You know if all I had to go by was the autopsy, I might be inclined to agree with you. But I saw the videos. Not just the video of her mom kissing her, and her face lighting up; and not just the one with the balloon, but the "big eyes" video. That one the media didn't show very much and never the whole thing because it shows without a doubt that Terri could HEAR and react. It was not just twitches and involuntary reflexes. The doctor tells her, "Terri, open your eyes. Can you open your eyes for me?" He repeats it several times, and you can see her struggling to open her eyes. Then finally not only does she turn her face toward the doctor and lean in to him, but she opens her eyes widely. When he says, "That's it" She opens her eyes even wider right in his face and raises her eyebrows. And the doctor laughs, "Good Girl."
Now tell me that was the action of someone who was brain dead. And someone who fights as hard as she did to stay alive, wanted to live. The thing is-- we just do not know enough about the human brain to make such definitive conclusions. There were several doctors that said she may have responded to therapy, but we will never know. Maybe she would have, maybe she wouldn't have. Michael certainly did not give her that option.
I don't believe a word that Michael Schiavo says. The way he has portrayed Bob and Mary Schindler as out for Terri's money is just despicable. They wanted the money that was in trust for her care to be USED FOR HER CARE. He wouldn't even let her teeth be cleaned.
He also said that he had no plans to marry his long-time girlfriend when he was trying to yank Terri's feeding tube, but there he was on "Dateline" with his NEW wife.
He makes me sick.
I have to say that Matt Lauer surprised me a little on this, he wasn't too easy on him. I was expecting a fluff interview, but Matt kind of cornered him on a couple of items and Michael did not like it. He has that look of smugness and contempt that I just want to throw things at the TV when he is on. (Of course, he didn't get the grilling that I would have given him, but what do I expect from the MSM?)
Remarkably, I didn't break anything. God bless the Schindler family and carry them in their continued grief.
You know if all I had to go by was the autopsy, I might be inclined to agree with you. But I saw the videos.
I doubt at this point anyone will change their mind, but I have to say it anyway. There are many random motions patients may make during a persistent vegetative state. If you tape 8 hours of random motions, you very likely can edit out 20 to 30 minutes that look purposeful.
People for a long time were citing the balloon video as proof of her reactions. The autopsy proved that false, as she was cortically blind, and could not have been deliberately tracking the video. The other bits are the same, edited out of hours of random motions.
I supported Michael during this whole fracas last year and got repeatedly flamed on this forum for it. The moderators even suspended my account for a while because I wouldn't desist reiterating my stance. Why? Because I knew what he was going through since my own wife died from cancer after suffering terribly for three years. I signed a DNR order and overruled the objections of her family who wanted to keep her on life support. To this day, I'm the devil incarnate to them because I didn't want to see my wife kept alive by machines with no hope of recovery and in constant pain.
The autopsy proved Michael was right all along. Terri's brain couldn't process hearing, vision, or thought. IOW, Terri had NO cognitive ability and a few minutes of video out of dozens and dozens of hours of recordings that gives the impression of rationality doesn't change the fact of the autopsy. Her parents had their own agenda in releasing those snippets of video - and it's obvious you were one of those duped by them.
It is unfortunate conservatives have let this issue divide us - but the blame firmly rests on those who gullibly believed the wild claims of Terri's parents, family, and lawyer (e.g., I'll never forget their lawyer's claim Terri was trying to say, "I want to live!" to them).
Discontinuing an artificial sustaining of body that has no hope of recovery is not the same as murdering someone. It happens every single day in emergency rooms around the world. They withdrew something artificial; they didn't smother her with a pillow or inject her with cyanide. There's a big difference.
I held my wife's hand as she died after doctors discontinued treatments. I didn't strangle her or stab her; we merely discontinued artificially sustaining her when all hope was gone. I loved her immensely and to this day the pain of her loss is palpable after all these years.
Make no mistake - I'm a conservative Christian and will always be so. But I simply will not tolerate those who intentionally deceive or manipulate others for their own agendas whether they're my fellow conservatives or liberals who will destroy our great nations if given a chance.