Forget the politics. I think they should feed the woman in Florida

[NNN0LHI]

I don't care about who is for or against anything in this case. I don't care what the law is and what her husband wants. If her parents want her kept alive that is good enough for me. This one didn't even seem like a hard decision to me. She should be kept alive if her parents want that. Am I missing something here? Convince me I am wrong if I am.

Don

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=568819&mesg_id=568819

[Clete]

1. Read this thread. especially post #54.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=568819&mesg_id=568819

[NNN0LHI]

4. Thank you. I missed that thread, no kidding

I am going to dupe this one. Thanks again. See ya.

Don

[NNN0LHI]

13. I un-Duped this thread and will let the mods...

...decide if they are too close in context to each other. Thanks again for showing me the other one.

Don

[sistersofmercy]

2. Go google Nancy Cruzan or Christine Busalacchi.

This is same shit different decade.

[XanaDUer]

3. I'm with you ,Don.

n/t.

[sistersofmercy]

5. BTW, the same right to lifers backing these cases would outlaw

abortions in a NY minute.

[mbartko]

39. What's the relevance?

[sistersofmercy]

47. Well why don't you go read a little on the subject?

[mbartko]

49. On what subject?

This woman, or abortions? In what way is it a discussion of the same topic?

[sistersofmercy]

51. PVS and right to lifers silly!

[jiacinto]

6. Here is my issue with the case

For once we actually agree on something. The woman didn't leave a DNR form or a living will. Thus we have no idea what she wants. And I am not comfortable with killing her.

[cally]

7. I agree

I do not like removing a feeding tube. That is just too far for me. If she had left some documentation, I may support it but she didn't. So I cannot support it.

[XanaDUer]

8. Exactly.

I don't consider food and water "extraordinary measures" to maintian life. If she stated what she wanted in a living will, and it included starvation, then I would say okay.

[sistersofmercy]

12. Same questions to you. See my reply .

[sistersofmercy]

10. Would you want to live that way? If not, do you have a living will?

Just curious!

[Hippo_Tron]

9. If in such a situation I'd want the plug pulled on me, but...

I think she should absolutely live. She's not totally out of it yet and may be able to function somewhat when this is over. Plus I thought the courts ruled that you don't pull the plug due to financial reasons anyway.

[cally]

30. No, I don't

but I have told all members of my family my wishes. Parents, children, sisters. This case makes me understand that I need a living will.

[sistersofmercy]

40. But in the meantime, heaven forbid, who do you trust would speak for

you, legally that is, if some tragedy would occur? Ok, I'll explain a case to you. I believe it was Christine Busalacchi but it's been a while so forgive me if I'm confusing cases. She was driving in her car, slid off the road and was thrown from her vehicle landing face down. By the time help arrived it was too late but she was found in what is generally described as the 5 minute snag of sorts, 5 minutes sooner she would have been fine, 5 minutes later she would have been dead but at the time PVS. A next of kind has to give permission for the feeding tube to be inserted and it is that same next of kin who seeks to remove the feeding tube usually. In Christine Busalacchi's case that was the scenario but her father had to fight tooth and nail for years to get the feeding tube removed.

[truebrit71]

11. She has been brain-damaged for thirteen years..

She cannot feed herself, she shows no cognitive ability and there is no realistic hope of recovery. Her husband claims that she herself didn't want to be kept alive artificially, but Jebby knows better.

Divorce yourself from the emotional pleas from either side and think about the quality of life this poor woman has had to endure for thirteen years. Would you want to live like that? I know for an absolute certainty that if something similar were to happen to me I would want to die with dignity and be remembered for who I was and not as a shell of myself living in a perpetual vegetative state.

This hurriedly prepared piece of unconstitutional legislation has the authority to appoint a guardian superceding the authority of the husband. It is time that politicians stopped playing God and leave it to those who are affected the most. Once this woman passes they will move onto their next political opportunity for piousness whilst leaving the family to deal with the emotional carnage. If she cannot feed herself and has no hope of recovery let nature take it's course. I sincerely doubt that the husband made his decision lightly and I believe her parents are simply not accepting the harsh reality of the situation.

This legislative end-around is frightening. A better example of 'Mob Rules' I cannot recall. The husband made the decision, the medical professionals concurred, but the religious fanatics had to poke their heads in (again) and 'save us from ourselves'...

Let nature take it's course and allow her to die with dignity.

