Terri Schiavo: Life, Death, Politics and Living Wills

[pzarquon]

Schiavo's Feeding Tube Is Removed (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46505-2005Mar18.html)
The removal came after a dramatic sequence of legal feints that began Friday morning when the House Government Reform Committee issued subpoenas to Schiavo, a woman who has been unable to speak for 15 years; her husband, Michael Schiavo; and several doctors and employees of her hospice, ordering them to appear at a congressional hearing March 25. Then, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee formally invited Michael and Terri Schiavo to testify on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's statement pointedly noted that it is a federal crime for anyone to interfere with a person's testimony before Congress.
Terri's situation, on its own, is a tragedy. The battle between her husband and her parents is tragic. The attempted intervention of politicians, however, is just abhorrent. I thought Florida lawmakers passing a law specifically to reinsert her feeding tube was ridiculous. Now folks in D.C. are trying to get into the act. Terri and her entire family is now just one big political football, and it's disgusting.

The attempt by Republicans in Congress to use this one family's conflict to make points among the fringe right (talking points being passed around rejoice in this being an uncomfortable topic for Democrats and a good way to fire up the base) is almost certain to backfire. A huge majority of Americans, including a good majority of evangelical Christians, side with the spouse (http://abcnews.go.com/US/PollVault/story?id=583661) in right to die cases.

No matter what you think about the Schiavo case, the whole fiasco is the best reminder any of us ever need to set up an advance directive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_will). Leave no ambiguity as to your wishes should you end up in Terri's position.

[Linkmeister]

You watched the same network news show I did. Those talking points are beyond repulsive.

Mel, stop reading now, because I'm about to say something really nasty about Republicans:

they are the slimiest bunch of weasels I've ever seen. Tom Delay was almost gleeful because this fiasco will divert attention from his mounting ethical challenges. He grabbed at it like he was a drowning man.

[1stwahine]

This past week many of the topics hit home and then some. This by far brings back so much memories. My late husband, Conrado died from Lou Gerigh's Disease on Jan. 17, 1997. Watching him deteriorate was agony for my children and I but it was better to have him than not have him at all. There is no pain from Lou Gerigh's they say, there is pain from what his secondary diagnosis was ( Pneumonia) which stemmed from the primary one. He had a trech and a feeding tube to help him with his breathing and to give him the nutrients to stay alive. It was not his, mine or anyone's decision to end his life...it was GOD and GOD alone as we know him.

It is imperative that everyone young and old have some form of Living Will in place...no matter if rich or poor. I know that I am guilty of many times trying and having thoughts of suicide...today, I know that I need my medications for without I may succeed and my life is not of mine to end.

I plan to live, I plan to continue dreaming, I plan to achieve my goals and more. I plan to grow old and watch my grandson and future granchildren grow into productive and caring adults too. However, if I should be in a similar situation like "Terri Schiavo," I hope and pray nobody takes out my feeding tube and let me die an agonizing death by starvation! :mad:

[Miulang]

Poor Tom DeLay. Not only is he a crook, but he's now a delusional one, too! He says Terri Schiavo, prior to having her feeding tube disconnected (but NOT removed, as some reports have stated), was alive and not on life support. Well, I think having a stomach tube to receive nutrients IS life support. He says, "she's alive, just like me..." A radio talk show host retorted on air, "Yeah, he's (DeLay) just as brain dead, too".

The legal wrangling between the families and the Republican right wingers will definitely create embarrassment for the Republican party. The Dems have been way too silent about this issue. They need to step up to the plate and say that this issue, if it has to go beyond the family, should be resolved by the State Supreme Court of FL. The US Supreme Court has already stated that it doesn't want to usurp the States' rights to determine the issue. Jeb Bush has no more power to restore the feeding tube.

What's also missing from the argument is the fact that Terry Schiavo will die from dehydration before she starves to death. It's a scientific fact that people can survive without food for months, but they will only last for a few weeks (if that) if deprived of water. When her electrolytes go wacky due to dehydration, she will no longer feel pain (if she even does now) and will lapse into a coma.

If her husband had been as mercenary as his opponents would like to make us believe, why didn't he take the $1 million that was offered by a man to sign away guardianship back to her parents? Why do her parents and family believe they "know her better" than her husband?

Even if Michael Schiavo waived the right to guardianship, whoever the next guardian was would still have to follow the court's ruling, which at this moment means no feeding via the gastic tube.

If only one good thing comes out of all of this, it's that everyone should realize that they need to have a living will (at the very least) so your family knows what you want done ahead of time if you can't make that decision yourself.

Miulang

[Albert]

I can't believe anyone would want to be kept alive by machines for fifteen years. But I do think it is HORRIFIC to make the woman die from thirst and starvation.

Just give her some chemical which will quickly and painlessly let her move on to whatever comes next.

