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>Michael Schiavo is EVIL incarnate.<

Michael may not have been a good husband but at least he trusted in God enough to release Terry from a useless, disabled body and allow her to enter the other dimension. Perhaps all the "religous" people who wanted to keep the spiritual being that was Terry trapped in her physical body don't really believe in heaven. They sure seem to think that her condition here on Earth was better than the alternative. I don't understand that.

Proverbs 28:5 "Evil men do not understand justice.."

Perhaps all the "religous" people who wanted to keep the spiritual being that was Terry trapped in her physical body don't really believe in heaven. They sure seem to think that her condition here on Earth was better than the alternative. I don't understand that.

Either she was alive, or she was not. If you agree that she was alive...then we had no "right" to cause her death. If you agree (as it seems you do)that she was already dead for some 15 years, then her soul must have already been released from her "earthly bonds" and she was with God.

How do you justify "setting her soul free" - it is not consistent with God's will.

IT IS CALLED STARVING A HUMAN BEING TO DEATH. A DEATH THAT IS NOT GIVEN TO THE MOST HIDEOUS AND DANGEROUS CRIMINAL ON DEATH ROW. Terri's only crime was being handicap and for this she was denied food and water and her loves ones were made to stand helplessly while she was put to a slow and agonizing death. This is the truth, spin it, do whatever you have to do to ease your conscience but do not expect the rest of us to follow suit.

Michael may not have been a good husband but at least he trusted in God enough to release Terry from a useless, disabled body and allow her to enter the other dimension. Perhaps all the "religous" people who wanted to keep the spiritual being that was Terry trapped in her physical body don't really believe in heaven. They sure seem to think that her condition here on Earth was better than the alternative. I don't understand that.

May *not* have been a good husband...don't you think that's a bit of an understatement? Would you honestly want life or death decisions made on your behalf by a spouse who was "not the best" instead of people who love you? Frankly, I wouldn't.

You say he "trusted" God and let her go. Had he truly trusted God, he would not have hastened her death by removing the most basic need our bodies have: the need for food and water. Trusting God means trusting Him to choose the time of our death, not orchestrating the event yourself.

You say he "released" her from a "useless, disabled body" as if any one of us has the right to make that judgement. Steven Hawkings body is "useless and disabled". He cannot move or eat or speak without assistance. Should he be "released" too? Walk into any special education classroom and you'll find plenty of children who have "useless, disabled" bodies. Some have feeding tubes, some do not. Some cannot even swallow, as Terri could. You'll also find frustration, joy, laughter and hope. But I guess, they too should be "released" from this life by dehydration and starvation because their bodies don't function as perfectly as yours. Where would you suggest we draw the line? What level of disability would you suggest God deems it okay to be left alive? Should we "release" infants who are born brain damaged, some of whom will also probably have "useless and disabled" bodies? What about amputees? Or the elderly whose minds and bodies no longer function as they used to? Should we stop giving medical treatment and basic sustenance to these people too? Instead of trusting God to choose the time that these "useless and disabled" humans should die while giving them the best quality of life we are able (and occasionally being witness to a miracle), we should deny them basic sustenance? Since when has God advocated removing someone's feeding tube so they can die? Had he wanted Terri with him in Heaven, or any of the other thousands of human beings on this earth "trapped" in "useless and disabled", he would have taken them. Believing in God means trusting him enough to know that every life on this earth has purpose and meaning. Man, not God ordered Terri's death. God doesn't need feeding tubes removed to take someone home.

You say those that didn't advocate Terri's death must not believe in Heaven. I'm guessing since God has entrusted you with knowledge about the value of human life and who should be in Heaven, He has also entrusted you with the ability to judge the depth and correctness of your fellow humans' beliefs'? God has told you that people who consider all life to have worth and not just those with "useful and able" bodies don't believe in Heaven? I guess we can all throw out the Bible and the 10 Commandments and just follow your word.

Part of a "belief in Heaven" is living a good life here on earth and that means caring for the least among us and to value all life as a sacred gift even if they don't meet some arbitrary HUMAN standard. Remember, we have NO IDEA what a person like Terri thinks or feels, but you assume she doesn't do either. Even doctors don't know that, so you must be more gifted than every neurologist here on earth. You are judging the quality of HER life because it doesn't measure up to yours as a whole, healthy person. You also assume that she would not want to live the way she was because you would not want to (you can't possibly be basing this on "Terri's wishes" because even MS's statements about this are all over the place). Let me assure you, however that not everyone feels as you do. I have told my family that even if I can't communicate with them, if my body is well enough that I breath and my heart pumps on it's own, they can assume I'm fighting like heck on my end and they should do the same on there's. This has nothing to do with not wanting to "go to Heaven" someday. It's because I love THIS life and trust God enough to decide when it's my time. Even if my family had my best interest at heart, I would NEVER burden them with having to make decisions that should be left to God.

Cindie