# 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:** 58
**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 30, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1141 "2005-03-30T23:14:49Z")
She makes Nell sound like Meryl Streep. Chewbacca was more coherant. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1142 "2005-03-30T23:23:53Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Not really. Cruzan lived a little over 11 days. I don’t know who that is, but I guess I’m clinging to some notion I’ve had since childhood that you can only live 3 or 4 days without water. Since her organs are failing, she must be dying by fits and starts instead of all at once. A coworker suggested that death is a different kind of even for someone who is comatose and half dead anyway. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1143 "2005-03-30T23:49:47Z")
I grew up with that notion too. Not sure where it came from. Maybe an old western movie where somebody was left stranded on the desert, and Lee VanCleef or somebody said “He’ll be dead in three days.” **Skeletons on the Zahara** by Peter King was an eye-opener for me. Not only were those stranded sailors almost constantly without food and water, but they were also subject to extreme conditions – the heat of the desert, and being forced to walk and work, and being mistreated. Remarkable, the abuse a body can take. (End hijack, recommend the book.) ---
**Author:** ![archmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@archmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/archmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1144 "2005-03-30T23:51:25Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I thought that was the same thing expressed by Mrs. Schindler’s comment “Michael and Jodi, you have your own children. Please, please give my child back to me.” When my wife heard her say that, she yelled at the TV, “You have other children!!!”. She had the nerve to make it sound like Terri was her ONLY child. ---
**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 30, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1145 "2005-03-30T23:56:48Z")
I can’t imagine what the Schindlers must have been like as parents. I know that Terri’s siblings are on their side, but Jesus, they come off as real control freaks. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1146 "2005-03-31T00:12:34Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I can’t imagine what the Schindlers must have been like as parents. I know that Terri’s siblings are on their side, but Jesus, they come off as real control freaks. I know it’s very normal for hospice patients to have short or simple hairstyles, but why does Terri’s hairstyle look so much like her mother’s? ---
**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 31, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1147 "2005-03-31T01:57:29Z")
> [@Queen Tonya](#): > > She obviously wants us all to vote for Aaaaahn Wahhhhhhhr. 😃 I said that first! 😛 No, I’m not going to go search through all the pages to find the post,but I did.So there.Now get over to cafe Society. ---
**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 31, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1148 "2005-03-31T02:06:29Z")
Oh shit, I was flipping past the channels and on Fox News they had a blurb that Mel Gibson is going to poke his nose into the case. Hey Mel-why don’t you go back to making Catholic snuff porn and quit telling us about how you’re more Catholic than the Pope, mmmkay? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1149 "2005-03-31T02:28:34Z")
—Who was Cruzan? —What’s a crash cart? ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1150 "2005-03-31T02:35:50Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > —Who was Cruzan? I don’t know. > [@Rilchiam](#): > > —What’s a crash cart? It’s that [cart on wheels](http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/cne/Resources/ClinSkil/Crashcrt/Crashcrt.htm) they’re always crashing into the room when there’s an emergency. Think back to any ER episode you’ve ever seen. You know that cart that the nurse pushes in a wildly careening manner as she shouts at the doctor? That’s the crash cart, I think… ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1151 "2005-03-31T02:39:38Z")
Nancy Cruzan was a woman who sustained severe injuries in a car accident. Hers was one of the first cases to decide the right of families to terminate life support. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1152 "2005-03-31T02:40:02Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > —Who was Cruzan? > > —What’s a crash cart? [Nancy Cruzan](http://www.sclhsc.org/mission_vision_values/ethics/nancy_cruzan.asp) was in a PVS, and her parents (who were appointed her guardians) wished to have her tube feedings stopped. After much litigation, their wishes were carried out and Nancy died. A crash cart is the cart full of medicines, supplies, and defibrillator equipment which gets taken to the site where a patient is being vigorously rescusistated. ---
**Author:** ![High\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8797f3/32.png) [@High\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/High_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1153 "2005-03-31T02:41:48Z")
> [@FaerieBeth](#): > > I don’t know. > > It’s that [cart on wheels](http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/cne/Resources/ClinSkil/Crashcrt/Crashcrt.htm) they’re always crashing into the room when there’s an emergency. Think back to any ER episode you’ve ever seen. You know that cart that the nurse pushes in a wildly careening manner as she shouts at the doctor? That’s the crash cart, I think… Correct. It is filled with the most crucial life sustaining medications. The “crash” portion usually refers to a patient crashing (stops breathing and/or circulating). ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1154 "2005-03-31T02:42:04Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > —Who was Cruzan? [link](http://www.sclhsc.org/mission_vision_values/ethics/nancy_cruzan.asp) As a result of a car accident, Nancy Cruzan was first in a coma, then a PVS. > [@](#): > > In October 1983, she was admitted to a state hospital. Subsequent rehabilitative efforts proved unsuccessful. It became apparent that she had virtually no chance of regaining her mental faculties, and her parents—who had been appointed as her coguardians—asked the hospital to terminate the medically assisted nutrition and hydration procedures. The hospital refused to honor the request without court approval. This went through various levels of litigation, and the parents’ wishes were eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1155 "2005-03-31T03:00:10Z")
It looks like the Schindlers are going to try, once again, to ask the Supreme Court to get involved in this. > [@](#): > > [Schindlers appeal to U.S. Supreme Court](http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/30/schiavo/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1156 "2005-03-31T03:02:23Z")
I see. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1157 "2005-03-31T03:12:20Z")
> [@Lil' Mahoney](#): > > It looks like the Schindlers are going to try, once again, to ask the Supreme Court to get involved in this. wonder what happened to “we won’t appeal to the federal courts” statement they made last weekend ---
**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 31, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1158 "2005-03-31T03:14:17Z")
God forbid she dies on April fools. ---
**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 31, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1159 "2005-03-31T03:14:40Z")
> [@](#): > > From what little I know of hospice–it is not set up for such acute interventions as correcting electrolyte imbalances etc. > Keep in mind–this is a hospice. People are supposed to die there. I doubt that there is even a crash cart for the pts (there may be one for staff or visitors–I am not up on the state’s requirements on these things). We have a hospice floor in our hospital, and I got called to a code there once–one of the nurse techs had a huge heart attack. We had to drag in a crash cart from the other end of the building, and most of the nurses up there couldn’t remember the last code they were involved in. “Chaotic” doesn’t quite capture it. Re: Nancy Cruzan–I highly recommend [The Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1401900119/qid=1112238520/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-4907633-3610235?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) to anyone interested in this topic. The author–the lead lawyer for the team fighting for Cruzan’s right to have care withdrawn–gave a great talk for us last year. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029/1160 "2005-03-31T03:22:29Z")
> [@Lil' Mahoney](#): > > It looks like the Schindlers are going to try, once again, to ask the Supreme Court to get involved in this. Huh? Don’t good conservatives think that “activist judges” are bad? Aren’t good conservatives supposed to defend the solemn holy sacred inviolate institution of heterosexual man/woman unprotected-penis-in-vagina marriage? None of this makes sense anymore. It just looks like a field day for various politicians to get their names in the news. 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-the-poor-woman-die-already/295029.md?page=59)