[pzarquon]

Strange, is it not, that through Living Wills, one could make abundantly clear to family, friends, and the world at large, "I do not wish to be sustained by machines." Yet, even though one can do that, one cannot specifically specify, "I wish to be put out of my misery." Nope, if you had the will and ability to do it with a shotgun, more power to you, but if you're helpless and gone to the world, your body has to be allowed to deteriorate and expire over as long a period as possible, to extend whatever pain you might feel, and the pain of your loved ones.

God bless America, I tell ya.

[Karen]

In light of current ranglings on Terry, this interview is a huge deal!

This is a partial transcript from The O'Reilly Factor, November 5, 2003

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the Back of the Book segment tonight, the parents of Terri Schiavo are hoping for a miracle. Their daughter has been in a vegetative state for 13 years, as you know. Ms. Schiavo's husband wants her to die, and so do many in the State of Florida.

But listen to this. In 1995, Kate Adamson was in a similar position. She was in a vegetative state after suffering a stroke.

For almost 70 days, she was totally unresponsive. Doctors finally pulled her feeding tube. And, for eight days, she was dying.

Then Ms. Adamson began responding on her own. Doctors quickly put the feeding tube back in, and she recovered.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,102388,00.html

[Karen]

Sorry admin, and thanks for fixing the article. The link doesn't work, but I know this woman's story is found at many sites, when her name is googled, thanks to her writing a book about her ordeal, an ordeal where she was even operated on with little or no anesthesia, as it was said she was brain dead, when in fact the opposite was true, she says she was paralyzed in a unique way, being totally aware and mind very intelligently even knowing what she wanted to say, but couldn't say it. She says when her feeding tube was taken out, she was wanting to yell how hungry she was, etc. Schiavo may be experiencing precisely what this woman did. I hope many readers will find and read the entire story, it is so powerful, and sounds almost identical to Schiavo's condition.

[pzarquon]

Kate's story is inspiring, but it's hardly comparable to Terri's case (though it's an inevitable one, and will surely sell more books!). Kate had a stroke, and was paralyzed. Terri's brain was starved of oxygen, and her cerebral cortex has basically disintegrated (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7257835/). Ironically, while Terri may very well appear more responsive than Kate could have been in her condition, there was a lot more going on inside Kate's head than there's been in Terri's for sixteen years.

People come out of comas, and maybe, miracles happen. But beyond that, the larger question is, who makes the call when you can't make it yourself? Funny that the same people who argue passionately for marriage as a sacred institution and a fundamental partnership to life would argue againstspousal rights when it affords the opportunity to score political points.

Further still, this is a judicial call, and at the state level at that, and for President Bush to be making speeches and signing last-minute legislation over one family's Florida court case is ridiculous.

[Glen Miyashiro]

I thought it was depressingly ironic and hypocritical that Bush would say that...

In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. This presumption is especially critical for those like Terri Schiavo who live at the mercy of others. I appreciate the bipartisan action by the Members of Congress to pass this bill. I will continue to stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans, including those with disabilities....while having vigorously boosted the death penalty while governor of Texas. Can't have it both ways, Shrub. :mad:

[1stwahine]

All this going on and my MAMA got on my case regarding her own wishes and whatever else needs to be finalized in case the Lord (our belief) comes for her. I always seem to prolong the effort basically cause I hate to face the reality of her dying.

:( Tomarrow, MAMA and I go to update and finalize what "she wants." Unlike me, she doesn't want to be living off any machine. My reason, is not to prolong my life if I'm a veggie. For the simple, yet, comical reason that I love food. I don't want to starve to death nor the feel the pain. If they can prove that I'm braindead (kimo, shat-up)...pull the sucka outta me and let me go in peace.

I pray that like my late husband, I will get a glimpse of heaven and tell them I was on my way. When I got there...I'd say, "Let's PARTY!" :D
(come'on everybody, smile). This topic is depressing, visualize auntie lynn causing havoc in heaven) Gaurens, they send me back down with a beautiful body and whateva's).

I know that if anything happens to my MAMA, all kakas gonna hit the wall. But like the wise MAMA I got, she said, "you got the papers to shov'em up their noses". :p

[Karen]

Pzarquon,

what may be comparable is what Terry may be suffering inside. There are docs that say she's a veggie, & docs that say she isn't. More about this story seems to come out daily, since this is such a huge issue. There was a video of Terry a few years ago that made it onto local Florida tv, when it airs, three separate & individual doctors contacted her parents, insistent she isn't a veggie & wanted to help their case, terry's dad took them each, separately, to see & evaluate Terry, & all 3 signed afidavits that Terry's condition isn't braind dead, but brain damaged, severely of course.

Soon as that happened, then....Terry's hubby ordered no visitors allowed but he & her family, he isolated her, not letting her have access to other areas of the home, like a consoling jacuzzi, nor any activities of the home. why?! Why do her parents suspicion him from the time she passed out? Why are they quoted as saying they think he may have choked her, causing this?!

