Almost as sick is knowing that if these Repugs manage to use this Hearing subpeona to keep Terry on life support, the Dems are going to be just as determined to seen doing something to ‘end the use of this poor woman’s body as a political football.’
Not as bad as being the ones to start the nonsense, but not all that much better, either. 8-(
Wait a minute, where are all these Democrats calling for Shiavo’s death you are talking about? As far as I can tell, most Democratic politicians are sadly quiet on this issue. I wish they weren’t, but I don’t see any kind of response from the Democratic party that is equivalent to DeLay, Frist, Jeb Bush and the rest of the Republicans. Who are these Democrats you are talking about?
Speaking of Jeb Bush, he had this to say on the matter:
Source may be temporary.
Rush? According to this same source, at least 19 judges and 6 courts have been involved over the years.
It looks more and more to me like some GOP leaders have no respect for the law or our court system – which has been terribly abused in this case.
Only in politics would a fifteen-year legal dispute be called a “rush.”
Fear Itself, well, hopefully, my Representative and Senators will be getting onto the bandwagon. (FTR, Chuck Schumer-D, Hillary Clinton-D, and Louise Slaughter-D.) After all, I did just email them yesterday to let 'em know how I feel about this issue. 8-\
I didn’t mean to say that it had happened, just that this has become such an emotional issue that I don’t expect the Democrats to remain above the fray. Because it’s going to be at least as good a way to get in front of the cameras as anything else going on at the moment. And, let me remind you, I’m saying that when (if) it does happen, they’re still going to be less despicable than the Repugs who have made this poor woman’s body a political football - just that I suspect part of the reason for any stand taken will be based on a calculation of being able to be seen fighting Repug idiocy.
And yes, this is a very cynical view of modern politics. Of course, I’ll suggest I’ve learned to be very cynical, from all our politicians. Of all political parties.
She’s a muppet, she’s dead, she’s gone, she’s not coming back.
Write your letters, make your protests, do what you will.
In the end, if your life or death hangs in the hands of the government, it’s your fault.
Live, die, or don’t.
Be a muppett, or don’t.
It’s up to you.
WTF?
Yanno, mattmorgan64, if you’re going to be jumping on this thread after your claims that you don’t care about Terry Schiavo, you could at least read the whole thing.
FTR, and to repeat my oft-stated position: I am one of those people who accepts that Terry Schiavo is in a Permanent Vegatative State, and her body should be allowed to die. I do not believe the Federal Gov’t has a reason or right to get involved in this case, and applaud the judge in Florida who just told the House Committee to get stuffed.
Read the thread before jumping on someone, numbskull.
I’ve not been this eager to see a poster banned since the days of Nonpolar.
Happy birthday.
Egads, that was fast service. I almost want to go see what it was that pushed it over the edge.
Almost. 
My only beef is with the method. If they want to put her out of her misery, then at least have the courtesy (and balls) to do it humanely and drug her to death quickly and painlessly. That, I would support, a slow death by dehydration or starvation is just wrong. Yeah yeah, supposedly she can’t feel pain or suffering, but what if she can - I agree that she’s beyond saving, but if there’s even the tiniest bit of chance that she can feel, then what’s wrong with a quick painless death??
There isn’t the slightest chance that she can feel. The doctors are not guessing with this. That part of her brain no longer exists.
Not sure if someone has already posted this, but i didn’t see it anywhere in the thread.
It looks like they’ve removed the feeding tube.
/me waits for someone to say “But she still has her heart!”
Nothing . . . except only one state legally recognizes a right to die by active means (morphine, say) rather than passive (allowing nature to run its course).
And that one state is almost as far from Florida as one can get.
don’t know if it was this thread where I spoke of my experiences.
last year, my father went into brain surgery. post operative, we discovered it was unoperatable brain cancer. he was unable to talk or swallow post operative. He actively attempted to remove all of his tubes and such, actively fought people who were trying to do various treatments on him, they then tied him to his bed.
as his next of kin, my siblings and I convinced the doctors that he absolutely would not want this. they removed his feeding tube, per our request. I stayed with him in hospice from that moment to the end. It was peaceful, non invasive, and dignified. It was the final gift we could give him - a peaceful and dignified end to a long life. People who speak of the ‘starving’ etc I believe have images of starving children w/sad eyes. If I felt for one moment that this action would or did cause my father even a moment’s discomfort, we’d have changed direction. there was no evidence of discomfort -instead, he was far more peaceful and and relaxed than he had been in the ICU w/ all the tubes. He was conscious from time to time, still unable to speak, but reacted to our voices, held my hand.
I cannot emphasize it enough- there was NO distress to him. I was with him 24 hours a day, woke every two hours when the nurses would come into the room to move him. There was NO distress. ever. It was a peaceful, gentle, kind and the only loving thing we could do.
Tom Delay needs to be intubated, placed on a ventilator, tied down (we refer to it as “restrained”) and then paralyzed with Pavulon–just so that he can get the tiniest of inklings of what “life” is like for pts like Terri.
Except that TS is way beyond all of that and has been for 15 years.
I just want Tom “I am so fucking righteous” Delay to really hurt and be helpless to do anything about it.
Watch out-I am in one foul mood today.
Our government is a joke–this admin is the worst one EVER–and I include Nixon in that.
Which seems to me to be the more pressing issue to fight. To be allowed to die by active means in cases such as these, and other irreversible scenarios.
wring, I’ve been where you were, in a way. I made the decision to pull my mother’s vent back in 2000, and then sat with her until she flatlined. It took a lot longer (in hours) than one would have thought, though certainly not days. And she was drugged into a coma, but I don’t know if I could have watched her slowly die for days - even though I knew she was not going to live. I would much rather have had an active death (euthanasia).
I didn’t think I had the energy in me, but I ranted about this at some length in my LiveJournal tonight.
Nothing new–mostly just me letting it all out.
Yay for Oregon!
Doctor J,
I want to thank you for answering my questions earlier and supplying us with accurate information. Your posts have meant much toward helping me understand the nature of Terri’s condition. I’ve been checking into the Schindler’s site ( and the abstract appeal site) on and off and noticed today there is a list of Senate contacts…what say we use them?
Here’s the link, we hope. http://www.terrisfight.org/
regards,
widdley