Posted on 03/29/2005 4:39:09 PM PST by Former Military Chick
Mar. 29, 2005 - First lady Laura Bush said Tuesday the government was right to have intervened in the case of Terri Schiavo, a severely brain-damaged Florida woman whose case has stirred national debate about life and death issues.
"I just feel like the federal government has to be involved," Mrs. Bush said. "It is a life issue that really does require government to be involved."
Mrs. Bush commented on the Schiavo case aboard a plane bound for Afghanistan, where she was to promote education and women's rights.
Schiavo's husband, Michael, has waged a long court battle with his parents-in-law, contending his 41-year-old wife, who has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990, would not want to live that way. Schiavo's parents, on the other hand, have been pleading with the U.S. Congress, Florida lawmakers, federal judges and in courts in Florida to have their daughter's feeding tube reinserted.
"I am not surprised over the debate," Mrs. Bush said. "I think it's an issue that, you know, everyone is concerned about and interested in.
"I'm sorry for the family that it has to be so public. This is such a very, very difficult time for them and for everyone who watches Terri."
Mrs. Bush said she has been encouraged to hear that the case has prompted more people to inquire about living wills.
"I think that is really good," she said. "The president and I have living wills and, of course, our parents do. They wanted us always to be aware of it. I think that it is important for families to have opportunities to talk about these issues."
Your screen name says it all.
I have a living will; have done for most of my adult life. That and a will are just common sense.
I just want to see the lawyer reading my will...two shaved animals skittering across his desk.
LOL
One good thing that will come out of this is that more people will set down in writing on legal paper how they want to be treated in a critical situation.
I hope so. And they should all have a will too.
People who find themselves in the tragic situation of hostile marriages should notify a competent attorney and set in writing their reasons for fearing possible bodily harm from their spouse. In the event where the spouse has already committed acts of violence or threatened such, some other family member should be given power of attorney on medical issues.
I couldn't agree more with your post. You've covered all of the bases!
He rescued two or three POWs....in Kosovo I think.
Laura seems like a very sweet, warm person to me. She sorta reminds me of my own wife, and I certainly feel at home in the lucky sons of bitches who married great women club, and I bet GW does too. I am not even gonna take this as a political comment or a calculated remark. I believe it's just Laura's "feelings", as she said, and I ain't gonna bite her for expressing them.
People are very frustrated, deeply frustrated, and they need an outlet for it. They have personal emotion invested in the outcome of the Schiavo case. I believe it affects them very deeply. Their nerves are frayed and they are not in a relaxed or calm mode of thought or feeling. That's all it is.
I've been invested emotionally also, and have prayed fervently ... it's exhausting. But I cannot fathom why people are turning on the Bushes and Congress and those who HAVE worked hard FOR Terri. Now if they had advocated having her tube removed, I'd be right there with them. But I feel strongly that we need to reserve our anger and disgust for the tyrannical judges and out of control courts, not President and Governor Bush.
I hear ya. I'm not mad at GW, Jeb or Laura.
LOL, Perhaps I should rethink the icon thing, I have my owm FR like forum, just in case. But nobody but me ever posts there. I don't think I'll get the ax anythime soon, been here long enough to know what flys and what does not. It does but a small cramp on my style but I can usually make my feelings known within the rules.
That's where I am, too.
Have you ever heard of impeachment? Get real.
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