TrueBrit

[jiacinto]

14. The problem that I have with this

Schiavo didn't leave a DNR order or a living will. We have no idea what she wanted.

[truebrit71]

15. I don't have one either but..

I hope my spousal unit has the common sense to pull the plug if that were to happen to me. The woman is in a vegetative state and has no prognosis of recovery. This is simply another case of politicians making political hay at the expense of others.

[Clete]

17. Nor will you, because she will never be able to tell anyone.

You are flogging a dead horse.

[jiacinto]

19. It's not a dead horse

We have no idea what she wants.

[truebrit71]

23. She cannot speak for herself..THAT'S the point..

Her husband can. He acted, the courts agreed, the politicians interfered and here we are.

This woman has zero quality of life, any of the supposed 'signs of life' have been responded to elsewhere in this thread. They are base instincts and NOT signs of a potential recovery. If the Doctors say she's not going to improve why should I listen to jebbie who has ZERO medical knowledge..??

[jiacinto]

26. But here is the problem

There is nothing in writing. And how are we to know that her husband is telling the truth?

Without something in writing I have a great deal of concerns in killing this woman.

[truebrit71]

29. Do you have a will written?

I don't, but my wife knows damn well that if I am ever kept alive by machines she needs to pull the plug.

Bear in mind, this isn't six weeks, or six months or even six YEARS after the fact..it has been THIRTEEN years...This isn't a decision that was arrived at rapidly. She has been this way for a long, long time.

[Hamlette]

56. what does it matter what she wants?

does anyone want to live in a PVS? Does society have some rights if we have to pay for it? Medicine has out distanced ethics.

[sistersofmercy]

18. Do you have DNR order or living will? If not who would you want to

decide your fate? I love my Mother dearly but I also know my Mother would not respect my wishes in this matter.

[jiacinto]

20. I don't know

I really don't know.

[sistersofmercy]

24. OK!

Please go google Nancy Cruzan or Christine Busalacchi(I think it's spelled correctly). They're really famous cases, may both of them rest in peace. The reflexive reactions ppl are talking about are just that. It's a right-to-life cause, trust me, the right thing to do is let her pass on.

[jiacinto]

27. But frankly I would rather err on the side of than on the side of

death.

[sistersofmercy]

31. Oh, jiacinto you're breaking my heart! It's not that simple.

I thought this issue was settled in the early to mid 90's, honestly.
Have you read about a permanent or persistent vegetative state? If not please do so. The press releases stating improvement and responsiveness by PVS patients are by RTL groups.

[jiacinto]

36. Look

If she had it in writing I wouldn't have a problem with it. But she doesn't.

Her husband also stands to profit from her death.

That's why I'm against it in this case. If she had in writing then I wouild support it.

[sistersofmercy]

41. But many ppl don't have such wishes in writing. Profit?

Wow, that's really unusual b/c most of the time the relatives have enormous hospital bills to pay.

[NickB79]

75. Life insurance and a lawsuit settlement for profits

The husband stands to inherit $750,000 in life insurance when she dies. The woman's parents have offered to take full responsibility over the payments for her treatment and care and allow the husband to divorce her, but he has refused. Also, he sued the hospital for mistreatment of his wife 10 yrs ago and won a multi-million dollar settlement. Very soon afterwards, though, he started his attempts to have her life ended. I find that very odd, that he would fight and sue to improve the treatment of his wife, only to turn around and request she be allowed to die after he recieves the money that was supposed to be used for her treatment. If it weren't for these inconsistancies, I would have much less of a problem with them ending her life, as I feel that life as as PVS is not a life anyone should be forced to live. I do feel that death by dehydration and starvation is inhumane, though, and that in cases such as these more pro-active actions should be justified to quicken her passing.

[RapidCreek]

77. Yea Carlos

After 12 years of paying for ambulatory care I'm sure her husband is gonna be a real wealthy man...once she departs

RC

[juajen]

16. I disagree

A vegetable just lies there, not moving. This woman smiles at her family and appears to be listening to her mother's voice. She breathes on her own and doctors (admittedly, others disagree) think she can get better with therapy. Brain damage can right itself. I have seen this with my own husband who suffered a major stroke. It's a matter of retraining the brain and stimulating it.

The parents should have a chance to bring her back. I do not think parental rights should be subservient to a husband's. In this case, there is the additional matter of the money, his new family and children, etc. Why didn't he just divorce her? Because he would lose the money. He only gets it if she is dead. Alive, the money goes for her care and therapy. This money was won after he sued for money for her care. After he was awarded the money, it is my understanding that she has had no therapy.

