Posted on 04/01/2005 8:05:46 PM PST by FairOpinion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Polls leading up to the death of Terri Schiavo made it appear Americans had formed a consensus in favor of ending her life. However, a new Zogby poll with fairer questions shows the nation clearly supporting Terri and her parents and wanting to protect the lives of other disabled patients.
The Zogby poll found that, if a person becomes incapacitated and has not expressed their preference for medical treatment, as in Terri's case, 43 percent say "the law presume that the person wants to live, even if the person is receiving food and water through a tube" while just 30 percent disagree.
Another Zogby question his directly on Terri's circumstances.
"If a disabled person is not terminally ill, not in a coma, and not being kept alive on life support, and they have no written directive, should or should they not be denied food and water," the poll asked.
A whopping 79 percent said the patient should not have food and water taken away while just 9 percent said yes.
"From the very start of this debate, Americans have sat on one of two sides," Concerned Women for America's Lanier Swann said in response to the poll. One side "believes Terri's life has worth and purpose, and the side who saw Michael Schiavo's actions as merciful, and appropriate."
More than three-fourths of Americans agreed, Swann said, "because a person is disabled, that patient should never be denied food and water."
The poll also lent support to members of Congress to who passed legislation seeking to prevent Terri's starvation death and help her parents take their lawsuit to federal courts.
"When there is conflicting evidence on whether or not a patient would want to be on a feeding tube, should elected officials order that a feeding tube be removed or should they order that it remain in place," respondents were asked.
Some 18 percent said the feeding tube should be removed and 42 percent said it should remain in place.
Swann said her group would encourage Congress to adopt legislation that would federal courts to review cases when the medical treatment desire of individuals is not known and the patient's family has a dispute over the care.
"According to these poll results, many Americans do in fact agree with what we're trying to accomplish," she said.
The poll found that 49 percent of Americans believe there should be exceptions to the right of a spouse to act as a guardian for an incapacitated spouse. Only 39 percent disagreed.
When asked directly about Terri's case and told the her estranged husband Michael "has had a girlfriend for 10 years and has two children with her" 56 percent of Americans believed guardianship should have been turned over to Terri's parents while 37 percent disagreed.
What if Jeb signed a law that Destro could be slathered with honey and staked down to the top of a fire ant hill?
To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
The experts cannot know the level of mental functioning by a CAT scan.
BTW, The "experts" talked down to the courts and the public by saying the brain "liquified." In fact, those cells which died were removed by white blood cells and resorbed by the blood flow to the areas that were functioning. The cerebrospinal fluid increased to fill any voids.
"Letting her go" is not the same as deliberately going to the hospital to remove the tube and while forbidding food and water by "natural means." That is the definition of intervention to kill.
God allowed the ruling to happen did he not?
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Oh, My God! I read his original order, where he denies her food and hydration, but I didn't know that there was a specific motion and he specifically denied AGAIN, that Terri be given no food or water even by mouth!!! Thank you for posting this. Greer is a MONSTER!!!
"ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Respondents' Emergency Expedite Motion for Permission to Provide Theresa Schiavo with Food and Water by Natural Means is DENIED".
In His time, not in yours.
Like Greer, you think you're God. That's the problem.
My personal preference is in fact lethal injection - for me. I plan to put it into my living will. The clause will be unenforceable, and a legal nullity, per present law, but it will be there.
But Clinton managed this level of facade, Gore and Kerry could not. This time I think they are the winners.
Michael did not.
And there lies the rub....
The documents are available at terrisfight.org.
Greer Denies food and water by mouth
Judge Sets March 18, 2005 date
Oral feeding and hydration are clearly prohibited.
I have not, I just returned from spending a few days in The Big Apple, and avoided any sort of news outside the weather for a week or so.
But I will tell you what I think about this case...if the nutjobs allow reason to intervene.
The laws need to be retooled BY THE LEGISLATURE, if the argument is that no one should ever be legally denied food and water lacking written instructions to that effect, then tool the law to state that.
But the government should never, ever take the ultimate responsibility for reaching the decision to end life away from the next of kin; you can't rewrite traditional law as a reaction to an unusual case such as this, and in cases where the next-of-kin can't come to an agreement, then one must ultimately have the legal last word.
More importantly, the decision should NEVER be handed over to any outside agency, it should always stay with the next of kin.
James Adams was convicted of first-degree murder and executed in Florida's electric chair in 1984. It was later determined that Mr. Adams was not guilty of committing the crime he was found guilty of at all.
The fact that an innocent man was executed does not negate the societal benefit that I believe being able to sentence people to death brings to my State.
I see the Schiavo case in the same light.
Tighten the laws, make whatever changes are needed, but don't destroy the system.
Your whine needs some work ;-)
According to Florida law it is.
Works every time it is tried. The same can be said about Social Security private accounts, battle with Iraq, WMD's, etc.
But, as usual, this is never done until after the MSM has planted the "conventional wisdom" among the vocal idiots that whine and lie.
Diane Meyer, one of Terri's life long friends, the one who testified that Terri was very upset in 1982 at a joke she made about Karen Ann Quinlan and quoted Terri as saying, "where there's life, there's hope," has claimed to be Terri's best friend.
This was mentioned by Scott Schaivo on WPHT 1210 AM Philadelphia. He made a sleazy attempt to refute Diane's claim.
BTW, because of threats they made to talk show host Glenn Beck and others and their poor behavior while on the air, Steve and Scott Schiavo were BANNED from the station.
And, when this issue is debated that evidence comes out that Terri was actually responsive and not PVS and the motives her ass of a husband had to kill her, the poll numbers are going to be even more against this judicial homicide.
There will be hell to be paid for this and George Greer and the nine RINOs in the Florida state senate need to be starved out of jobs.
If this is the kind of evidence your side can muster then the pro Terri side is populated with quacks, fakers and charlatans. You use that ruling taken without the context of the submitted request to put her in alternative therapy. Why is that done? To make it look like she could drink a glass of water of placed to her lips but teh evil judge was stoping that. Dispicable distortion.
After a dozen or so times .. One would think one would learn
Oh well
Compared to starving to death I'd rather be boiled in oil or eaten by lions. I mean how raw is it to watch a person starve? It is beyond barbaric. Cats kill their prey quicker than a liberal.
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