In 1973 my brother was in single car accident where he, the passenger was thrown from the car. He never regained consciousness, but was kept alive by a respirator. According to the attending doctor, he had no brain activity. My parents flew across the country as soon as they received word of the accident. After spending two days at his bedside, they made the decision to pull the plug. He heart stopped shortly after and he was pronounced dead. This happened at during the same time as a girl in Ohio had been kept alive for almost two years. The parents wanted to let her die and the doctors wanted to experiment. It was a court case that dragged on way too long. I don't recall all the details and how it ended, but we have always been thankful that the same thing didn't happen with my brother.
Fred is right, it's the family's decision, not the courts, not a talk show host's and definitely not a crowd of strangers who have gathered in the hospital parking lot.
I would agree with you if Fred had been asked about extraordinary measures like a respirator. Instead, he was asked about the Schievo case where Judge Greer decreed that Terri would be denied food and water untill she died - which took 14 days. What Fred did in his daughters situation was probably completely appropriate. However, I disagree strong with his conclusion that he would not have gotten involved in the Schievo case to protect Terri from her judicial murderers.
Fred is right, it's the family's decision, not the courts, not a talk show host's and definitely not a crowd of strangers who have gathered in the hospital parking lot.Have you forgotten? -- it WAS family in the Schiavo case.
The problem was, there was a family dispute. That's why it ended up in the courts.
No "talk show hosts" or "crowd of strangers" made the decision. A judge did. And the judge used the power of the state to order a woman's death.