Kate A. was diagnosed by docs, not just one doc as being a veggie too, with no hope of recovery! Saying nonchelantly that she just had a stroke sounds like she wasn't such a severe case, as she was. She speaks of this as a paralysis way above typical, as one medicine hasn't figured out, nor can often diagnosis it properly.

There is plenty of reason for us to think Terry may be experiencing what Kate did, inside, moaning on the outside, with perfectly formed words and ideas on the inside of what she is trying to get her body to cooperate, and SAY.

Note the loving, caring and dedicated hubby that Kate had, compared to Terry's! Terry's is damn determined to keep control, and his timing of some of his orders are suspicious. There's a report that he told her care takers to stop treating her bed sores! What on earth, except he must have hoped THAT would kill her, since he wasn't getting away with starving her. Were she hooked up to "life support" machines, her body not able to live on its own, that'd be a totally different case. But it isn't! She is being deprived of the one thing that you and I must have, to live, and it's the only thing she needs to live that she doesn't have.

Since I, like the prez, believe we have souls that meet our maker some day, life is sacred because once we leave the body, we face an eternity based on judgement. Kate prayed and Kate is fine. Terry may be inside praying, we do not know. Clearly, doctors misdiagnose this state of illness they do not yet understand fully. Err on the side of life, on the safe side, yes, especially in a situation with so much confusion, suspicion and a timeline of things that do look questionable. We've had so many cases of hubbies killing wives in the news, this sure as hell could be, may be one of them.

[Karen]

Pzarquon, you said "Funny that the same people who argue passionately for marriage as a sacred institution and a fundamental partnership to life would argue againstspousal rights when it affords the opportunity to score political points."

You seem to forget or ignore something very basic to this case, making it not funny at all. Terry's spouse isn't being a spouse to her at all, per family values. He has two children by another woman!! I believe he is living with that woman, being her common-law hubby right now. Therefore, it isn't funny because we same people that you allude to aren't being strange, funny or hypocritical. Mr. Shiavo has given up his rights to be respected or thought of as a parnter in a sacred institution, and his "fundamantal partnership." In fact, he's acting it out with two women, while not not being a true partner to either, per we same peoples' views.

[pzarquon]

Ah, yes, if you're stymied in the courts, go to the court of public opinion, and jump straight to character assassination. There's also the story that he beat her and is trying to kill her to cover it up (bulimia led to her heart attack, the inadequate treatment of which has already been established in the courts). I'm sure he's a puppy-kicking, tailgating, paperclip-stealing meanie, too.

Fact of the matter is, he is rightfully Terri's legal guardian, and until recently, there was no argument over the appropriateness of that at all (which one might expect if his worthiness as a husband was at issue). It's merely a dispute over What Would Terri Want, versus what her husband and her parents want. The state courts are where that debate belongs, and it's been settled more than once - and note that the husband was not the only person who testified that Terri had expressly stated that her wish was not to have her life artificially prolonged.

Remember also that her husband and her parents were allies for several years before her husband concluded the time had come. During the first trial, her husband's devotion was not challenged - he learned skills to take care of her personally and ended up taking a job at a therapist at a hospital nearby, etc. His contention has always been that Terri would want to be put out of her misery, and it is that - and not some unseemly benefit - that he's fighting for. He even allegedly refused payoffs of six (or even seven) figures to walk away.

Besides, even if her husband is a total ass, he was and is her husband. My point was, if you're going to fight for marital privileges, you're going to have to accept all marriages, from true love to Vegas spontenaity. Her husband's standing as Terri's guardian has rightfully been upheld in several courts.

But more importantly, the fact that a personal family dispute, and a question of state law, has been turned into a political football at the highest level of government is just apalling.

The other painful irony this case is highlighting is that all the hand-wringing and wailing about the inhumanity of starving Terri to death is reminding people that this method (or the removal of any life support to wait for natural failure) is the only choice, since physician-assisted death is illegal. If you kill yourself at home with a shotgun, you're in the clear, but if you want it done neatly and painlessly in a controlled environment, you're breaking the law... and even morehilariously, anyone who helps you do it is guilty of murder - and may be put to death!

God bless America, I tell ya.

The judge, even acknowledging "substantial issues concerning the constitutionality" of the federal act, turned down the parents' request (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56022-2005Mar22.html) for the temporary injunction this morning, concluding that there was little chance the parents' case would ultimately succeed. Of course, now the parents are just moving on up to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

At some point, I hope reason prevails... and that the "substantial issues concerning the constitutionality" thus far brushed aside eventually come back to bite Congress in the backside.

[Miulang]

Ironic that when the Prez was Governor of TX, he signed a bill (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRAIN_DAMAGED_WOMAN_TEXAS_LAW?SITE=HIHAD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT) that allowed a hospital review board to determine if the plug was to be pulled on a patient if there was a dispute between members of the patient's family and doctors (if there was no advance directive), and now he wants to get the Legislative Branch of the U.S. government to get involved in something that 20 courts (including the US Supreme Court x2) have said is a state issue?

