Originally posted by Adam_PoE
If Terri Schiavo expressed to her husband that she does not want to be sustained artificially in a persistent vegetative state, it does not matter if her parents are willing to take on the responsibility of her long-term care; She does not want to be kept alive that way.
Well thats the way things are supposed to work but in reality it doesnt happen that way. Even if you sign 500 differnet living wills, durable power of attorney, etc.. and tell everyone you know that if you are ina vegetative state you do NOT want to be kept alive, all it takes is ONE person close to the situation to object and the docs wont do it.. like i said before, they dont wanna get sued so they just dont honor the wishes of the patient as a preemptive strike against litigation.. I am a nurse and have seen this many times.....
Originally posted by bilb
Wow that is awful.. I dont think you can really know what you would do until you are actually in that situation but if it were me, I probably would pull the plug. I have lost a child & know how gut wrenching it is, but at leasr my baby died in his sleep with no suffering. Seems like seeing your infant child being hooked up to all that would be too much to bear. But then again, I cannot imagine having to sign that paper to remove life support. What an awful choice to have to make.. Your friends have my sympathy and my prayers..
the sad reminder she will be having is the ceaserean scar as Page passd away naturally . meh life is life 🙁
Article by the Associated PressPinellas Park, FL - The feeding tube for Terry Schiavo, a seriously brain-damaged woman, was removed Friday, her husband's attorney told NBC News, after a protracted battle between Michael Schiavo and the woman's parents, who argued for her to remain alive.
The move came after a Florida judge rejected last-minute requests from Republican leaders in Congress on Friday to again delay the removal of the feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo alive.
Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer said he saw no reason to change his earlier ruling allowing Schiavo's husband to remove her feeding tube as early as 1 p.m. ET Friday. The tube has been removed twice in the past and then reinserted as the battle continued.
A congressional committee on Friday issued subpoeanos to Terri Schiavo, her husband, parents and caregivers in an attempt to stall the removal of the tube.
"I have had no cogent reason why the committee should intervene," Greer told attorneys in a conference call, adding that last-minute action by Congress does not invalidate years of court rulings.
Greer ordered that the tube be removed immediately, in keeping with Michael Schiavo's request.
Attorneys seeking to block the removal vowed to appeal, and Republicans in Congress could try a new tack by passing a narrowly written law to block removal of Schiavo's tube.
The Republican-controlled Senate health committee earlier Friday requested that Schiavo and her husband appear at a hearing March 28 on health care for "non-ambulatory persons." The move to include Terri Schiavo, who is in a vegetative state, was meant to block the removal of her tube, at least until the congressional hearing is held.
In a press release, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, himself a doctor, noted that federal law "protects witnesses called before official Congressional committee proceedings from anyone who may obstruct or impede a witness' attendance or testimony."
"The Republican-controlled Senate health committee earlier Friday requested that Schiavo and her husband appear at a hearing March 28 on health care for "non-ambulatory persons." The move to include Terri Schiavo, who is in a vegetative state, was meant to block the removal of her tube, at least until the congressional hearing is held.
In a press release, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, himself a doctor, noted that federal law "protects witnesses called before official Congressional committee proceedings from anyone who may obstruct or impede a witness' attendance or testimony."
Now that is one of the DUMBEST things I have ever heard. Why bother with a court system at all if you are just gonna try & get around it when you dont like the verdict?
Article by the Associated PressPinellas Park, FL - Lying in her hospice bed with a crowd of protesters gathering outside, Terri Schiavo stopped receiving nourishment through a feeding tube that has kept her alive for more than a decade.
Doctors removed the tube Friday despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to use the subpoena powers of Congress to keep the brain-damaged woman alive.
Schiavo, 41, could linger one to two weeks, provided no one intercedes and gets the tube reinserted — something that has happened twice before.
Activists arrested
But activists kept a vigil for Schiavo, while congressional Republicans and her parents’ lawyers promised to go on fighting for her life as she spent her first full day Saturday without food and water.
Three men, led by anti-government activist James Gordon “Bo” Gritz, were arrested on misdemeanor trespassing charges after trying to enter the hospice Saturday with bread and water to give Schiavo. Although she cannot eat or drink, supporters of keeping her alive said the move had symbolic value.
“A woman is being starved to death, and I have to do something,” said Brandi Swindell, 28, from Boise, Idaho. “There are just certain things that you have to do, that you have to try.”
Article by the Associated PressCrawford, TX - As Terri Schiavo’s mother pleaded for help from politicians Saturday and her brain-damaged daughter spent her first day without a feeding tube, congressional leaders announced agreement on legislation they said would allow Teri Shiavo to resume being fed.
“We laugh together, we cry together, we smile together, we talk together,” Mary Schindler told reporters as supporters maintained a vigil outside the hospice where her daughter is cared for. “Please, please, please save my little girl.”
President Bush will return to the White House on Sunday to be in place to sign emergency legislation that would shift the case of a brain-damaged Florida woman to federal courts, the White House said Saturday.
