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.
No, I said that you should hope that a mugger did not intend your death, unlike Michael Schiavo intended Terri's death.
Do you still believe that Michael and Greer should have forbid Terri's mother to offer ice chips to her daughter after the March 5 ruling?
Comments...Schmomments... they are so small (yet satisfying) in the grand scale of things.
Michael Moore got a Palme D'Or at Cannes for making whole movie filled with inflammatory rhetoric.
yeah but at least he has it right on the question that mattered, and wrong where he needed to be wrong!
"This issue is resonating with many people. And I think the Democratic party has really dug their grave with their silent approval of this travesty."
I believe you are correct...
FOX did run the story continually, and some were dismayed, but at least we heard both aspects, and the conflicting stories. They made some mistakes, but we pestered them, and in the end they usually got things right.
The MSM on the other hand devoted far much less attention to it, continued with their soaps and sitcoms, and never responded to corrections.
Thus, their audience reflected what they were given. They were as starved for truth as Terri was starved for life!
Where does the medical community come down on this? O'Reilly showed himself on the issue, cutting off people who answered his questions unsuitable to his ideals. He had tunnel vision on this, restating the "facts" and flat out ignoring other points of view.
There really are two separate questions:
Would you want to live like Terri? and
Would you want to be slowly starved to death over 13 days, like Terri?
The first question is so ridiculous, for who would ever answer 'YES'?
The second question, for any thinking person, is "NO".
Another contrived phrase "The Right to Die" does not exist in law. Civilized society has determined there is no "Right to Kill" but it was done in this case,under cover of law.
Life experience and common sense screamed for a more thorough review of the facts and the law before Terri was killed.
In FR we have seen the righteous indignation of anti-euthenasia people (called hysterical) and the callous legalisms of the 'rights of the spouse' side.
Life will never be the same for FR - or, more importantly, the Schindlers
sp
True, and that is going to come back and bite them in the butt. The truth about what has happened to Terri is coming out and the American people are starting to figure out that their opinion regarding "pulling the plug" was used to kill Terri. The two situations are completely different. One is withholding extraordinary measures to keep someone alive, the other is starving a perfectly healthy body with a disability.
Amazing, isn't it, that when given the facts, most Americans will choose the right thing to do.
_____________
Amazing, also, is when some ARE GIVEN THE FACTS, some refuse to believe them until AFTER the fact. As we have witnessed here.
Also I've read that the Schindlers used their retirement money and paid for Terri's rehab. After the lawsuit Michael was expected to repay the Schindlers and continue the rehab, which he refused to do once he had control of the money.
So the three years of rehab can be credited to the parents not MS
Old Media will pay further. So will the party of death. Most importantly the judiciary has stepped into it and brilliantly made our case for us. They are an elitist judiciary as out of touch as the media.
Further, it is incomprehensible that a President, or congress will suffer because they erred on the side of life.
Ping
Maybe FR will learn a little something about how to word a poll.
Current Poll options re: James Madison...blah blah blah...is it a myth?
No, but headed that way (in other words: no, but soon to be yes)
Yes, always been that way (the eternal yes)
Don't Know ('NO' is not an option - if you mean 'NO' you clearly are confused and you really mean 'Don't Know')
Pass (I couldn't find a real NO option, so I guess this is all that is left for me)
Michael has got to be the most hated man in America today. The more the truth comes out, the more hated he will be
Good post.
the Schindlers used their retirement money and paid for Terri's rehab. After the lawsuit Michael was expected to repay the Schindlers and continue the rehab, which he refused to do once he had control of the money.
So the three years of rehab can be credited to the parents not MS
This is what happens when politicians allow polls to manipulate them. The MSM was so intent on killing Terri they manipulated the polls and some in Congress and in Florida ran scared rather than to save Terri.
The MSM has no conscience,morals nor desire to print the truth they are nothing more than Propaganda machines for the Liberals in America.
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