I am in the very unhappy position of agreeing with Jeb. OH MY GOD!

[Clete]

22. My husband who suffers from end state renal disease

has a living will and so do I. Everyone should have one no matter how young they are because you never know. This document makes your wishes clear and should prevent your condition from becoming a political football. You can also state if you wish to donate any organs.

[sistersofmercy]

28. Christine Busalacchi was only 21.

Clete, I'm sorry about your hubby! You are so right about the living will.

[calm_blue_ocean]

33. Against health insurance companies

It is nice to see any politician take a stand against health insurance companies. Courageous move on Jeb's part.

Still, I hope he is not the Republican VP candidate in 2004.

[mbartko]

21. Starving to death in 10 days' time is dying with dignity?

[truebrit71]

25. As opposed to being in a permanent vegetative state?? You bet..

The person she was is no longer there.

[mbartko]

35. The person she IS...

seems to be responsive to her surroundings, to people, and has at least a minimum of cognizance. What I HEARD (and this is hearsay, I can't find any reliable source regarding it) was that there is a reasonable expectation that the woman could be rehabilitated to the point where she could feed herself. I also HEAR (again, I admit I can't substantiate it) that if her husband divorces her (and apparently he wants to remarry), he loses access to a large settlement the woman received, whereas if she dies, he inherits it.

Whatever the case, if I were the least bit cognizant of my condition, I wouldn't want to spend my last days in the knowledge that I was dying a slow, painful death. IF she's cognizant of that fact.

[sistersofmercy]

50. Go do some leisurely reading of PVS. Reflexive emotional

responsiveness is common. Ppl read into it what they want, whatever serves their political or "moral" purpose. Show me one case of a rehabilitated PVS patient.

[sistersofmercy]

34. Dehydration is what stops the heart not starvation.

I suggest you go read further on the subject before forming an opinion. There's loads of material out there go google.
Start with Nancy Cruzan & Christine Busalacchi.

[mbartko]

45. Thank you so much for the clarification.

Dying of dehydration is loads better than starving to death.

[sistersofmercy]

52. Va te faire foutre!

[mbartko]

59. Ah, c'est tres mature, la reponse.

n/t

[sistersofmercy]

62. desole mais c'est drole, non?

[mbartko]

65. LOL

Oui. Have to admit, I had to look up foutre. It's been a long time since I took French 1 seven times.

[sistersofmercy]

68. It's been a little while for me but I can always recall the

snotty little statements. Anyway, desole, I'm just very passionate about this subject.

[mbartko]

70. I see that,

and honestly I don't know much about the subject. I guess what I was really trying to say was it seems to me, if someone is inevitably going to die, there's got to be a more humane way for it to happen than to let them starve/dehydrate. I hate to think of human beings that way, but many people are humane enough to put animals "out of their misery", so if dying is a foregone conclusion, I can't really understand letting it happen that way. Plus, as I mentioned in another post, I HEARD some stuff that I admitted I couldn't confirm but made it seem a little shady to me on the part of the husband.

[sistersofmercy]

78. I wholeheartedly agree ...

there should be a more humane way. But that's exactly the problem the same right to lifers fighting the pulling of feeding tubes also are fighting implementing more humane measures for ending the suffering of ppl in PVS.
BTW I was going to PM you this morning to offer another apology I have to say I've never really lost my cool during debate. So congratulations your the first to successfully push the right button with me. Anyway was just sort of laughing at myself. Take care.

[Bozita]

54. My father hung on through 1.5 years of tube feeding

The diagnosis was "supranuclear palsy." The Dudley Moore thing.

Over a period of about two years, he gradually went from stumbling and tripping to a paralyzed shell of a man with no way of communicating or even feeding himself. The obligatory feeding tube was installed.

The final 18 months were spent in nursing homes. His body was fine except for the fact that the voluntary muscles were no longer functioning. No talking, no swallowing, no eating, no drinking. Nothing but breathing.

Life was sustained with the feeding tube.

As I look back over the decade that has since passed, I regret the anguish that the feeding tube provided. It prolonged his existence, but not his life.

A couple of months after his death, my good Catholic mother visited a lawyer and had a living will drafted.

Sometimes letting go is more humane than hanging on to false hopes.

[Old and In the Way]

32. If this was a family pet, we'd be accused of being inhumane.

keeping it "alive" under these circumstances for 13 years. But it's a person, so this is "humane"?

