Welcome to "A Certain Slant of Light"
You really get off on pain, don't you? Evidently in order to earn one's way into Heaven, one must suffer as much as possible.
Additionally, isn't a dependence on machinery to maintain even the slightest semblance of humanity the most degrading act possible? You're advocating her dehumanization.
actively supporting the deaths of over 100,000 Iraqi civilians hardly makes you "pro-life".
Get over yourself.
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[Continued...]
However, if there are records from the 1990-1993 time period showing that therapy would have helped Terri recover, then this means that Michael Schiavo has slowly been killing Terri for the past 12 years.
This case needs to be looked at in full, not just in terms of Terri's condition in 2005. The question should be, what was Terri's condition in 1993, when Michael Schiavo started denying her therapy? Could she have been rehabilitated? When that question is answered, we will know whether Terri has been forced by her parents to slowly suffer for the past 12 years or has been slowly killed by Michael Schiavo for the past 12 years.
I enjoyed this post. Very well written.
Reading the comments by Mr. Miller, I find myself thinking about the differences between the people who are advocating for Michael Schiavo and those advocating for Terri Schiavo. As was stated in the post, Michael Schiavo has been denying therapy for Terri since 1991, a year after her collapse. In April of 1991, she was diagnosed as "improving." Then, in February of 1993, 3 months after winning $1+ Million in malpractice suits, Michael Schiavo started his efforts to have Terri Schiavo die. Some say that he denied therapy since 1991, others since 1993.
I think the focus of the debate needs to be on the same time period: 1990-1993. If there are records from doctors during that time period, especially in 1993, which show that Terri was beyond help and therapy and rehabilitation would not have improved her condition, then the parents have caused their daughter to slowly suffer for the past 12 years.
However, if there are records fr
It's late. I'm tired of arguing with a guy who doesn't want to look at what caring people who listened to days of testimony (by doctors and Terri's family and friends) in court decided. Good luck and check out
http://abstractappeal.com/schiav...o/
infopage.html
If I told my wife that I didn't want to go on living if my cerebral cortex was gone and I couldn't think... I wouldn't want Jeb Bush and his government lawyers hijacking my decision. I wouldn't want bloggers forcing their beliefs on me... or launching attacks on her after she'd given me care and therapy for years.
And that's what you're doing.
Terri isn't capable of conscious thought. Terri's parents' doctors don't dispute this, but claim new therapies could improve her condition. In 2 trials, the court found such claims of potential improvement meritless.
Michael believes Terri would not have wanted to be kept alive in this brain-degenerated condition by a surgically implanted tube. He is apparently willing to continue his fight to achieve her wish despite ridicule, expense, and threats. I wouldn't wish her present state on a murderer and you shouldn't either.
I'm not talking about shooting her for heaven's sakes. I was alluding to the movie, "They Shoot Horses Don't They." Look it up. Let me be clearer. Convicted murderers are not put to death in such a fashion, nor are euthanized animals.
Please don't twist my words. I'm talking about not connecting someone in a persistent vegetative state whose cerebral cortexes has been destroyed by lack of oxygen to life support.
You're the one talking about shooting her.
I really recommend seeking information from all sides, including this Florida law blog following Terri's story.
http://abstractappeal.com/schiav...o/
infopage.html
BEN,
The parents or the brother (I'm not sure about Terri's sister) are willing to do just that -- assume legal guardianship and see to it that she is fed and hydrated and cared for. If what you say is true, it still doesn't confer the right to have her die through starvation and dehydration. My God, they shoot horses don't they?
To finish off the interrupted previous quote "Also, she clearly does not consistently respond to her mother. The court finds that based on the credible evidence, cognitive function would manifest itself in a constant response to stimuli"
whatever you believe about this matter, you should see why an edited tape of Terri Schiavo smiling and her gaze following the Mickey balloon isn't the whole story. Check out this florida law blog for more info.
http://abstractappeal.com/schiav...o/
infopage.html
(In hearing testimony from five physicians (two for Michael, two for Terri's parents, and one independent), the court concluded that there was no convincing evidence that Terri was capable of any conscious thought;)
"At first blush, the video of Terry Schiavo appearing to smile and look lovingly at her mother seemed to represent cognition. This was also true for how she followed the Mickey Mouse balloon held by her father. The court has carefully viewed the videotapes as requested by counsel and does find that these actions were neither consistent nor reproducible. For instance, Terry Schiavo appeared to have the same look on her face when Dr. Cranford rubbed her neck. Dr. Greer testified she had a smile during his (non-videoed) examination. Also, Mr. Schindler tried several more times to have her eyes follow the Mickey Mouse balloon but without success. Also, she clearly does not consistently respond to her mother. The court finds that based on the credible evidence, cognitive fu
Thank God I don't live in Florida where the government decides when and how to allow people die!
Your link to the lawyers letter to Michael made it really clear that he has nothing to gain from forcing Terri to remain hooked to the machines -- it convinced me that he's gone through Jeb Bush's gauntlet of lawyers only because he wanted to see Terri's wishes followed.
From the 2003 Florida 2nd District Court Appeal:
"Over the span of this last decade, Theresa's brain has deteriorated because of the lack of oxygen it suffered at the time of the heart attack. By mid 1996, the CAT scans of her brain showed a severely abnormal structure. At this point, much of her cerebral cortex is simply gone and has been replaced by cerebral spinal fluid. Medicine cannot cure this condition. Unless an act of God, a true miracle, were to recreate her brain, Theresa will always remain in an unconscious, reflexive state, totally dependent upon others to feed her and care for her most privat
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