Posted on 03/30/2005 9:30:39 AM PST by TheDon
=== Does your state allow this type of killing?
To my knowledge, all states do.
Surprise!
Now let's get that Living Will signed, pronto, 'cause the rest of the pieces already are in place.
=== Or does it include natural nutrition and hydration supplied by another person (such as spoon feeding or inserting water into the mouth)?
That's a good question and it's one the British courts were struggling over several years ago.
The consensus at present appears to be that, if any assistance is needed to help the patient swallow, if any "intentional" action is taken by another ... it's ANH ("Artificial Nutrition and Hydration").
This is only saying that they are giving permission, not ordering it to be done, nor ordering others (like family members) to not give food to the patient. There's a difference between the passive giving of permission and the active ordering of others to withhold food and water.
-PJ
==== I guess that was just in case Terri could actually swallow.
Which she could, of course.
What's interesting about that ruling is that it's in direct conflict with Florida's statutes on care of the disabled (if not also the legislation Jeb Bush signed on Futile Care).
It's amazing to me that -- given this cruel, unusual and clearly illegal punishment inflicted on Terri -- that a state which regularly takes children from the home and even took Elian at gunpoint to deliver him to his father refused to intervene as the disabled Terri was being denied water as she was legally starved to death.
LOL! I'm sure it's lost on the victim.
LOL! Or not.
Related item:
We grieve for Terri and her loving family, and also for our country. We are reaping the fruits of Roe v. Wade, which have inured us to killing: just like the Nazis did before them, the forces of evil start with the weakest, smallest and most defenseless, and work their way up until they achieve a reign of terror. How much longer before judicial tyranny becomes judicial terror? The polls suggest that we are on an irreversible path, as a solid majority seem to think it's a merciful thing to remove all hydration and nutrition from a disabled person. (We hold out hope that the pollsters prostituted themselves by the construction of the questions.)
As a parent of a mildly mentally-disabled child, I abhor and reject the future that Felos and Greer envision for our disabled friends and relatives. Terri's parents and siblings have provided a model of love for all Americans to emulate, so let us CHOOSE LIFE as our suffering Holy Father has said so often.
As much as I admire our leaders, I cannot help but be disappointed that they could not muster the courage to act with the greatness that was (and still is) called for by a higher law. Their failure to act heroically has raised the supremacy of the judicial branch yet higher. Abraham Lincoln understood the true meaning of separation of the co-equal powers, but that seems lost on our leaders of today.
If this is post-modern enlightenment, I want no part of it.
"That Michael Shiavo claims that Terri once said in passing "I would not want to live like that" - not even describing what "that" she was talking about (i.e. a heart & lung machine, or a feeding tube?) is considered clear and convincing evidence of a desire to die if stricken with her specific condition was an atrocious and frightful decision."
Yes, imagine the coaching Felos gave to MS. "Think hard, Michael. Was there EVER any time when Terri talked about wanting to die?"
"Oh, yeah, now I remember. We were watching TV one time..."
In the end, this Florida court didn't authorize, but ordered Terri's feeding tube removed, and removed the husband from any position of authority or choice in the matter. Following is a quote from the Florida Second District Court of Appeals:
“The trial court’s decision does not give Mrs. Schiavo’s legal guardian the option of leaving the life-prolonging procedures in place. No matter who her guardian is, the guardian is required to obey the court order because the court, and not the guardian, had determined the decision that Mrs. Schiavo herself would make.”
2nd DCA denies Schindler's Motion for Stay
(Guardianship Case - March 16, 2005)...from www.terrisfight.org...a PDF of the court document.
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