What the Texas Bill did within the last 2 weeks was cause a badly deformed newborn to be taken off life support (and die) and an elderly terminally ill man to be moved from a hospital to another one.

It is apparent in the Texas cases that the patients and their families (lower income) were being discriminated against because of their economic status.

So the bioethical issue is in the case of life v. death decisions, who is worthy of being kept alive? Only those people and families who have the wealth to fight the decision of doctors and State courts? What happens to poor people who run out of Medicare and Medicaid funding while in terminal care? Are these the ones, who even if they state they want to be kept alive under all circumstances, who end up having their lives terminated anyway for "economic" reasons?

For the "culture of life" people, why aren't you fighting for the rights of the poor people too?

Miulang

[1stwahine]

aloha everyone! i took my mama to update and finalize all her last wishes in the event of her death. it's not something that can be done without crying, that's for sure! the realization of a love one dying and never to be with you again is a wake-up call to what reality is. being the youngest and the one taking care of her is especially hard. last week she almost fell. this past sunday she didn't grumble bout being put into a wheelchair. can you imagine a mentally ill aunty pushing mama in a wheelchair around? i sing and dance and do all sorts of moves...it's fun for her and fun for everybody else around too. yeah, i'm ventilating to you all, cause you are my ohana. :(

please prepare for the inevitable no matter how morbid it may seem to be. once done, one can enjoy life without worrying bout it.

love and aloha,
aunty lynn aka aunty pupule! ;)

[Karen]

Pzarquon,
as for character assassination, why in the world is there a nurse that cared for her for two years, that has SWORN in affidavit, under danger of perjury & jail time, that Terry's hubby wanted her dead, has a temper that he couldn't control with some of the nurses, ordered her to have no therapy, not even a damn jacuzzi like other patients get/got, etc...why is this nurse not afraid of lawsuits from the hubby?! She's on radio and tv, speaking out today, is not personal friends with the parents, etc, just doing what she thinks right. WHY are there three docs that aren't personally associated, that after seeing Terry on video, one that's not allowed to be showed anymore, the three individually signed sworn affidavits that she's not veggie state? Could it be true?

You said "Besides, even if her husband is a total ass, he was and is her husband. My point was, if you're going to fight for marital privileges, you're going to have to accept all marriages, from true love to Vegas spontenaity. Her husband's standing as Terri's guardian has rightfully been upheld in several courts." to this, I say....

No, in matters of life and death, we do not have to fight for marital privelege in a marriage where the man is living with another woman, that being common-law marriage, even having kids with her! Your point remains askew.

What is the divorce rate now, over fifty percent? We know the horrors of what brings people to divorce, and it is common sense that with a matter of life and death, we can trust those that brought one into the world, over a mate. In this case...

Michael, Schiavo has another "wife" and family, he has actively prevented trying to help his wife healing, ordering nurses to NOT do any therapy, he has been offered MONEY to hand his wife over to his parents, even by a total stranger, her mom asks him to divorce her instead of cheating on her with his other family, and hand her to them to take care of, being totally free of her, but he won't. HMMMM...very strange, why won't he? With the deterioration of human race, so many hubbies having been proven to kill their wives in modern times, it is not an exaggeration to say that he may have caused her condition just as her parents say, and be working so hard for her to die so she can't TALK, telling on him.

[pzarquon]

why is this nurse not afraid of lawsuits from the hubby?! She's on radio and tv, speaking out today, is not personal friends with the parents, etc, just doing what she thinks right.Because the glow of the media lights is pretty hard to resist? Not sure. I haven't heard this, though. Got a link?
WHY are there three docs that aren't personally associated, that after seeing Terry on video, one that's not allowed to be showed anymore, the three individually signed sworn affidavits that she's not veggie state?Because they haven't thoroughly evaluated Terri's condition, unlike the many medical professionals consulted and put on the stand by both the husband and the parents, and think a video clip qualifies as a medically sound examination? C'mon, Karen, this one's ridiculous. There is in fact very little dispute about Terri's specific condition. The fight the parents are waging are for the miniscule chance of a miraculous recovery.
No, in matters of life and death, we do not have to fight for marital privelege in a marriage where the man is living with another woman, that being common-law marriage, even having kids with her! Your point remains askew.Well, Tom DeLay has expressly stated over the weekend that "right to life" trumps "marital sanctity." Even without bickering over the quality of a marriage, at least this lays right out there the hierarchy of priorities.
he has been offered MONEY to hand his wife over to his parents, even by a total stranger, her mom asks him to divorce her instead of cheating on her with his other family, and hand her to them to take care of, being totally free of her, but he won't.This is a point clear to both sides of the debate. As I noted above, it sounds to me that Michael Schiavo is therefore demonstrably notin it for the money or other nefarious purpose -- he is simply fighting for what he and Terri's close friends have said were her express wishes in the case of requiring life support.
it is not an exaggeration to say that he may have caused her condition just as her parents say, and be working so hard for her to die so she can't TALK, telling on him.It is an exaggeration. Trust me, there have been few specific cases more exhaustively litigated than this one, and the fact that Terri's condition stemmed from an eating disorder is clear as day. In fact, liability was determined for her doctors' failure to appropriately treat that condition.

