# It's the Feds turn for a whack at Terri Schiavo **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 17, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015 "2005-03-17T18:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![laigle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@laigle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laigle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/41 "2005-03-18T01:31:21Z")
If they’re going to enact legislation, how about requiring the term “persistant vegitative state” to be listed as “fucking dead for chrissakes, not coming back, gone for good, a corpse kept moving in a sick vision of the horrors of post-modern life that would make Orwell crawl into a bottle and not come out” in all medical records? I would imagine they could put it in as some sort of Medicare rider. And while they’re at it, all the doctors who have been trying to convince her parents that involuntary ticks are her way of communicating should be barred from practice, preferably in a posthumous manner. I have seen many distasteful political ploys in my day, but wrapping yourself up in the empty husk of some poor woman to appeal to the wrong-headed is the bottom of the barrel. ---
**Author:** ![widdleytinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a4c791/32.png) [@widdleytinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdleytinks)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/42 "2005-03-18T02:35:39Z")
I’ve been following this case for perhaps too long now. IIRC, Michael Schiavo was awardeda 1 million dollar settlement which was put in trust for Terri’s use. There is approximately 40-50K left and is quickly disappearing. Michael stated he was willing to give the balance to charity. If you don’t believe he’s not interested in financial gain, why hasn’t he accepted the recently made offers of 1 million and 10 million dollars? Money ain’t it. regards, widdley ---
**Author:** ![widdleytinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a4c791/32.png) [@widdleytinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdleytinks)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/43 "2005-03-18T02:38:15Z")
For those of you who continue to claim that this is Michael Schiavo’s decision. At this point, you are wrong. The decision to remove the nutrition tube was not made by Michael Schiavo, it has been made by the Florida courts and not even Michael can change that decision. regards, widdley ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/44 "2005-03-18T02:42:00Z")
> [@Orbifold](#): > > Frist is a doctor, he should bloody well know better. Why would you expect him to know about someting as complex as persistent vegetative states when [he doesn’t even know how HIV is transmitted](http://www.planetwire.org/details/5153)? ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/45 "2005-03-18T02:51:01Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Fuckers, all of 'em. Stop beating the damn horse–it ain’t waking up! I think that what should be done is that Hasbro should release a Persisten Vegatative State playset. The starter set would be somebody in a hospital bed, maybe with an IV. Deluxe set would be an entire hospital, nurses and assistants. Follow ons would be a federal court set, a family set (ex husband not included). Maybe a board game, in which the winner gets to decide whether to remove the feeding tube or not. And a deluxe attachment set that has an interface between the PVS doll and the board game (bluetooth enabled, perhaps). If the winner chooses to remove the tube, then just before the doll ‘passes away’, the computer generates a voice saying something like ‘wait… I’m not dead yet, Actually, I’m feeling much better!’. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/46 "2005-03-18T02:55:50Z")
This is disgusting and evil, to me. Get the Feds out of this–or at least in this guise. This poor, poor woman–to be used in such a way. She might as well be in a travelling show likes they used to do for freaks etc. I feel for the husband–what I do not understand is HOW the parents EVER got their “day in court”–he is the legal next of kin. No matter–Bill Frist is a lame excuse for a doctor, IMO. And just a note for all of you–a Living Will doesn’t do a whole lot. It may indicate your leanings re: end of life issues, but you need a DPOA for healthcare or other advanced directive so that your wishes will be honored. These parents do NOT love Terri–IMO, they are mentally ill and colluding with whoever will jump on their band wagon. To think that this has gotten to this level–this is wrong, wrong, wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/47 "2005-03-18T03:15:22Z")
> [@askeptic](#): > > I cannot imagine what her husband must be going through. He cannot grieve the death of his wife, but must suffer in limbo. She is not dead but not alive either. Oh yeah, the poor baby is _really_ suffering, to the tune of 2 million. I bet he thinks of her every time he bangs his mistress. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/48 "2005-03-18T03:32:19Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > He is selling his soul for a shot at the Presidency. Given how many people in general, and politicians in particular, are willing to just **give** away their souls, I doubt it has that kind of market value. It might be worth an extra fifty votes for dog catcher, or thereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/49 "2005-03-18T03:38:54Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > On the other hand, I must confess to a profound contempt for the intelligence of the average American… and so can also see value in having some big deal issues decided at a level above that of the states and, in some cases, imposed on the states so that we can all join the 21st century. How fortunate that the federal government is run by the space aliens they have hidden in Area 51, and so is unaffected by the average American’s intellectual limitations… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/50 "2005-03-18T03:50:53Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Oh yeah, the poor baby is _really_ suffering, to the tune of 2 million. I bet he thinks of her every time he bangs his mistress. “Mistress”? Was he seeing this woman while his wife was still alive and conscious? If so, this is the first I’ve heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/51 "2005-03-18T03:53:01Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Oh yeah, the poor baby is _really_ suffering, to the tune of 2 million. I bet he thinks of her every time he bangs his mistress. What two million is that? A dig about money he won in a settlement a decade ago and has had to spend caring for Terri and fighting with her parents in this unending string of court cases? “Mistress” is equally classless (gasp) since he’s been with this woman for years and there’s been no secret about it. ---