I think there are 50,000 cases or so of this. I suspect care of this person (if it can be so defined as a person), must run close to $50,000/year. That's $2.5Billion...and as medicine continues to progress in it's ability to cheat death, we are going to see more and more cases of permanent vegatative bodies that drain our finite resources away from those that have a quality of life to preserve.

I know this sounds cold, but we are now in an age where medical knowledge/technology has created a new class of humans - living dead people.

[DemBones DemBones]

42. Yes, we have "living dead" today -- but Terri's not "living dead"

and I find it very troubling that so many people want her to die. She's not brain dead, she's not even terminally ill. She requires care but she's not on a ventilator, she just has a feeding tube.

And she did not have a living will. The idea that she would want to die is her husband's story, and it's a story he didn't tell during the first several years after her injury. He didn't tell this story until after the court had awarded the $1.3 million for her care.

If we start killing the severely disabled, how long will it be before someone suggests we kill the moderately disabled?

[Old and In the Way]

64. I honestly don't know enough specifics about this case.

But that is the point, too, I think. How many people really do? I think only her Drs. and immediate family really know what's best...not people on posting boards who are not privvy to all the details. And certainly not religious-political groups who will use this as another social wedge issue.

IMHO, this opens a big can of worms for society....is our legislature and media going to start reviewing every case to decide the right course of action? Is that what we really want them doing?

[sistersofmercy]

67. Well that would be the right to lifers argument!

She is in PVS, same thing as living dead in my book and I would never want to be kept alive with feeding tubes. There's a lot of good info about PVS this debate has been going on for decades.

[mermaid]

76. Couldn't Agree More

I had to participate in the decision to remove my father's respirator, 4 and a half years ago. It was the hardest fucking thing I ever had to do in my life...and let me tell you, I've gone thru this life the hard way!!
I am a transsexual, just to give you an example of how hard my life as been...the shit I have had to put up with...the tests and endurances struggles I have had to go thru...the incredibly difficult decisions I have had to make in my life.
Nevertheless, I can honestly say, participating in the decision to remove my father's respirator was...and still is...the hardest fucking thing I ever had to do. It damn near wrecked me emotionally.

My father and I hadn't gotten along very well in the last years of his life, due to his non-acceptance of my transition. But I always knew he didn't want to be kept alive by heroic measures.
I stood to gain nothing from any will, as my mother was (and thankfully is) still alive. Furthermore, my father had cut me out of the will, all but one dollar, and put a clause to the effect that the will was non-contestible. (Since then, my mom has changed it.)

I drove up to Pennsylvania, from Louisville, KY...which was, at the time, my home. 12 hours on the road...crying, agonizing, not knowing what I would do or what to expect. Mike and The Mechanics were on the radio singing "In The Living Years" when I started out. To this day, I cannot bear to listen to that song...it breaks me up....it's way too close to home for me.

My dad did not have a Living Will, so they needed TWO family members to sign off on removing his respirator. My mom was one, and I was the other. Before we did...both of us offered to donate a kidney each to my father. No good, said the doc...without a new liver, he will just destroy the kidneys you could give him...and he is not eligible for a liver until he has been off alcohol for at least six months.

At that point, they could put him on a list and maybe he'd get them, maybe not. Meanwhile, my dad's body was shutting down, organ by organ. There was no way he was going to survive six months...there was nothing more we could do. I signed off, knowing it was what my father would have wanted.

By this time, my father could communicate only thru hand sqeezes, one meaning yes, and two meaning no.
At the time his respirator was removed, I broke down. I forgave him everything he had ever done to hurt me (and there was a LOT of it, let me tell you!) And I asked him to forgive me. He sqeezed my hand once, to indicate he forgave me everything I had done to hurt him.

As it turned out, fate and the law gave me the chance to make that final peace...and for my dad to die with dignity. It is not a decision made lightly. It was still the hardest fucking thing I ever had to do. I cannot imagine this man in Florida made his decision lightly, either.

The parents, meanwhile, are simply living in denial, refusing to accept that, unfortunately, their daughter is NEVER going to recover. THIRTEEN YEARS she has been in this state. And here comes good ol' Jebby, to grandstand and make a few political points...and ten walk away, leving everone else to deal with the emotional wreckage!

I'm so disgusted with Jebby it is absolutely unreal! Besides...when did it become the law that the Executive Branch could overrule, unilaterally, the Judicial Branch? If that is the case in Florida, then why even have a Judicial Branch?