In any case, Karen, I am curious what your thoughts might be about the legal precedentswe're seeing in this case. Federal intervention in an issue normally left to state courts.

I thought it was interesting that in denying the temporary restraining order (to reinsert the feeding tube) the judge did note that there are serious constitutional problems in what Congress and Bush did. It just so happens that the futility of Terri's case was more clear.

Are we saying, then, that when push comes to shove, depending on your connections or media savvy, you can invoke politics at the highest level of government to undo the work of dozens of judges and experts if the case isn't going your way? For a party that decries big, invasive government, this is pretty problematic.

[Linkmeister]

For a party that decries big, invasive government, this is pretty problematic.

Oh, it's beyond just hypocrisy on the part of the Republicans. It strikes at the very heart of separation of powers at the federal level, as well as federalism itself. By ordering a federal court to take this case and rule on it, Congress has demonstrated that it thinks it's superior to the judiciary branch.

As to federalism, Congress has blatantly taken a case away from the state courts because some of its members didn't like the results that had been handed down over and over again.

There's a good exposition of the constitutional flaws in this case here (http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2005/03/schiavo-and-rule-of-law.html) and further links here (http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2005/03/schiavo_legal_m.html) .

Addendum: The New England Journal of Medicine just weighed in. I have links to its two articles at my place (http://www.linkmeister.com/blog/archives/001304.html).

[pzarquon]

The appeals panel went 2-1 against (http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/23/schiavo/index.html) the parents. It's off to the Supreme Court! Since they've already said no, I'm hoping the response this time is quick and clear.

If Terri can finally be at peace, I'm really curious what the fallout will be. Michael Schiavo will probably be hounded by zealots for the rest of his life. But I wonder if DeLay, Bush, and other high-rollers will begin to regret getting involved. To them, the Schiavo case was new and a hot coattail to ride into the headlines... but to the family and courts, it was a decade-old battle, and I think even Terri's parents - after the camera trucks pull away - will feel just a little bit used.

[Miulang]

We'll see what happens to both sides of the issue when the elections happen in 2006. Florida will be the most interesting case, because I believe there is one Democractic Congressman up for re-election who the Republicans (according to a memo they sent to their fellow Republicans to ensure high attendance at the vote) believe could lose the election because of this issue.

In the State of Washington, we had a Republican congressman voting against the Congressional bill for reconsideration and one Democrat voting for the measure.

Since the majority of people polled in recent weeks clearly favor the discontinuation of the feeding tube, were the Congresspeople who voted for the measure really representing their constituents, or were they voting their conscience, or even more sinisterly, voting to appease the right-to-lifers upon whom they're counting to keep them in office?

Miulang

[pzarquon]

Since the majority of people polled in recent weeks clearly favor the discontinuation of the feeding tube, were the Congresspeople who voted for the measure really representing their constituents, or were they voting their conscience, or even more sinisterly, voting to appease the right-to-lifers upon whom they're counting to keep them in office?That's really the thing confusing me. I'm really making an effort not to immediately presume the most evil of motives. I mean, it was clear from very early on that public sentiment was against federal intervention, or at least, against the continued prolonging of Terri's life. A mixed poll could be seen as a green light, I suppose, but as polling goes, this one was pretty clear: stay out of it, let her husband make the call.

I've listened to several of the speeches on the floor of the House (the Senate side was pathetic, plain and simple), and I earnestly think that a lot of these politicans were going with their gut, their principles, and not their political strategy. It annoys too large a percentage of their constituency to be anything but. So, while I disagree, I can certainly appreciate their convictions. For once, a politician doesn't decide by polls alone.

That said, there are definitely political motives at work in several corners in this issue, and with Bush and DeLay specifically, it's hard to see anything else.

Pandering to the further-right reaches of their base, though, seems to be a pretty big gamble compared to the majority who disagree. Except... well, we thought the further-right reaches were irrelevant in the presidential election, too, and boy were we proven wrong.

[Karen]

Well well, look what miraculously happened Today! Terrywas evaluated/examined by a renowned Mayo Clinic neurologist for NINETY minutes! Hallelujah, look what he found! He was brought in by their childb protective agency, he isn't some "in the bush pocket" dude. Will type think html link, as I learned to not put an entire article here. (proud of me? lol)

darn my html didn't work here! well, it is at this time, the front page story at www.worldnetdaily.com, and should be news everywhere, soon. He found she has been misdiagnosed, and I recall I am allowed to put a paragraph or so from an article, so here is a tiny bit.

