# Let the poor woman die already! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 17, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029 "2005-03-17T19:11:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 51
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1001 "2005-03-29T01:25:42Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, I’m watching Nancy Grace on Court TV and someone just reported that Michael Schiavo is going to ask for an autopsy to silence everyone who’s saying that she’s not brain dead. good. although I predict that there will be moans of “desecrating her body”, and folks claiming that it was the final 10+ days of her life w/out food that caused it. **Max** the controversy arose because her parents (who had no standing, legally) came to disagree w/her husband (who did). There’s a process for that, in the courts, happens all the time (think Anna Nicole and her former hubby’s will - his other heirs contested it). The courts then step in and decide as best they can ‘what is the real intent of the person in question’. they agreed w/the husband. The parents then went ape shit. Yes, he’s since found some one else, but only after years and years of tending to Terri. When he finally realized the futility of it all, he attempted to have **her wishes** followed. The parents didn’t want Terri’s wishes to be followed (and claimed that she really wouldn’t have wanted that anyway). etc etc etc and then the games began. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1002 "2005-03-29T01:33:53Z")
I don’t really know what an autopsy is going to show that the other tests haven’t. I doubt it is going to be conclusive to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![archmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@archmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/archmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1003 "2005-03-29T01:34:59Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, I’m watching Nancy Grace on Court TV and someone just reported that Michael Schiavo is going to ask for an autopsy to silence everyone who’s saying that she’s not brain dead. Will it really achieve anything? If cat-scans and neurologist haven’t convinced the Schindlers, why would an autopsy and a coroner’s report? Maybe they’ll find one coroner who will read the report, and claim that she could have been rehabilitated. I just saw Terri’s sister claiming that Terri is clearly emoting that she wants to live. The level of delusion is so high, I am horrified by what they would do if they had custody. “We have a joyful announcement. Terri is pregnant. A few weeks ago she made it clear to us that she would have wanted children.” :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1004 "2005-03-29T01:40:01Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > I don’t really know what an autopsy is going to show that the other tests haven’t. I doubt it is going to be conclusive to anyone. Any pattern of deterioration since the most recent tests? Any physical damage or changes to the brain, brain stem, or nerves? I mean, I’ll defer to your knowledge if you tell me I’m flat out wrong. Just seems to me an autopsy should tell them something. I don’t mean it’s capable of convincing anyone; I mean scientific progress. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1005 "2005-03-29T01:41:10Z")
> [@archmichael](#): > > “We have a joyful announcement. Terri is pregnant. A few weeks ago she made it clear to us that she would have wanted children.” That thought has made me ill. ---
**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 29, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1006 "2005-03-29T01:45:11Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if _Law & Order_ has an episode based on the Schiavo case, at this point. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1007 "2005-03-29T02:39:43Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > milroyj’s problem is that he hasn’t gotten with the program. The government is God, if they agree to legally starve someone, by gum, they can. Suck it up. On the off chance that you actually care about the facts in this case, I compiled a handy overview (with cites, because I’m a good little Doper) [here](http://www.livejournal.com/users/lookninjas/30103.html), which will save you the trouble of using Google or (heaven forfend) reading the entire thread and looking at some of the linked citations. But that’s okay. This wouldn’t be a twenty page thread if we didn’t answer the same questions and rebut the same half-assed arguments over and over and over and over and over and… ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1008 "2005-03-29T03:12:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Any pattern of deterioration since the most recent tests? There was plenty of evidence deterioration on the earlier tests sufficient to explain her condition and make it clear that it isn’t going to get better. > [@](#): > > Any physical damage or changes to the brain, brain stem, or nerves? This is just as easily determined by physical exam. We know that she has severe damage to her cortex and not very much damage to her brainstem. The severity of the damage is not really that important, since it would only tell us what functions we expect to see deficits in, and we can just as easily test those functions directly on exam. It might be interesting from a purely scientific standpoint, just because it isn’t often that we see someone who has persisted this long with this level of cerebral atrophy, but those who have not accepted the medical facts of the case up until now are not going to find out anything from the autopsy to give them certainty. I understand why Michael Schiavo is calling for the autopsy, even though he has probably been told it won’t be that useful–there are still people out there seriously advancing the idea that he beat her or that he somehow caused her death, and while an autopsy won’t confirm or deny that, if he refuses to get one it will only add fuel to the fire. He has to at least try. ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1009 "2005-03-29T03:28:31Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > You are a fucking idiot. There is no other word for it. You aren’t entitled to have an opinion about this case because you’re obviously either too stupid or too lazy to learn anything about it. I’d thought my post was obviously over-the-top. Guess we need a smilie for that. What on earth does the sign Pilate or Bush mean? These postermakers are creative,I tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1010 "2005-03-29T03:46:25Z")
> [@](#): > > **Guinastasia** said: > I wouldn’t be surprised if Law & Order has an episode based on the Schiavo case, at this point. They kind of did, only it was SVU, and it was a baby, and they were trying to prove that it had shaken-baby syndrome so they wanted it taken off life support. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1011 "2005-03-29T03:47:22Z")
Maybe Michael wants the autopsy so that he can bitchslap the parents with what’s left of her brain. ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1012 "2005-03-29T03:52:23Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Maybe Michael wants the autopsy so that he can bitchslap the parents with what’s left of her brain. It will show that without a doubt, it was Lee Harvey Oswald who did her in. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1013 "2005-03-29T03:53:00Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > What on earth does the sign Pilate or Bush mean? These postermakers are creative,I tell ya. Because Bush (which one? Pick one.) has said that there’s nothing more he can do, thus “washing his hands” of the case, and leaving it in the hands of the bloodthirsty, evil mob that wants to crucify Terri Schiavo. Or Tom DeLay. Or… I’m confused. Who are we crucifying again? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1014 "2005-03-29T04:04:02Z")
Ya know, **look!ninjas** , ya never cease to make me smile. You’re quickly becoming my favorite poster. ---
**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 29, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1015 "2005-03-29T04:45:49Z")
In case anyone is interested, Schiavo’s guardian ad litem is on Larry King, as well as one of the doctors who examined her and determined she is in a persistent vegetative state. Oh Jesus, now her father is afraid she’ll “OD on morphine!” These people need to be examined by a psychiatrist. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1016 "2005-03-29T04:56:11Z")
[Goddammit, not **Ben Stein** , too!](http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=7951) Fuck, man, I thought you were supposed to be _smart_ and stuff. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1017 "2005-03-29T04:58:50Z")
[The whole frickin’ family is delusional](http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/28/schiavo/index.html): > [@](#): > > Terri Schiavo’s sister said she “is wide awake and very responsive.” > > “She recognizes me,” Suzanne Vitadamo said Monday. “She’s weaker but she’s still trying to talk.” > > \ > > Bob Schindler on Monday commented about the facility she is in – Hospice House Woodside – saying, “I have a grave concern that they’ll expedite the process to kill her with an overdose of morphine.” If there isn’t a wrongful death action against the hospice by the Schindlers, I’ll be gobsmacked. ---
**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 29, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1018 "2005-03-29T05:04:27Z")
Her brother’s on now accusing Michael of abuse, that he petitioned the state to “have her killed”, and they still think they can “save her life.” You know, I really wish they’d stop showing that video from 2001, where’s got that granny nighty on and staring around vacantly. She looks horrible-she doesn’t look aware, or responsive. Do they think she’d WANT them to show everyone looking like that? Maybe her husband isn’t allowing pictures now because he wants her to have at least a little shred of dignity? ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1019 "2005-03-29T05:24:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Bob Schindler on Monday commented about the facility she is in – Hospice House Woodside – saying, “I have a grave concern that they’ll expedite the process to kill her with an overdose of morphine.” Someone has no doubt explained the concept of using a morphine drip titrated to comfort to Mr. Schindler, and he is now turning the concept back on the Hospice and its doctors in an attempt to make them look bad. He will not be satisfied until he has completely demonized the entire reality-based community. I had just developed a faint spark of respect for him, for telling the protestors to go home yesterday. Then he blew it with this. There was a story somewhere yesterday about another patient in the Hospice who died before his family could get there because they couldn’t get through the throng of protestors and the heightened security. If that doesn’t make these people realize that what they’re doing goes beyond this one case, then fuck them. Fuck every single one of them. What I really don’t get, though, is that the hospice is _full_ of patients who have withdrawn potentially life-sustaining medical treatments; it’s what hospice _does_. Is anybody protesting about anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1020 "2005-03-29T05:28:58Z")
> [@drewbert](#): > > [Goddammit, not **Ben Stein** , too!](http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=7951) Fuck, man, I thought you were supposed to be _smart_ and stuff. :mad: I am reasonably certain that Ben meant that sarcastically. At least, I _hope_ he did… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029.md?page=50) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029.md?page=52)