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After a nonjury trial in January 2000, Greer ruled the evidence showed Terri Schiavo would not want to be kept alive by a feeding tube.

I don't have enough info to comment on this case specifically, and judging from the posts thus far, I don't think my addition to the thread will be very popular... but here goes.

If you're certain you would not like to be kept alive in a vegetative state should anything prevent you from voicing your own desires regarding your medical condition and treatment, then you should make your desires known NOW.

The Living Will is a good way to document your desires, and I'm certain you can get the basic form online. But the best course would be to tell the people closest to you what you want. If Mrs. Schiavo had not wanted to live in this condition, and had she firmly expressed to her husband and parents, then her desires could have been honored, and her family would not be dragged through the emotional and legal struggles they've been through.

The flip side of that coin is that had she wanted to be kept alive at all costs, irregardless of condition and prognosis, she could have expressed that as well. As could any Freeper who wants the opposite of the sentiments expressed in most Living Wills.

From the testimony of one of Terri's caregivers:

Carla Sauer Iyer was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at the same convalescent center in the mid 1990s, and also cared for Terri. She described Mr. Schiavo as being "focused on Terri's death.

"Michael [Schiavo] would say, 'When is she going to die? Has she died yet?' and 'When is that bitch going to die?'" Iyer charged. "Other statements which I recall him making include, 'Can't anything be done to accelerate her death, won't she ever die?' When she wouldn't die, Michael [Schiavo] would be furious."

Conversely, Iyer said that when she would have to call Schiavo to inform him of a downturn in Terri's condition, Schiavo would be elated.

"Michael would be visibly excited, thrilled even, hoping that she would die," Iyer recalled. "He would blurt out, 'I'm going to be rich,' and would talk about all the things he would buy when Terri died, which included a new car, a new boat and going to Europe, among other things."

Iyer also described incidents of Terri Schiavo talking, moving voluntarily and responding to external stimuli, descriptions that Iyer said were removed from Mrs. Schiavo's medical records. Both Law and Iyer reported Terri verbally communicating, also contradicting Michael Schiavo's claim that his wife was in a Persistent Vegetative State.

"During the time I cared for Terri, she formed words. I have heard her say 'mommy' from time to time, and 'momma,'" Law recalled. "She also said 'help me' a number of times."

Iyer described Terri as "alert and oriented," and said Michael Schiavo "systematically distorted" Terri's medical condition.

"Terri spoke on a regular basis while in my presence, saying such things as 'mommy' and 'help me,'" Iyer recalled. "'Help me' was, in fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds of times."

The thing is that if she was in a persistent vegetative state as her husband portrays her, she wouldn't have been able to talk to speak, would she?

Terri was given spoonfuls of jello by one of her caregivers, and was able to swallow it.

And yes, a living will may be something some folks wish to consider, but in many states, food and water via feeding tube is not considered an extraordinary measure.