"He found her facial expression brightens and she smiles in response to the voice of familiar people such as her parents or her nurse. Her agitation subsides and her facial demeanor softens when quiet music is played. "When jubilant piano music is played, her face brightens, she lifts her eyebrows, smiles, and even laughs." Cheshire said several times he witnessed Schiavo laugh when someone in the room made a humorous comment.

She fixates her gaze on colorful objects and human faces for up to 15 seconds at a time and occasionally follows with her eyes as objects move from side to side. "When I first walked into the room, she immediately turned her head toward me and looked directly at my face. There was a look of curiosity or expectation in her expression, and she maintained eye contact for about half a minute." Cheshire said she also appeared to attempt to speak to him."

Much more at the link.

[pzarquon]

Well, while Terri's parents and the forces mobilized behind them have become experts at last ditch efforts, it shoud still be noted as significant that the Supreme Court has declined to intercede (http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/24/schiavo/index.html), again. Again as in the fifth time Terri's case has been offered up to them.

In a way, I'm disappointed the appeal was simply denied without comment, as again the ridiculous manner in which the case was revived and wrenched from the state courts will give constitutional scholars fits for years to come. Though, perhaps, no comment was the best comment - the matter doesn't even warrant debate, enough is enough.

Terri's parents are still beseeching the Florida state legislature to pass another emergency law... but this time, their goodwill has clearly been exhausted. Lawmakers there are reporting severe blowback from their much-cherished older constituents who are rightfully concerned over government muddling in their end-of-life affairs.

The "surprise witness" in this made for TV drama, the neurologist Karen notes, is all over the place now. And with Pres. Bush suddenly rendered ineffectual, it's clear that the new new strategy is to again attack the Florida state courts and a judge they say is "on a crusade" to kill Terri.

Yes, of course, the twenty or so courtrooms in this majority pro-life, Christian-dominated state (plus higher courts elsewhere) that have exhaustively mulled over this case are clearly part of a vast, evil conspiracy. Sheesh.

[Linkmeister]

Yup. They're all activist judges, thus to be reviled. It matters not that what the Republicans wanted when they passed the Saturday legislation was an activist Federal judge who'd override all the previous court decisions.

[Miulang]

You know what's curious, too? Conservatives stand for personal freedom and freedom from needless intervention from the government and unnecessary laws.

Now they're talking more like---heaven forfend---LIBERALS...you know, the ones who believe in more laws rather than less!

I think the conservatives, rather than helping their cause, have actually hurt their cause and caused a huge rift within the Republican Party between the strict Constitutionalists and federalists (let the laws define what happens) v. the "culture of life" people who think it's OK for the legislative and executive branches of our US government to try to change what has clearly been defined as a state's right.

I'm sorry for the Schindler family and for Michael and Terri Schiavo that they have been dragged through the mud the way they have. But in this case, what would have been good for one (Terri Schiavo) would have been bad for all (as in, this would set all kinds of horrible precedents that no one wants to have to deal with down the road).

The Supreme Court of the US has now ruled x3 that this is not something they want to adjudicate. The Schindler family should just start saying their goodbyes to Terri now before she expires. Whenever that happens, that WILL
be determined by her God. And she will most certainly be in a better place then.

Miulang

[Miulang]

The political fallout from this sad chapter of American life is starting to surface (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050324/ap_on_go_co/schiavo_politics_7) already.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Here is a report (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0325/p01s04-wogi.html) from the Christian Science Monitor on what other countries would do if they had to grapple with the nuances of the Schiavo case.

Miulang

[pzarquon]

Yup. They're all activist judges, thus to be reviled. It matters not that what the Republicans wanted when they passed the Saturday legislation was an activist Federal judge who'd override all the previous court decisions.That's a really succinct way of putting it. "We don't want judges using their, you know, judgement... unless it favors us." And the David Espo/AP article Miulang linked was a good one. Just give 'em enough rope to hang themselves with. And I hadn't thought about the fallout this would have on the ongoing push to rewrite Senate rules to push Bush nominees through expected fillibuster attempts. Dare they abuse their power to get their way, again, so publicly?

Interesting times. Methinks Bush might have just squandered a bit too much of that "political capital" he so proudly bragged about not so long ago.

[Miulang]

Who was Sun Hudson (http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8359.htm)? A nobody. A poor little black, deformed baby whose mother only wanted to try to give her son a little time to mature. From the moment he was born, he was on life support. After a few months, thanks to the "Right to Die" bill the President signed in 1999, the hospital committee decided to pull the plug on the baby over the protests of his mother. Sun Hudson died within seconds of his ventilator being turned off.

The hospital also prevented the press from interviewing her, citing patient confidentiality, as she desperately tried to get anyone to listen to her pleas.

I strongly believe that when the President signed that 1999 Texas bill, he was acting as a conservative, wanting to spare the government from needless expense in what doctors deem a hopeless situation.