"Everyone recognizes that time is important here," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
'The fight is not over'
Republican leaders said they had struck a deal on legislation aimed at allowing Shiavo to resume being fed while a federal court decides the right-to-die battle between her parents and her husband.
"We think we have found a solution" to the Terri Schiavo case, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said at a Capitol Hill news conference.
"I'm pleased to announce that House and Senate Republican leadership have reached an agreement on a legislative solution," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said a few hours later at the start of a brief Senate session.
"Under the legisltion we will soon consider Terry Schiavo will have another chance," said Frist.
"We are confident this compromise addresses everyone's concerns, we are confident it will provide Mrs. Schiavo a clear and appropriate avenue for appeal in federal court, and most importantly, we are confident this compromise will restore nutrition and hydration to Mrs. Schiavo as long as that appeal endures," DeLay said.
Final approval was hoped for Sunday when the House planned to meet in a special session, he said.
President Bush, who has said he favors a “presumption of life” for Schiavo, has said he would sign the bill into law as soon as it reached him. Schiavo, 41, could linger for one or two weeks if the tube is not reinserted — as has happened twice before.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7212079/page/2/
Gah!! I HATE POLITICIANS!!! 😠 😠 😠
Originally posted by WindDancer
What I don't understand is why is the husband so anxious to remove the tube? I can understand some of his reasons, but him and his family want this to be done as quickly as possible. Something is not right in this case......hmmm....
Exactly. Who says the woman wants to die? The husband. Who's already remarried with kids. Something isn't right. The woman can communicate with her parents using blinking. Her parents says she wants to live. The husband says she wants to die. The court can't ask the woman because they deem her unfit to rationally understand the consequnces of her actions. Her cognitive awareness is completely disarrayed. Her brain is on the fritz. "Yes" can mean "No" to her. She can't make sense of information that is too complex.
Removing the feeding tube is downright wrong. They are literally starving a woman to death. A conscious and aware woman is starving to death. A VERY painful death. This isn't the way. Something is not right in this case.
"The temptation toward euthanasia appears as one of the most alarming symptoms of the culture of death," the Holy Father said. He decried "the secular mentality which has no respect of life, especially when it is weak.
Originally posted by Draco69
Exactly. Who says the woman wants to die? The husband. Who's already remarried with kids. Something isn't right. The woman can communicate with her parents using blinking. Her parents says she wants to live. The husband says she wants to die. The court can't ask the woman because they deem her unfit to rationally understand the consequnces of her actions. Her cognitive awareness is completely disarrayed. Her brain is on the fritz. "Yes" can mean "No" to her. She can't make sense of information that is too complex.Removing the feeding tube is downright wrong. They are literally starving a woman to death. A conscious and aware woman is starving to death. A VERY painful death. This isn't the way. Something is not right in this case.
Terri Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery for the past 15 years, a state that she expressed to her husband that she would not want to live in.
Michael Schiavo may have moved forward with his life, but this does not mean that he still does not love his wife and want her wishes to be carried out.
And while it is noble of the parents to be willing to be responsible for her long-term care, it goes against her wishes.
THis is getting massive press up here. Its the main headline up here in Canada. Anyways i think the feeding tube should be taken out if the state court said it could. I don't undertsand why such high level people are getting involved. They have bigger issues to worry about and i bet a whole huge "bruha ha" will develop from this.
Terri Schiavo's case (fair of unfair?)
For those of you who do not know what the Terri Schiavo's case is it's a woman who people say is in a vegitative state. Her husband recently had her feeding tube removed and is starving her to death. Her husband refuses to sign her over to the custody of her parents and he even turned down a million dollar offer from a generous man. I think her case is unfair. If you have any comments please post them here.
Originally posted by Draco69
Her wishes are unclear. The husband says she wants to die. The parents and several nurses say she wants to live. It's in the air.The husband is on thin ice. He had to pay for 15 years of medical care. Who's to say that he wants his wife to die so that he can stop paying for the medical treatment?
If he did not want to be responsible for paying for her medical treament, he could have divorced her long before now.
If he did not want to be responsible for paying for her medical treatment, he could have allowed her parents to take over the responsibility long before now.
If it is simply a matter of not being responsible for paying her medical bills or her long-term care, responsibilities that her family is willing to take on, why would he object?
i think it is totally unfair and the husband is a creep.
first he filed a lawsuit to get a bunch of money to support her and now he is trying to kill her and get a bunch of insurance money.
Terri is obviously not in a vegitative state; she can laugh and almost make out words and you can see reactions in her face- she is not on any sort of resporator, she just needs a feeding tube because she cant feed herself.
I heard on the radio today about a story involving terri in the news.
there was an attorney talking with terri at one time- she was quoted in an article- she asked terri if she could just say the words " I want to live"
Terri tried desperately but she could only say I waaaa.
After that she looked very frusterated to the attorney.
I'll see if I can find the story for posting.