Reply #50: So you're saying...

[ljm2002]

...that 15 friggin' years in a vegetative state is not enough time to determine whether a person is ever going to recover functioning? You're saying that medical expertise and brain scans are meaningless? You're saying that the legal structures that are put in place, specifically those between spouses, should be cast aside? That anyone whose body can be kept "living" is obliged to do so -- that their families should never be allowed to decide when it is more merciful to let the person expire, than to prolong their existence?

Are you forgetting that the autopsy showed exactly what was expected, namely, massive atrophy of Terry Schiavo's brain tissue, consistent with the diagnosis of "brain-dead"?

Terry Schiavo was not "disabled". She was a perfectly healthy young woman who collapsed alone at home, possibly due to weight-loss attempts, and suffered several hours of oxygen deprivation, only to be found in time to keep her alive for another 15 years without brain function.

The only dishonesty in this case came from the rabid right wing, both the religious charlatans and the political charlatans who thought they could make hay out of it. As it turned out, they were wrong.