I don't think he was acting as a conservative in signing the House bill to step into the Schiavo case. I think in this case, he and all his "culture of life" cronies (including brother Jebbie, who has aspirations to running for President in 2008) were stepping into caca they will live to regret in 2006 and 2008. The moderate Republicans should seize this opportunity to bring reason back into their party, because their radical right wing is really doing them no favors with their delusional fervor. In the current political environment, you have to be white, well off (or at least middle class) and have connections in order to become a poster child for the right wingnuts.

If the "culture of life" proponents don't want to be called hypocrites, they'd better start advocating for saving ALL lives (not just the not-yet-born and white folk).

Miulang

[waikikiluau]

I've heard that Terri's is in her last hours according to her father... :( It's just sad that they pulled out Terri's feeding tube.. because I've heard that there had been cases like Terri's who were able to recover after 10-16 years..and Terri is not breathing on her own.. she needs food in order to survive and live.. she must have a therapist so that her recovery will be fast..but with this WRONG decision of pulling out her feeding tube--they killed the life of a person.. i believe no one wants to be in that same situation as Terri --but she still has feelings, she's still alive even if her body can't move or be the way it was before --have you notice how sad/mad she was after they tried to pull of her feeding tube.. it means and shows SHE's choosing life.. her family wants her to live..so, let her family decide and not our state officials coz THEY have NO RIGHT over another's person's business... this is a personal issue..let it be decided personally by the family and not the state.. not also her husband coz he should not be considered as her family who had shown only care for the money he'll get when Terri dies --he has a partner now --why not divorce Terri -what is he still waiting for?he's waiting for Terri's death to get the money then, he'll marry his current partner in whom he has already a child... what's happening is just crazy.. leave Terri alone, and let her live.... but to late, wrong decision..they have been killing Terri right this very moment little by little... and they still have the guts to say that Terri can't feel... they have no right to say that coz they are not in Terri's shoes.. Terri has no way to say what she's feeling but believe it..she can feel, she knows what's been happening to her..and she's just helpless and can do nothing to stop it... her brain is only damaged but she can feel.... her brain is still functioning....

[pzarquon]

so, let her family decide and not our state officials coz THEY have NO RIGHT over another's person's business... this is a personal issue..let it be decided personally by the family and not the state.Well, a spouse trumps one's parents in defining "family" and authority to make decisions, and this is a fact that has been upheld in nearly two dozen courtrooms that have heard this case. Terri's plight is a tragedy for all involved, and I truly feel for her parents - I imagine I might fight too, put in the same position (though I'd not let myself become a pawn in politics). But these battles happen thousands of times every month all across the country... tough decisions have to be made by people who love and may disagree... and in the end we have to trust that the right thing will be done, even if we (or Mr. President) might not agree.

May Terri's passing be peaceful, and may her family eventually find the closure they need. And may every soul in America this week set down their end-of-life wishes. At least tell the people you love your feelings, but try to write them down, and if you can, take advantage of many free "living will" resources out there to do it right.

Leave no question. Don't be the next Terri.

[Miulang]

According to the latest TV news accounts on CNN, the Schindler family will not make any further appeals if this last appeal in the State Supreme Courts is turned down today (the court's decision is due by noon today, EST).

What gets me is the protestors in Pinellas County who are bringing their children to the protest and then allowing them to be arrested...I doubt the kids really want to be there. These idiotic parents are putting their kids in danger, just because "we want them to see how justice works now, so when they get older, they can do something to change things." Yeah right. It's the parents' personal agendas that's harming the kids.

There was a woman who had a relative in that same hospice who missed being at her relative's bedside when he died simply because of the security measures that have to be in place because of the protestors in front of the facility. Why isn't that woman's civil rights being protected? Doesn't she have a right to be at her relative's bedside as he dies peacefully?

And those right wingnuts who are issuing bounties on the internet for the killing of Michael Schiavo and one of the judges and the guy who was arrested in Pinellas County for trying to rob a gun store so he could free Terri...sheesh. These people don't know Terri personally and I'm not sure the Schindler family condones their actions (thank god both the internet person and the local robber have been caught), but why are they getting so emotionally involved anyway? Isn't it a battle between the parents and the husband?

Miulang

[alohabear]

R.I.P. Terri....I hope this fiasco was worth it. :(

[pzarquon]

This fiasco got millions of Americans talking about tough issues that they probably wouldn't have had the nerve or interest to broach before. It's hard to be sitting around the dinner table, spouting off about the Schiavo case, without ultimately coming to the question, "What would you want to do?"

While my wife and I talked about it before, we never really cemented it until last week, when wishes were put in writing. The same scenario unfolded in homes across the country, I'm sure. No one wants to be the next Terri. And now, steps have been taken to avoid that fate.