More to the point...this is a family matter. And I know I would come back and HAUNT the motherfucker that made ME live like that for thirteen goddamn years!!

[Evanstondem]

37. I want the plug pulled if I'm ever in this situation

I assume that the wishes of this poor woman are unknown, but keeping her in a permanant vegetative state hardly seems humane.

[NNN0LHI]

38. My point here is that her parents want her kept alive

As a parent I think in a case of life and death like this my wishes as a father should trump my daughters husbands decision.

Don

[Evanstondem]

43. I believe that the law normally favors the spouse

So the husband's wishes supersede the wishes of the parents when they disagree, unless they can show that the husband is acting against the best interests of his wife. At least that has been the case everywhere up until now.

[sistersofmercy]

44. As I stated in a previous post, I love my mother dearly but I know she

would not respect my thoughts on this matter. She would sadly be manipulated by right to lifers and keep hope that her only daughter would some come back from a PVS.

[Clete]

46. The law has always stated that the legal spouse has

the first say in these situations. If her husband were dead or divorced then the parents would step in. So legally he should have the right. So what happened?

Is your feeling because you think you should have first say over your children no matter whom they are married to? I mean, I think it's even in the Bible that once children marry, they are responsible for each other and no parents can interfere in that bond.

[quaker bill]

48. Sorry

This needs to end. It has been going on for years in the courts.

The husband has proven to the satisfaction of the courts that it was the woman's intent not be sustained in this condition.

The matter should be done. What proceeds from here is just political grandstanding. It is our little version of the 10 commandments case with a right to life twist. This from a Bush who has no personal problem with signing death warrants any day of the week.

To politicise this family's tragedy is nothing less than obscene.

The picture of someone starving to death is not pretty. I'd be all for a quicker and less painful end to this.

I thank god my mother died at rest under hospice care and did not become a political issue for the right-wing whack-jobs in the Florida legislature to work over.

[NNN0LHI]

55. So, I got snookered by the right wing spin (again) quaker bill?

I thought there was a good chance of that when I started this thread. But they pick such damn emotional subjects, them rascals. But I am afraid you are right. They make the most pain free methods of dying illegal, and then say "look, see, how terrible this is?" Yup. Thats just more of that compassionate conservatism for you.

Don

[liberalmuse]

53. Too bad Dr. Kevorkian is in prison...

this man is a hero, IMO. Starving a 'human being', brain dead or not, is barbaric to many of the living, and we still don't know enough about brain function to be certain this person will absolutely not feel any pain or suffering. The most humane way to deal with this situation would be to euthanize her quickly and painlessly. Speaking for myself, where I in this situation, I would not want a feeding tube pulled from my family members. Watching the 'empty shell' of someone I love waste away would be too much to bear. I understand the concept of 'brain dead', but nevertheless, find death by slow starvation really appalling.

[Clete]

60. If there weren't any modern medical equipment to keep

anyone alive, people would die naturally with family surrounding them. By this time they would have stopped eating on their own. The body organs' diminishing functions make food unappetizing. Old women have know for millenium which herbs to brew to ease the pain of dying. Opium has been used since the Stone Age for this purpose. Why is it so hard for anyone to understand this?

It's good that there is the technology to save lives that might have been lost if there wasn't this technology, but I think we have to distinguish between who will have a quality of life with extraordinary measures and who really can't benefit and will die. What's important is that they die with dignity and loving support.

To be personal, many know that my husband suffers from end stage renal disease. He is kept alive by dialysis. He could be put on the list for a kidney transplant, but he has refused. He is seventy seven years old and knows that it's not really going to extend his life to get a transplant, so any available kidney should go to a younger person who still has a future. He also knows that one of these days dialysis won't help him anymore so he is prepared to die.

It will be his decision and if he can't make the decision, he has empowered me to. I know I will pull the plug when he no longer can have a quality of life. It will be hard but I hope I don't run into a lot of interference from do gooders.

[Liberal Veteran]

57. What's the point of getting married....

...if you cannot trust that person to make decisions on your behalf in the event you are not able to?

[NNN0LHI]

58. Yea, yea, yea. I got the message alrighty ready. Jeez

I am just goofing around here liberal_veteran. I agree with you. I learned a lot from this thread tonight. Thanks.

Don

[elperromagico]

61. Maybe she ought to be fed

... but Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature shouldn't be deciding it.

