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Terri schiavo's feeding tube

  • #21
This is obviously a tremendously emotionally charged case, there are fuzzy aspects to the husbands motivations, which is why this has drawn on so long, and of course, the parents are blinded by grief and love.


Quite Simply though, as was said, the cognitive portion of her brain no longer exists, you can hope and pray for a miracle all you want, but I think we can all agree, miracles are long shots (or they wouldn't be miracles.). We have artifically extended this womans life through technology, it's IMO, a case where technology has done something bad for us rather than good. I think this woman left her body long long ago and I doubt that wherever she is, what happens to the husk on that bed is of little consequence to her, it was after all, only a vessel for a time in her own belief system.

As far as making euthenasia legal, I have to say I am still against that. it is one thing to take a person of a respirator or feeding tube, it is something else entirely. Let me clarify, in Terri's case, letting her body fail is horrible, but neccessary, There are probably quite a few people who could flip a switch and actively pump her body full of poisons, but I am not one of them, I would be one of those wondering the rest of my life if I snuffed out a miracle before it could happen. But, in all honesty terri is not coming back, so letting her go is one thing.

however, take the case of a man wracked with a horrible, painful cancer that is destryoing him from the inside, he is fully awake, alert, and cognitive. Does he have a right to have someone kill him? Where does the right to have your life taken begin and end? What if the cure for his cancer is only a few days away, what a sad thing his loss would be. more importantly, legally sanctioning suicide (which is what euthenasia is) quite simply puts foot firmly on a slipperly slope where they sanctity of life becomes lessened.

If I were the man in the above example, I would never ever give in. I would fight death to my last breath and hold on to the chance to live my life with every ounce of strength, scraping and scrabbling against the tide beyond the poing of bloody fingers and tattered flesh.. Life is Important, and how you leave this one, is important in how you enter the next one. Terri really didn't have a choice in the matter, her life was stolen from her long ago, she's been dead since the day she became a vegetable, but if you ARE cognitive... you fight. period. The reason you won't see a law sanctioning this, is that everyone draws the line in a different place, no one really can define where the slope begins, and where your right to end your life begins.

Anyhow, I hope Terri is already at peace, and if not, I hope she will be soon.
 
  • #22
Between keeping her on life support and letting her starve, I support the latter more, but I still think it's more humane through euthanasia. If I were the person to actually either cut her life support off and let her starve or euthanize her, I would feel much better with the euthanasia, because that's how I'd rather go. I'd take any quick death over dying of starvation and dehydration for that long. I think wanting a quick, painless death of any kind for someone who has no chance of survival is alot more caring towards human life than letting them slowly and (possibly) painfully die.
 
  • #23
I will have to disagree with most of what Alpha has said. In October my best friend and loyal compainon dies of Kidney failure. The effect was virtually the same as stavation in a way. His heart and most internal systems were failing and so not enough blood was pumping excpt to keep him barely alive. You cannot know the pain the rest of us were in. He of course was too far gone. But that is my reason fo supporting euthinasia. Many of us went practically insane waiting. As for your point when someone you loves dies you know it, the instant their "soul" seperates from their body. I cannot describe it but you will know when you have to witness someone you love die from an extended illness. Which I hope never has to happen.
 
  • #24
[b said:
Quote[/b] ] His heart and most internal systems were failing and so not enough blood was pumping excpt to keep him barely alive. You cannot know the pain the rest of us were in. He of course was too far gone. But that is my reason fo supporting euthinasia.
I'm sorry for your friend but was he still concious? Terri isn't. She's like a vegetable just lying there. And I never said I didn't support euthenasia. If there was an option, I'd support giving her a lethal injection but the law says you can't do that, so I support taking the tube out.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]As for your point when someone you loves dies you know it, the instant their "soul" seperates from their body.
I've never actually seen a human die (and don't want to!) but I think that what you're seeing is them dying and nothing else. Even if I believed in souls (i'm kind of agnostic in that too), I don't think you could see the soul leaving. That's just the body dying you see.
... I don't want to hijack ANOTHER thread so if you want to know why I believe what I believe about souls, make another thread or PM me. (although I guess this does have to do with terri... so it's not really hijacking)
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]more importantly, legally sanctioning suicide (which is what euthenasia is) quite simply puts foot firmly on a slipperly slope where they sanctity of life becomes lessened.
in the example you gave about a terminally ill patient of cancer, I would support euthenasia IF they want to (of course!). The patient would probably spend it's remaining days suffering and hoping that they will find a cure AND sell it in time is definately not worth the suffering. I don't think the sanctity of life is lessened. it's ... darn it what's the antonym? oy... made greater. There is no reason for just being alive. What's the point of being a vegetable? that's not life. life is more than that. Death without suffering is better than a short, sad life full of suffering.
 
  • #25
This is a sad situation, all around.  I can't blame the husband for wanting to move on.  I can't blame her parents for not.  

I do condemn the fact that this woman's great misfortune has become political and news fodder.  This is an intensely private matter.  It should remain that way.  

How is it that the majority party in the US House and Senate is all about less government intrusion?  Except when it suits them, apparently.  B*stards.
 
  • #26
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I do condemn the fact that this woman's great misfortune has become political and news fodder. This is an intensely private matter. It should remain that way.
The family doesn't want them to. I heard the mother saying that she would ask for politician's help and stuff... so it's partly their fault.
 
  • #27
Let that poor woman die in peace... too late for that anyway! The whole ordeal has been turned into a Rep vs Dem partisan BS fest.
smile_h_32.gif
 
  • #28
Yes, what swords said.. especially since it seems the repubs in the senate are interested in injecting their religiously backed "sacredness of life" thing or whatever it is into the deal....
Ironcially, while the repubs want to keep her alive waiting for thechnology to come up with the "miracle", they have made it pretty much impossible to do the kind of research required for even a remote possibility of science producing a "miracle"
(see "stem cell research)
What a shame that these people have become a 2008 campaign issue, gotta give credit to the husband for not totally losing it by this point (I mean, if the Canadian Senate was voting on how I specifically had to run MY OWN AFFAIRS I think all bets would be off)
 
  • #29
The moral of the story:

Get a written living will. Have it recognized legally, and make sure you go over it with friends and family, so nobody is surprised by your decision.
 
  • #30
Mabudon, I agree. Plus... your signature makes no sense whatsoever. I love it.
 
  • #31
I agree with Capslock. It is a tragic situation no matter how you look at it. But personally I agree with taking the feeding tube out and letting her die. Human euthanasia would be the best solution but unfortunately that is not an option. It SHOULD be. We take better care of and show more empathy to our pets in that situation than we do our human loved ones.

It is always going to be terribly painful to lose someone we love no matter how it happens...fast or slow. But she made her wishes known to her husband as well as a few others. He is trying to carry out her wishes. Her parents are trying to cling to her...not wanting to let her go. But they are not honoring HER wishes. I don't think her husband wants money. I think he wants his wife to have the peace she asked for. There may be greater things waiting for her if she could be free of her physical body to move on.

I do not ever want to be in that situation. I have told everybody I know that I never want to be put on life support permanently. When there is NO chance to have what constitutes a decent life...let me go! Why sustain a physical body when there is no mind to go with it? That's not "life" to me.

Its holding you captive in a world that's between living and dying. Maybe one day we will advance enough to allow ourselves to choose life or death in situations of PVS or excrutiating terminal illness.
 
  • #32
OH! besides... the husband was offered a MILLION DOLLARS if he let the custody on the parents and he refused. I'm sure it's not the money.
 
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