I think there are some very common-sensical changes that can be made to the law without getting politicians overly involved. Spouses who commit adultery after their power of attorney have been granted should lose their power of attorney. The power of attorney should never extend so far as to prohibit oral sustenance, or tests to see if oral sustenance is possible.
And this business of starvation and dehydration without medication, at least in situations like this, has go to go. Either the patient is capable of suffering the consequences of the starvation, in which case she'll need pain-killers, or she's not capable of suffering the consequences, in which case she certainly isn't going to suffer from living. In that latter case, if there's a family member who's willing to take care of her, then not even the power-of-attorney should be able to say no. Only if the POA insists the patient is suffering should he be able to mandate no feeding and water, and if the word is that the patient's suffering then there should be medication to go along with the dehydration and starvation. But I don't see any way someone can simultaneously claim that a patient is suffering from being alive, but won't suffer from what for anyone else would be a slow and extremely painful death.
And possibly that is indeed a good law. If you believe it is, contact your local state representative and get it passed within your state.
Either the patient is capable of suffering the consequences of the starvation, in which case she'll need pain-killers, or she's not capable of suffering the consequences, in which case she certainly isn't going to suffer from living. In that latter case, if there's a family member who's willing to take care of her, then not even the power-of-attorney should be able to say no.
Actually she has been given two doses of morphine since this started
Schindler said he feared the consequences of morphine that has been used to relieve his daughter's pain.here``I have a great concern that they will expedite the process to kill her with an overdose of morphine because that's the procedure that happens,'' he said.
Felos disputed that, saying that hospice records show Schiavo was given two low doses of morphine - one on March 19 and another on March 26 - and that she was not on a morphine drip.
But then you state, that if she's not feeling pain, if someone wants to take care of that person they should be required to continue to live even if the person stated in a living will they didn't want to? What's the use of a living will then if you are going to mandate whether or not that person is allowed to die? And there is the slippery slope. You're deciding even against the wishes of the person. At a state level, I don't have as much of a problem on that (although admittedly some), however at the national level, that stance is unacceptable.