**Author:** ![widdleytinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a4c791/32.png) [@widdleytinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdleytinks)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/52 "2005-03-18T03:53:54Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Oh yeah, the poor baby is _really_ suffering, to the tune of 2 million. I bet he thinks of her every time he bangs his mistress. Yeah, no offense to you Abbie, but you’re entirely full of shit. Show us some proof that Michael Schiavo received a 2 million dollar settlement. regards, widdley ---
**Author:** ![widdleytinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a4c791/32.png) [@widdleytinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdleytinks)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/53 "2005-03-18T03:55:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > What two million is that? A dig about money he won in a settlement a decade ago and has had to spend caring for Terri and fighting with her parents in this unending string of court cases? “Mistress” is equally classless (gasp) since he’s been with this woman for years and there’s been no secret about it. IIRC, it was a 1 million dollar settlement, managed by a trustee, all expenditures are approved by a judge and there’s 40-50K left, the remaining balance will go to charity as per Michael Schiavo’s statement. regards, widdley ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/54 "2005-03-18T04:02:12Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Oh yeah, the poor baby is _really_ suffering, to the tune of 2 million. I bet he thinks of her every time he bangs his mistress. First, Teri was affectively dead by the time he started seeing his current fiance. Second, all of that money has gone to taking care of Teri. Finally, people have offered him millions if he’d just let the Schindlers have custody of Teri. He refused. Do you ever bother to educate yourself before opening your trap? ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/55 "2005-03-18T04:03:28Z")
If you are married to someone and nailing another, you’ve got a **mistress** , I don’t care what condition your wife is in. I have no problem with him moving on with his life. But he should have divorced her first instead of staying married to her and shacking up with the other woman and creating 2 kids with her. ---
**Author:** ![widdleytinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a4c791/32.png) [@widdleytinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdleytinks)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/56 "2005-03-18T04:05:24Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > If you are married to someone and nailing another, you’ve got a **mistress** , I don’t care what condition your wife is in. > > I have no problem with him moving on with his life. But he should have divorced her first instead of staying married to her and shacking up with the other woman and creating 2 kids with her. And you should have pulled your head out of your ass before you shot off your mouth in total ignorance. regards, widdley ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/57 "2005-03-18T04:05:31Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > If you are married to someone and nailing another, you’ve got a **mistress** , I don’t care what condition your wife is in. > > I have no problem with him moving on with his life. But he should have divorced her first instead of staying married to her and shacking up with the other woman and creating 2 kids with her. But if he had divorced her, then her care would have gone to her parents, who refuse to carry out what he has stated are the wishes of his wife. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/58 "2005-03-18T04:08:01Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Oh yeah, the poor baby is _really_ suffering, to the tune of 2 million. I bet he thinks of her every time he bangs his mistress. It’s good to know that even the illiterate can post to these message boards. Or perhaps you simply _chose_ not to read the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/59 "2005-03-18T04:20:20Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > How fortunate that the federal government is run by the space aliens they have hidden in Area 51, and so is unaffected by the average American’s intellectual limitations… :rolleyes: Can you explain what your snark has to do with what I posted? My theory is that you are either disagreeing with my claim that the average citizen is stupid, or you are attempting to state that the Federal government is as prone to stupidity as state level governments. If the former, I will just assume that you are one of the stupid, probably feel a brief moment of pity for you and then move on to more productive interactions. If the later, I will state that I can see how you would think so and conditionally agree with you. The condition being that Federal level government, by its very nature, must focus on the bigger picture and as such at least has a shot at being wiser. Again, I can see pros and cons to both ways of thinking and am still working out how I feel about the matter. All of that being said, thank you for your blindingly insightful post (and with emotocons even!) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015/60 "2005-03-18T04:23:54Z")
> [@emarkp](#): > > Yeah, poor guy. It’s a shame he only “remembered” her desire to “not live that way” after $2 million in court awards. > > And he’s only managed to father two children with his girlfriend. > > And he’s refused any therapy treatment for Terri. > > And he claims that starving to death is a peaceful way to go. > > Wait–he’s a scumbag bastard, not a poor guy. I get those confused. Are you going to come back and defend any of this or was your post a drive by? Regarding the girlfriend and the children: IIRC he would like to marry the girlfriend but would have to divorce Terry to do so. Once a divorce is finalized, he would not be able to have any control over the situation. So he has remained married to Terry to honor her through his belief that she would not want to live this way. Scumbag bastard? I can’t even imagine someone trying to take a decision like this out of my wife’s hands if I were in a similar state. I would be so pissed off I would probably snap out of it even if it was my mother, father or sister. I married my wife for a reason and the thought of someone trying to override my choice in the matter is infuriating. > [@Bricker](#): > > Personally, on the merits of the case, I do not believe her husband is accurately presenting her wishes, and I believe her parents are more credible than she is. I am curious, what have use seen that leads you to this conclusion? Nothing I have seen makes me think that stripping him of his spousal rights and responsibilities is warranted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-feds-turn-for-a-whack-at-terri-schiavo/295015.md?page=4)