Has anybody followed or read about the Terry Schiavo case here in Fla? When is enough enough! This woman is in a vegative state and has been there for thirteen years. Her husband says that she never wanted to live like this and her parents want her to be kept alive to be rehabilitated(which can't be done). IMO the parents are being selfish wanting to keep her alive in this condition. Would you want to keep keep a loved one alive all this time even though they are beyond rehabilitation?



Here is the latest on it http://www.msnbc.com/news/983619.asp?0cv=CB20&cp1=1

 

I completely agree with you. What a sad situation.

It's also sad to see our Gov. Bush stepping in someplace he does NOT belong. Why do we even need a court system. Lets cut out the middle man and just go ask Jeb.

I prepared living wills several year ago because there's no way I would want to go through the rest of my life like that and I also don't want to burden my loved one's with decisions on my life.

 

Totally disagree that the government should have the right to determine life or death of any person in a vegative state. When I read the article, there was no possibility of the woman ever responding to 'rehabilitation'. The parents based their case on motor reactions of an arm, finger, etc. being signs of rehabilitation. She's brain dead and became fodder for political spin.

We've had living wills in place for a number of years. Not only is the mental anguish of a loved one being subjected to that burden an issue, the financial aspect would quickly wipe out any family. Health insurance policies have caps, and then the family has to pay. The cost per day is scary. As I recall, hospitals won't just pull the plug due to possible liability issues.

For those of you in this litigious society who don't have a trust with a living will attached, get it done. Even if your sole asset is home equity, a trust and living will are the only protection you can mount against the hoards of lawyers out there who are after every cent they can wring out of disasters.

 

well...I guess I'm on the other side of the fence on this one and I know you guys are gonna chew me a new one, but she is still living...even if it is with help....and what a cruel way to go starving to death? I myself would HATE to live on life support for more than a couple of days, but at the same time I cannot imagine STARVING someone to death. They pulled out a feeding tube a week ago and were just gonna wait til she passed....that is more inhumane than leaving her on it in my opinion.

 

So your horse falls down a hill and breaks both front legs. You are miles away from help, and the horse is suffering miserably. You love this horse so much that it hurts to see him suffer, so what would you do? Most people would kill him, to end the misery.
That's considered humane.
Transpose a similar scenario onto a human case, and the Shiavo case is the PERFECT example. No such thing as "humane" in this case. What's the point of keeping her alive?
Euthanizing a suffering horse is humane, but euthanizing a suffering human is murder? That's a joke, man, especially when that person is a vegetable.
I wonder who is saddled with the bills for all of this. I bet it's not the parents! See, they're ruining 2 lives by their actions: Terry is suffering, and her husband is financially and emotionally ruined. Now he'll have to wait many more years to get on with HIS life. I feel worse for him than I do for her, really.
BDV

 

George - good point on the cost and the caps on medical insurance. I wonder if this girls parents, who so selfishly want to keep her alive, are paying for her 13 years medical care. I very seriously doubt it.


Living Wills - A couple important things to mention; the Living Will needs to be easily accessible; someone else also needs to know where it is; and be open with all of your immediate family as to your wishes.

If you want a "do-not-rescusitate" clause in your Living Will, you almost need to carry it with you all the time. Once they bring you back, it's a crap shoot. It's not like they can just pull a plug to let you go again.

Several years ago, a good friend's father had a Living Will with the "do-not-rescusitate" clause but since he wasn't at home when he had a massive stroke, the paramedics did their job and kept him alive. Once he was released from the hospital, almost completely paralized and unable to talk, he was visably angry all the time. When she or her mom would go to feed him, he'd use his arm that he could move to slap them away. This battle went on for almost 3 years until he finally passed away.

Maybe we should have our Living Will implanted on a chip under our skin and require all medical personnel to carry scanners. Kinda like the chip they put in my dog in case he gets lost.

I know it's a morbid subject, but I don't want the quality of my life or the devastation something like this would be to my family left in the hands of my state Governor, Jeb Bush!!!!

 

I agree that keeping her alive may not be the best situation for all involved....I agree that the quality of her life will never be good. I agree that her family could possibly be suffering more by keeping her alive than letting her go. And I agree with your horse scenario except....if a horse is suffering you end his misery quickly by shooting him. this is not the case. The pulled her FEEDING tube...which means that she is going to lay there and starve to death....not quick by any means...a long, slow, painful death. THAT IS NO JOKE.....THAT IS WRONG!

 

Brain dead? Still living? Inhumane? As I recall, you're a believer. Look at it in terms of her spirit having already left the physical mass and please define why you advocate perpetuating the physical remains with technology. And for how long? And is there any consideration for her husband, who knew her and knew she wouldn't want this when her brain was still functioning? Is he, as her mate, to be denied fulfilling her wishes?

