Are Some Now Understanding What Happened to Terri Schiavo Was Wrong?

Life News ^ | 10/16/07 | Wesley J. Smith

[wagglebee]

Wesley J. Smith is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and an attorney for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. His latest book is Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World.

I think Bobby Schindler is right.

There have been a lot of stories of late about how supposedly vegetative patients could understand, or of "miraculous" awakenings by people who doctors were sure would never react consciously again.

Bobby, Terri Schiavo's brother, has noticed that whatever the condition of the patient whose story is being told, the reports all have a common sub theme--the awakening, comprehension, etc. has nothing to do with Terri, meaning it was right to dehydrate her to death.

It is as these reports, to quote Shakespeare, "doth protest too much," as if there is a subliminal realization that a terrible injustice was done to her.

The latest almost unbelievable example is in an otherwise interesting and important (and long) piece in the New Yorker, byline Jerome Groopman. After describing how supposedly unconscious people have been misdiagnosed, the author quotes an unnamed neuroscientist about Terri.

From the story:

A neuroscientist showed me a video on the Internet of Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman who spent fifteen years in what most doctors agree was a vegetative state--tests revealed almost no activity in her cortex--and whose death, in 2005, provoked fierce debate over the rights of severely brain-damaged patients. (Schiavo died after the Supreme Court rejected her parents' appeal of a judge's decision approving her husband's request that her feeding tube be removed. An autopsy showed extensive brain damage.) In the video, a man's voice can be heard praising Schiavo for opening her eyes in response to his instructions, and the neuroscientist told me that he was impressed until he muted the sound. "With the sound off, it is clear that her movements are random," the neuroscientist said. "But, with the voice-over, it is easy to make a misdiagnosis. (My emphasis.)

The above stills are from the video in question. It deeply touched my heart and it is seared forever in my memory. In that video, Terri is asked by the examiner to open her eyes. At first, nothing. Then, within ten or so seconds, her eyes flicker, she opens them, and then opens them so wide her forehead wrinkles. It is clearly an intentional response to the question.

But if you turn the sound off, there is no question to hear--and voila, her opening her eyes with clear intention can now be dismissed as merely "random movement."

But a random movement under those circumstances would be to move her head from side to side or lick or lips. But when she opened her eyes, and so intently, precisely as requested, you have to work hard to make it "random." So, to make sure we don't see the terrible wrong that was done to her, we just turn off the sound.

As I said, unbelievable. But do read the larger piece. It is well worth the time.

[wagglebee]

Bobby, Terri Schiavo's brother, has noticed that whatever the condition of the patient whose story is being told, the reports all have a common sub theme--the awakening, comprehension, etc. has nothing to do with Terri, meaning it was right to dehydrate her to death.

All the culture of death really cares about is killing the innocent.

[wagglebee]

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[nmh]

Terri was brutally starved to death, The was no decent reason to do this.

[wagglebee]

Ping

[xzins]

The moral thing to do would have been to try to feed and hydrate her by spoon. If she had survived like that...a natural survival....then it would have been above reproach.

But the system refused her loved ones the chance to try.

[ElkGroveDan]

[Past Your Eyes]

Her dirtbag husband wanted her to die as quickly as possible.

[wagglebee]

They tried (I think Judge Greer eventually backed down) to deny the Schindler’s family priest the right to give her a crumb of a Communion wafer and a drop of wine when he administered Last Rites. They detained at gunpoint a ten or eleven year old boy who tried to bring her a bottle of water. It was inhumane beyond belief.

[wagglebee]

I still say that Michael Schiavo looks like a young Stalin.

[ElkGroveDan]

Yeah. That’s a good one.

[cpforlife.org]

Just WHAT are you insinuating with that PIC, Dan?

[cpforlife.org]

Terri PING….
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[Jacquerie]

Yes. An American citizen who committed no crime, was not convicted of any crime was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment of the type reserved for priests at Nazi death camps.

I could not at the time, nor now in retrospect, believe this barbarous sentence was given by an American judge to an innocent woman. It is too bad that impeachment has developed such a bad rap. It should be used frequently whenever judges violate clear Constitutional principles.

[ontap]

How in Gods name this country has reached the point where we starve a couples daughter instead of letting them care for her is beyond me. Disgraceful!

[xzins]

On March 31, 2005 the Bush administration sowed the wind by allowing the death of Terri Schiavo. They have since reaped the whirlwind.

If it had been King David, the prophet Nathan would have told of a man who had a crippled child, abed in Africa with terrible disease. He would have told of a despot ruler who refused to help. The President would have demanded that billions be sent.

And Nathan would have cried, “Thou art the man.”

[ElkGroveDan]

Wife killers, all.

[DanielRedfoot]

In my experience, the majority of liberals do not KNOW what happened to Terri Schiavo and cannot be bothered to learn the details, even when you try and tell them.

They only understand that the majority of Republicans and Christians wanted the decision about her fate to respect Life, her family and the Law.

Therefore- the natural Liberal position could only be contrary to this.

And by fomenting lies as to her actual physical state and what SHE really wanted, they then stick to there sanctimonious fraudulent moral high ground.

[wagglebee]

The culture of death would have seen King Solomon’s suggestion about cutting the baby in half as a reasonable solution.

[wagglebee]

And yet less than a year later, they tried to use Christopher Reeve’s death as “proof” that the pro-life movement didn’t care about the disabled.