Posted on 02/22/2005 1:00:01 PM PST by nickcarraway
A group of about a dozen students and activists wearing "Save Terri Schiavo" T-shirts stood outside the Reitz Union on the University of Florida campus at noon Monday.
As students hustled past on their way to lunch, the demonstrators asked passersby to sign a petition calling on Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer to step down from the case that has been fought in the courts for nearly eight years.
Schiavo, now 41, suffered severe brain damage 15 years ago. She resides in a Pinellas Park hospice. Her husband, who has testified that his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially, has asked that her feeding tube be removed.
That order could come from the 2nd District Court of Appeal as early as 1 p.m. today.
Schiavo's brother, 40-year-old Bobby Schindler, was in Gainesville for the rally. Schindler argued that a dozen doctors who have voluntarily looked into his sister's case believe that she could be helped, that with intensive therapy, she could be taught to speak and eat on her own again.
"We are trying to educate people as to the facts of this case," Schindler said. "Nobody knows the facts, because they aren't being reported to the public."
Some doctors have ruled that Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery. Others have said she still has some mental capabilities. She left no written directive for her family or her husband to follow.
Brother Paul O'Donnell of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was among the speakers at Monday's rally.
The black-robed Franciscan brother said the eyes of the nation are on Florida, and the decision in the Schiavo case which could come today.
If the court rules that Schiavo's feeding tube must be removed so that she can die, O'Donnell said it would launch "a tsunami of euthanasia."
Schiavo is not in a coma, and she is not brain dead, he insisted.
"She is a disabled, brain-injured woman who uses a plastic tube to eat instead of a knife and fork," O'Donnell said.
"If Florida kills Terri Schiavo, there are hundreds of thousands of residents in nursing homes in this state who need a nurse's aide to feed them, or are dependent upon feeding tubes, who could find themselves in the same position. It would be the start of a tsunami of euthanasia."
The Schiavo case has drawn international attention and rallied right-to-life and religious forces worldwide.
Matthew Irwin heads the student group Gators for Terri, which sponsored the rally. Irwin said he hoped to send a message to Judge Greer, who is a graduate of UF's Levin College of Law, that not everyone supports the position of the court.
"We believe that Terri has the right to live," Irwin said.
Oh, but I have noticed.
I want to see if they are still so gung ho when it is their turn in the barrel.
I bet they will sing a different tune when the man comes after them with the needle.
sport, i'm sorry, but what in the heck are you talking about?? what needle? and why would conscious people starve themselves to death? do you mean like if they did some sort of a hunger strike, you would be more accepting of their cause?
First, read Post 49. That speaks to the practical reality that many diagnosed as PVS are not, in fact. And that some recover. It's rather well established that the brain recovers functionality in ways not understood, but not always.
As far as "why keep them alive", I think that the answer is...because we don't know if the first assumption is correct, and because such an action is rather irreversible in the second case. In addition to having to ask, "do we have the right to do such?".
Not so long ago this was the assumption made. It was considered shocking in the 1970's when Karen Quinlan's parents asked for her to be taken off life support. Prior to that, everyone assumed that everything would be done to try and keep someone alive. Why? For the reasons I previously stated.
But then the cold wind of whispers blew through..."it costs too much....they're really gone, there's no point....what kind of quality of life do they have?....it's better...iss besser...".
The siren call of the euthanasia types.
We should ignore this call. Men are fallible, and diagnoses are wrong. Handing the right to make such decisions to other men based on such information is to elevate ourselves to a position we don't deserve...the position of making deadly decisions for other people. Simply put, no one should have that right, absent criminal conviction.
i did read Post 49. In fact, i thanked him for the info in Post 51 : )
you make valid points, but in the specific quote of mine which you referenced, i was referring to a situation in which there was little to no doubt about the person's condition. In some cases, there is near dertainty of a person's condition and what their future may offer.
In fact, in my home state, New York, a person is considered officially dead when they are brain dead (well, im not sure exactly how this is defined), regardless of other body function
It is these people that are so hot to trot to kill Terri.
They make the argument that for her death would be a blessing and death by starvation is not painful.
The problem is that so far as I know, none of these individuals are Terri.
If they wish to kill themselves or starve themselves to death, go for it.
But don't try to kill or starve to death someone else.
And one more thing:
If a Court[The Government] can order Terri put to death without her being convicted of a capital felony, they can order you and me put to death.
May God bless their efforts, esp. the students who are trying to educate their fellow students about Terri and the evils of euthanasia.
Thanks for the ping
What about the lady that just woke up from a long term coma ,that called her parents?
What about the doctors that say with rehab she could be able to communicate better?
Why not give it a try?
What would it hurt to give her the treatment she needs?
I could ask you many more questions.
I haven't looked at your other posts, so I hope you will tell me honestly. How do you rate the MSM as putting out reliable information about the war in Iraq? Do you think they slant the information? How about during the campaign? Were they more fair to Bush or Kerry? Please give them a generalized rating of how well they do, in your opinion, based on a scale of 1-10.
1=really poor; 10=excellent
You obviously know nothing about this situation. Terri was eating solids until the "husband" decided that was too much trouble, and had the feeding tube inserted. Her family FED her, and so did the nurses.
um, i'm pretty sure i've always understood where you guys are coming from. Unfortunately, i don't think you understand where I am coming from. I was offering a different opinion, or rather some doubt to show that with situations like this, for which no one who is not part of the family can ever fully understand, things are not always so black and white. I am not suggesting that we kill her. I am not suggesting anything, because I don't know her or her condition (and before you attack me, I have read extensively about the situation).
And, likewise, I hope you neither are ever in such an unfortunate situation
I have to give them a 2.
I've just been reading through this thread, and so what I'm getting from you is that you don't think, from what you've read, that Terri can be rehabbed to improve at all, correct?
That's about where I am with them, but I'm trying to see what Drango would give them on these other *political* issues.
i wouldn't say that. my inclination is to trust the doctors, most of whom say that she will not recover. My point was that i think people have been quick to take to this cause, and to take sides without considering that the situation might not be so simple. In general, I believe strongly in a person's liberty to end their own life, if in a sound state of mind. I feel as though some people, not all, are jumping to a position, on one side or the other, based on their personal ideology, not the specifics of this case. That is, without knowing Terri, her family, or her husband aka her muderer aka the fornicator. (and, by the way, maybe michael schiavo is all of these things, i don't know. this case has been far too politicized to trust any source of news)
ok. i read it again. im sorry for getting so defensive. thank you for responding to my question
What will happen in court tomorrow? Besides Michael and Felos demanding that they be allowed to murder Terri. Will her family get a chance to beg for her life?
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