Posted on 11/19/2007 1:08:36 PM PST by Tlaloc
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Fred Thompson set forth a more clear picture of his views on assisted suicide and euthanasia in a Sunday interview on ABC News. He said he would have supported Terri Schiavo's parents in their efforts to prevent their daughter's euthanasia death and he said courts should err on the side of life. Thompson said the motives behind the actions Terri's former husband took to subject her to a 13-day starvation and dehydration death were "suspect" and he said he would have backed the Schindlers' efforts to save her life.
"From what I know about the facts, or recall about it, I would side with the parents in, you know, keeping that child alive," Thompson said.
"Based on the notion that I can't imagine a parent or a spouse or a doctor deciding anything -- if there's any question that this person might live," he added.
His comments are a more pro-life presentation of his end-of-life views and could help him regain his footing with pro-life voters upset by earlier statements.
In an interview with "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," the former Tennessee senator said that both courts and families should seek the protection of human life if there is any chance a patient might live.
Thompson said courts should only come into play if families can't come to an agreement about the care of a patient who can't make their own medical decisions.
"People have a right to make the laws in their own state to resolve these issues if families can't get together," he said. "If doctors and families can't stand at that bedside and make a decision, which, as I say, I hope would be always in favor of life if there is a chance for life -- if there is a chance for life. And if that can't be resolved, then it should go to the state court mechanism."
Thompson, an attorney and well-known actor, restated his opposition to a bill in Congress to allow the Schindler family to take their case to federal courts.
But, he said he supported actions in the state legislature to make sure that patients like Terri receive food and water as well as appropriate medical care.
"If the families can't get together, the first recourse needs to be the state government," he said.
"Congress took an extra step, said, 'We want you to have a federal hearing also.' The federal court, as I recall, came to the same conclusion the state court did. The point is, it is a family matter -- ought to be a family matter," he added.
roll? lol. if you like pandering.
You’re whole diatribe is based on a statement that so far I can find no evidence that Fred made?
Either provide a link to a video or a transcript, because otherwise, you are coming across as a liar!
late breaking Fred/Terri Tar Baby. He’d still leave it up to the courts. (his RINO influences are showing).
To protect Fred, someone removed his statement, "pull the feeding tube." He said it and I saw and heard it. Maybe Fred's got a problem on Sunday mornings rambling and then hvg nbc edit their transcript for him.
ALTER-GATE. Is Law and Order on NBC? Just thought I'd ask. Leave it to the courts and Terri would be just as deceased w/Fred as she is right now.
Fred said, "pull the feeding tube".
This is a GIANT FLIP FLOP but it is meaningless. It is pandering. Life news failed to bold the quote about the courts by Fred. I am for Duncan Hunter. He has no handlers and never changes like a chameleon.
Embarassing to say that days before the NRTL endorses you. He's too reckless to be the leader of the free world IMO.
Any Presidential candidate can say, “I’m for the HLA,” knowing full well that a) the President has no Constitutional role whatsoever in the passage of amendments and b) regardless of how any of us feel, the HLA has no chance of passage right now.
Fred’s not sticking anything in your eye. Unlike the easy say-the-right-thing-but-do-nothing alternative of being “for the HLA,” he’s got a plan to take the debate back to the states, put the issue right in the voters’ faces and force them all to vote their consciences. Don’t underestimate the power of that debate in changing peoples’ hearts, which is a prerequisite to ever getting the HLA passed.
Maybe you’d prefer a candidate who makes all the right noises about the HLA while knowing full well he has no power whatsoever to enact it, but I’d rather have a candidate with a real plan that actually has a chance of working. The HLA has been part of the Republican platform for decades and we’ve gotten exactly nowhere with it. Time to try something new.
http://capitolhillcoffeehouse.com/more.php?id=4393_0_1_0_M
Fred did say, "pull the feeding tube." It's funny that people who didn't even watch seem to know more than I do, who actually watched.
You were shown a transcript of the whole MTF interview and the transcript indicated that Fred did not say “pull the feeding tube.” You have been proven wrong so why don’t you just admit that you were wrong, it is simple enough to do. The transcript is the proof, your friends testimony ain’t worth a hill of beans against the actual transcript. Please, get back to reality, or risk drifting into the netherworld of mental illness.
I agree.
Some people just don’t seem to have enough common sense to step from in front of the bus, before they’re run over.
Flip, flop.
Stay tuned. This may actually help Fred if Tim is gonna spring Fred's words on him later which would really finish his chances off. I used to trust Tim Russert but less now because he's suppressed statements from his own program.
You trust Tim Russert over me? LOL I ask you, what network carries Law and Order? I don’t know that but I do know that Fred said he’d “pull the feeding tube” when he was interviewed by Tim Russert. Tim Russert knows it too but he DELETED IT.
We have all his flip flops on euthanasia and Terri Schiavo here at free republic.
Correct, 8mmmauser?
Fred should meet with Bobby Schindler. Then I might start to cut him some slack. But, now this Meet the Press thing makes me wonder if he's using the media or are they using him?????
Just out of curiosity, who do you support?
LOL!
Could a fred supporter help me here? I was skipping through to find the shaivo part, and I hit a section where Fred Thompson says he supports banning students from carrying guns on college campuses.
But I can’t believe it. Certainly if Fred Thompson was for banning gun owners from carrying their weapons, I’d have read something about it from the defenders of the 2nd amendment here.
I’ve been called insufficiently pure on the gun issue, so I’m looking for help here.
It was at 27:45 of the taped show.
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