I think legislative and executive intervention in this family case was a travesty. I think the coopting of the case by political groups on both sides was shameful. I think neither Terri's parents nor her husband will escape this without permanent scars. But insofar as the otherwise Condit-esque wall-to-wall coverage of Terri's case can have a silver lining, it at least put end-of-life issues into the collective consciousness.

[kimo55]

Like many of you, I have been compelled by recent events to prepare a more detailed advance directive dealing with end-of-life issues.

Here's what mine says:


* In the event I lapse into a persistent vegetative state, I want

medical authorities to resort to extraordinary means to prolong my

hellish semiexistence. Fifteen years wouldn't be long enough for me.


* I want my wife and my parents to compound their misery by engaging

in a bitter and protracted feud that depletes their emotions and their

bank accounts.


* I want my wife to ruin the rest of her life by maintaining an

interminable vigil at my bedside. I'd be really jealous if she waited

less than a decade to start dating again or otherwise rebuilding a

semblance of a normal life.


* I want my case to be turned into a circus by losers and crackpots

from around the country who hope to bring meaning to their empty lives

by investing the same transient emotion in me that they once reserved

for Laci Peterson, Chandra Levy and that little girl who got stuck in

a well.


* I want those crackpots to spread vicious lies about my wife.


* I want to be placed in a hospice where protesters can gather to

bring further grief and disruption to the lives of dozens of dying

patients and families whose stories are sadder than my own.


* I want the people who attach themselves to my case because of their

deep devotion to the sanctity of life to make death threats against

any judges, elected officials or health care professionals who

disagree with them.


* I want the medical geniuses and philosopher kings who populate the

Legislature to ignore me for more than a decade and then turn

my case into a forum for weeks of politically calculated bloviation.


* I want total strangers - oily politicians, maudlin news anchors,

ersatz friars and all other hangers-on - to start calling me "cuzin Kimo,"

as if they had known me since childhood.


* I'm not insisting on this as part of my directive, but it would be

nice if Congress passed a "Kimo's Law" that applied only to me and

ignored the medical needs of tens of millions of other Americans

without adequate health coverage.


* Even if the "Kimo's Law" idea doesn't work out, I want Congress -

especially all those self-described conservatives who claim to believe

in "less government and more freedom" - to trample on the decisions of

doctors, judges and other experts who actually know something about my

case. And I want members of Congress to launch into an extended debate

that gives them another excuse to avoid pesky issues such as national

security and the economy.


* In particular, I want House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to use my case

as an opportunity to divert the country's attention from the mounting

political and legal troubles stemming from his slimy misbehavior.


* And I want Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to make a mockery of

his Harvard medical degree by misrepresenting the details of my case

in ways that might give a boost to his 2008 presidential campaign.


* I want Frist and the rest of the world to judge my medical condition

on the basis of a snippet of dated and demeaning videotape that should

have remained private.


* Because I think I would retain my sense of humor even in a

persistent vegetative state, I'd want President Bush - the same guy

who publicly mocked Karla Faye Tucker when signing off on her death

warrant as governor of Texas - to claim he was intervening in my case

because it is always best "to err on the side of life."


* I want the state Department of Children and Families to step in at

the last moment to take responsibility for my well-being, because

nothing bad could ever happen to anyone under DCF's care.


* And because Gov. Jeb Bush is the smartest and most righteous human

being on the face of the Earth, I want any and all of the

aforementioned directives to be disregarded if the governor happens to

disagree with them. If he says he knows what's best for me, I won't be

in any position to argue.


****
mahalos and apologies to:
Robert Friedman...

[1stwahine]

Yesterday, I was poked by needles, blood drawn, Cat Scanned, made fun of my mental illness, and treated without respect and dignity as normal patients would be. I cried, not only for me but for the millions of others like me that are treated the same awful way. Patient Advocate? Yeah, there was one her name is Kat. She just got back from vacation, was to busy to do her job advocating. I'm afraid to die at Kaiser Permanente Hospital...I'm not afraid of dying. Go figure that one out.

Check out my Blogg!

[1stwahine]

Living wills or Advance directives is back in da news!

In this morning's StarBulletin http://starbulletin.com/2006/08/04/news/story11.html
Expert backs right-to-die talk

An attorney involved with a Missouri case is in Hawaii to discuss end-of-life decisions

By Helen Altonn

"This development is "dramatic, amazing and wonderful," he said. "But the flip side is, we have to talk as a society about what the purpose of medicine is and when technology does not serve that purpose. That discussion is just starting."

William Colby, 51, of Kansas, is visiting Hawaii for the first time with his wife and four children, ages 6 to 14. He will give free community lectures in Honolulu and Hilo and participate in a bioethics conference at St. Francis Medical Center.

"The good to come out from the horrible Schiavo family tragedy was it caused the rest of us to stop and talk about something we don't usually talk about," Colby said."

"Because of this case, many have filled out living wills or advance directives stating their wishes about end-of-life care, he said."

I know this is a touchy subject. I have my Advance Directive already in place.

Nuff said.

Auntie Lynn