Miami Herald: Panel champions life support

[ryban]

TALLAHASSEE - Florida legislators charged back Wednesday into the emotionally raw tragedy of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman whose feeding tube could be removed later this month by her husband.

But instead of moving ahead with a narrowly drawn bill that would apply primarily to Schiavo, as they did in late 2003, a House panel voted to prohibit the removal of feeding tubes from an incapacitated person in most cases -- unless the person left written instructions saying they wanted to have food and water cut off.

The legislation includes a provision that makes it clear that the bill, if passed, applies to ''every living person'' in the state and that it is ''remedial'' in nature -- moves to try to have the bill apply to Schiavo.

''If there is anyone still alive when this bill passes, they should have this benefit,'' said Rep. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican and sponsor of the bill. ``If we haven't executed you yet and we change the law, we shouldn't still execute you.''

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/11095276.htm

[CottonBear]

1. Does this mean the government will pay to keep you alive

when you and your family run out of money?

There was a post the other day about a family in the southwest who have no more money so the hospital is going to pull the plug on their family member on life support. Is that an example of Republican family values?

The Republicans and the government have no business deciding about life support.

I speak from personal experience. My father had a massive stroke during open heart surgery. His brain swelled up and was crushed and destroyed. He was on life support. He'd told us to pull the plug if anything happened to him. He was a surgeon and didn't want to live as a vegetable. He knew what happened to people who end up on life support and how it hurts their families. We have no regrets about his decision. We miss him so much. I think of him every day. He died over 20 years ago. I can't imagine him being on life support for that long. That would truly be a nightmare.

Everyone should have an attorney draw up a durable power of attorney for health care and get a living will. Let your family know how you want to live and die and put it in writing.

[moobu2]

2. Lawmakers push another bill to keep (Terri) Schiavo alive.

After this law passes, Floridians will have to have a feeding tube surgically inserted into your stomach if your dying or become incapacitated unless you expressed it in writing that you wouldn't want one, no exceptions. You will no longer be able to make the decision through your loved ones or previous "oral" statements. And whether it's withdrawn or not will be up to politicians (or popular vote, I guess) not the judicial system.

It will be retroactive also, so everyone who is dying now, who doesn't have a living will, will have to have the PEG-tube put in place, all the alzheimer's patients etc...there are a lot of those in Florida. This is completely retarded.

TALLAHASSEE -- The Legislature's first attempt to keep Terri's Schiavo's feeding tube connected was a law tailored to her case, but the Florida Supreme Court struck it down unanimously.

Now, lawmakers are pushing a broader proposal that could affect thousands of Floridians lying incapacitated in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes.

The new bill would require food and water be given to terminally ill people unless they specified in a living will that they did not want to be kept alive that way. A verbal declaration to relatives or loved ones would not necessarily be recognized.

And the bill says that the Legislature, not a judge, has the final say in an end-of-life case. It also would apply retroactively, to cover the Schiavo case.

More retardedness from Florida

[Botany]

3. They might have a point ......

..... because we do have a brain dead President.

These people are beyond contempt.

:cry:

[LostinVA]

4. Another Terri Schiavo Thread...

It's been DAYS since the last one. I expect the next time I look at DU, this thread will have ten zillion responses (including mione)...