tubes originally inserted? I would like to know what keeps her from swallowing anything, even water.

[This Just In]

This is a travesty of justice!

Governor Bush must find some courage, for goodness sakes, and place Terri under protective custody. She is running out of time.

[Honestfreedom]

I am tempted to wish it on them.

[Zivasmate]

What would the left say if Bush or Rumsfeld did this to any of the scum detainees in Gitmo?

[Viva Christo Rey]

Judge Greer has always forbidden Terri to receive any fluids or foods orally, although nurses have surreptitiously defied him and done that, and Terri has been able to consume them.

The only explanation is that Greer is an all too willing accessoryy in Michael Schiavo's contiuned murder of his wife - dating from the original smothering of Terri's face into the hall carpet on February 25, 1990 that deprived her brain of oxygen.

Terri readily swallows her own saliva and is not aspirated at all and she could easily orally eat and drink with assistance.

[Honestfreedom]

Why are they arresting kids who try to bring water in then? If it is perfectly legal to try to hydrate her "naturally" why are the Schindlers searched when they go in? They are not sneaking a feeding tube in.