You nailed it, DJ. Why is a feeding tube so "artificially" different from the many treatments commonly received by so many to sustain life. Add kidney dialysis to your list.
My husband gets a shot 4x a year to prevent the advance of cancer. Who has a problem with the ever-increasing solutions of the medical field?
Florida lawmakers decided to decree that feeding tubes fall into the same category as life-support only recently.
Was it 1999? That year Terri Schiavo's right to live was in jeopardy.
We all have reason to fear that some circumstance just may put our right to live in the hands of the government.
Hopefully, more U.S. citizens will wake up to the threat.
It was 99. And it was part of an "End of Life" Bill. It specifically stated that Florida has one of the largest elderly populations. There needs to be more dicussion of that Bill as the retirees should know just "what" they're retiring to.
Section 1. End-of-life care.--
26 (1)(a) The Legislature finds that Florida, as the
27 fourth most populous state, is highly diverse with regard to
28 race, ethnicity, urban and rural locales, religious practices,
29 and cultural traditions. Florida has the largest percentage of
30 elderly residents, the third largest incidence of AIDS, and
1 the fourth highest death rates from heart disease and chronic
2 obstructive pulmonary disease in the nation.
3 (b) The Legislature finds that the Panel for the Study
4 of End-of-Life Care has recommended policies that will assure
5 the citizens of this state the highest quality of
6 compassionate, competent, and adequate end-of-life care.