 

Most posting on this agree that we should have the right to end our own lives whenever and however we wish. I am fully competent to judge when I am ready to leave this life. And no legal scribbler is going to tell me I can't end it when I want to. In this girl's situation, however, she can't make the call.

We've all heard this regarding euthanasia: "We treat our pets better than we treat our loved ones."

I believe that. Assisting someone to end a life humanely gets you twenty to life; ask Kervorkian. It's our own fault as a society that people have to draw fine disticntions between helping someone die humanely and depriving them of the artifical means they need to stay alive.

I say pull the tube and let her go.

 

The Florida Legislature passed a Bill (responding to Fl. residents) defending the Constitutional protection of life. This gave the Govenor (no matter who he/she is) the responsibility to act on that Statute. Then, Gov. Bush did as expected under Fl. law --- he acted lawfully and promptly to preserve a living person' life.

Side Bar: The denial of food and fluids in less publicized cases taking place daily in nursing homes and hospitals across America.

Across this Nation daily, many unexpecting persons are being "disconnected" for reasons other than their own and other State Legislatures are looking at proposed legislation to protect those lives too. [Not a Jeb thing]

Had Terri a Living Will in place, any current legislation could not have stopped her death. Again following the Law, not Michael's hear-say.

Check this out... Michael's butt may now be in big trouble!

The Florida Criminal Code, Title 46, Chapter 825 Section 102, defines "neglect" as:

"A caregiver's failure or omission to provide an elderly person or disabled adult with the care, supervision and services necessary to maintain the elderly person's or disabled adult's physical and mental health, including, but not limited to, food, nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine and medical services that a prudent person would consider essential for the well-being of the elderly person or disabled adult."

Hot Potato: The violation is a felony punishable by both fine and imprisonment. There is no exception in the statute for denial of food or nutrition under a court order, and the Schindler family believes Schiavo's actions have given them new and better grounds to have him removed for the alleged criminal act.

My Concern: Who are we to say, people who can't make their own health care decisions would not want to continue receiving food and fluids as long as the feeding tube would sustain life?

Laws are in place because we put them in place --- enforcement is assuring us the system is in place and functioning as designed.

So really what you are asking is... "If Terri had a Living Will in place directing all to let her die, would she be alive today?", NOPE.

I believe --- all acted accordingly to protect a living person who may not wish to die. No one knows what is going on with Terri's desires ... really, take a deep breath, place the name of a person you love in the picture (with no Living Will in place) and ask ... what if?

Michael will just have to wait a while longer to collect insurance proceeds for her death, now won't he!

 

if it was me that was in that position, i wouldnt want my family to keep me there, i wouldnt want them to have to pay to keep me alive when nothing would be how it used to be. i would rather they spend the money on things they needed to survive, like clothes, food, bills... and pull the plug on me.

 

I'm not saying I have the perfect answer at all....If she's still living then her spirit is still here. and as I said above I don't advocate making her or anyone else suffer by keeping her on....but I don't advocate pulling the feeding tube and letting her starve to death. I'm not real sure what the best answer for everyone involved is....but she could go for weeks without the food and just suffer ....talk about a terrible way to go. yes, he should be able to fulfill her wishes in certain cases. I know this is a very touchy subject and everyone wonders about the people that have to suffer along side the dying, but isn't that included in for better or worse? I hope I or my wife never have to be faced with such a choice, but whether I am or not, I am committed to the relationship I have and will be til death do us part.

 

What's more painful, the thought of your loved ones changing your diapers and bed pans. Going financially broke and having your loved ones lives ruined and put on hold. The thought that maybe she wanted to be taken off life support according to her husband, and that's not being followed.
Or taking out the feeding tube and letting her waste away in a matter of weeks or less. Because lets face it, if she is a vegetable she's not feeling anything anyway. She is technically brain dead, there will be reflexive motor activity, just like a spider or a bee twitchs his legs after being smashed. But she is gone and can't feel a thing, letting her starve doesn't hurt her, she doesn't feel anything. The only ones it hurts to let her starve is her parents and love ones. Let her go, it's the humane thing to do.......

 

To add some input on pulling the feeding tube being a long, slow, painful death.......It's not . They interviewed a doctor when this first happened and he said that in her condition she would get weak and basically would go to sleep.

I will also add that there is NO money left to take care of her. So what happens now! The state pays and when the state pays we pay it comes out of our taxes.

 

I would consider the first 7 years he stood by her in her vegitative state before making the decision to pull the plug (so to speak) as fulfilling the "til death do us part" thing. He could have just as easily have petitioned the courts for a divorce.

As for the life insurance thing, this woman's now 39, less the 13 years she's been in this condition would have made her 26. I don't know many 26 year olds that have the foresite to purchase life insurance. I also have not read or heard of any such policy being in existance.

If this thing doesn't get overturned, I think that mommy & daddy should take over full legal & financial custody and let them foot the bill. Let them spend their life savings to keep her.