[elperromagico]

63. I just find it interesting

that on a subject like the death penalty, Jeb or George would say, "The courts have decided on this matter. I see no reason to intervene."

BUT... when it comes to abortion, or elections, or the right to die... they want to circumvent the fucking court decisions.

It's hypocritical. Maybe Jeb's feeling pangs of guilt for allowing his buddy Paul Hill to be executed.

[uhhuh]

66. Or

Jeb and the Florida legislature should be paying for it. I don't think this woman has any hope of recovery, but if Florida wants to roll the dice and force her to keep living, the state should have to pick up all costs. The decision to keep her alive was decided in the legislature, and while deciding whether it is justice or cruelty is debatable, the fact is, her fate has been handed over to the state. It is the same as a state prisoner. The state has decided her fate, now the state should be responsible for her care. No one in the family should be required to pay another dime for her unlees they want to for the rest of her life.

[elperromagico]

69. Agreed

Perhaps the headline for this story should read, "Jeb Bush Orders Bankrupting Of Constituent."

[janx]

71. For everything

there is a season, and a
time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down , and a time to
build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time
to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain
from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to
speak;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil?

Ecclesiastes 3

[Clete]

72. Parabola Magazine had an issue on the spiritual

side of dying. http://www.parabola.org/magazine/backissues/2702/2702.html

There are several articles which give different cultural perspective and spiritual approaches to dying.

[SoCalDem]

73. Part of the marriage llicense process should be the "living will"

provision. Once someone marries, their "birth family" and their wishes should take a back seat..

No one will ever "win" in a case like this.. BUT if there was a record of the wishes of the bride & groom towards the remote possiblilty that one of them might have to make a decision like that, it would be in writing and legal..

young people think they will never die or get sick or injured.. The law that needed to be passed was the one I suggested :)


My own family has been the beneficiary of some pretty fantastic medical expertise, BUT, when superhuman efforts to keep the body alive and there is little or no humanity left in that body, I wonder if the intervention was worth it..

I saw my best friend wrestle with that decision last year when her son was disconnected from life support.. We were all hoping for that one in a million miracle, but it was not meant to be.. He was kept alive by the doctors...not by "God"..

In cases like the woman in Florida, barring extreme medical procedures, she would have died years ago.. Her whole family has been traumatized and there is no "good" outcome..

[mermaid]

74. Is THAT what You Call Alive??

Whe you can push a taco thru that feeding tube, maybe then I'll reconsider. That ain't living, and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be kept alive in that manner.
That isn't living...it's existing. It's being a breathing piece of meat. And it ain't for me.
Thank Goddess for Living Wills!!

[retyred]

79. You can't have it both ways

Either the rule of law means something or it doesn't, personal feelings are just that....personal. The rule of law and the Constitution mean something, and in this case both were purposly ignored. It was pure political grandstanding for Bush and the Florida legislature to rush a bill through to save her life "AFTER" the courts decided to let her die.

This is a damned difficult decision. It's not a decision for you to make. It's not a decision for me to make, and it certainly isn't a decision for the state and governor to make. Doctors, not governors, should decide what constitutes a coma or "vegetative state."

The parents have had 13 years to get her a divorce and get custody and countless money has been spent through the judicial system and it was decided in favor of the husband, now the state and Jeb have come in and used their power to take away the courts authority once again for pure political gain. (They threatened to do it during selection 2000 with the electors)

Reports are now surfacing that her body is already dying due to the feeding tube being removed (liver, kidneys ect.) and re-submitting the tube could have dire consequences to vital organs, what could have been a painless death may now be not only painful but require surgury to maintain her in a vegetative state.

If you don't care that the law was subverted, then when they subvert it next time on something the courts decide that you agree with, don't bitch, just let them do what "THEY" want. You must be real happy in the House and Senate's vote to ban part of the abortion law because the law didn't suit them, or did you agree with "that" law.

[janx]

80. There is MORE NEWS re this case in LBN.

Michael Schiavo is preparing a case and lo and behold, a member of the FL legislature has written a letter to none other than...CHIMPY!

Maybe Jebby wasn't a big enough King or something.

[spindoctor]

81. It is a mercy kill

Had she been an animal, keeping her alive would be considered cruelty.
With her being human, keeping her alive is more cruel, not less so.

Who in their right mind would want to live life like that? Not me, that is one thing I am very sure about.

I do have a problem with starving her to death. Serial killers are treated more humane in Texas.