# Terry Schiavo case - how can she respond? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386 "2005-03-26T19:56:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![noblebaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@noblebaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noblebaron)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/1 "2005-03-26T19:56:29Z")
I’ve tried to search for SD archives on this, to no avail, so if this has been asked before already, please accept my apologies. I watched the (local Canadian) news last night and Terry Schiavo was asked if she wanted to live. The news anchor said she apparently responded with a guttural sound like “ohhh”. When asked if she wanted to die, she made another sound that was like “ahhh.” While obviously one can’t interpret these sounds with one hundred percent accuracy, it would seem that apparently Terry has enough brainpower to respond to questions. My next thought was obvious… “why not two “ohhh’s” for yes I want to die, and one “ohhh” for no, I don’t? It would seem that the professionals contemplating this case would have thought about this already. What am I missing here? Have you told your loved ones what you would like to have happen if you were in Terry’s position (ie, live or die and under what conditions)? If, as a result of Terry’s unfortunate situation, we informed our loved ones of our own wishes – should this happen to us – then I think that her struggle would not be in vain. I told my parents and fiancée. NobleBaron ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/2 "2005-03-26T20:04:44Z")
> [@noblebaron](#): > > What am I missing here? What you’re missing is that this claim is unsubstantiated (AFAICT) and that doctors have previously determined her vocalizations to be random vocalizations typical of patients in a PVS. If I am wrong, and someone knows of some corroboration of the parents’ story, I’d be interested in becoming more informed. But I haven’t yet seen any evidence to back up their claim that she actually responded to their promptings – which was to repeat the phrase “I want to live” if she could understand them. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/3 "2005-03-26T20:40:55Z")
> [@noblebaron](#): > > While obviously one can’t interpret these sounds with one hundred percent accuracy, it would seem that apparently Terry has enough brainpower to respond to questions. It seems to me that one has no way to interpret these sounds at all (even if the event took place as stated). There is no indication that they were anything other than inarticulate moans, or were actually uttered in response to the questions rather than being random. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/4 "2005-03-26T21:40:33Z")
> [@noblebaron](#): > > My next thought was obvious… “why not two “ohhh’s” for yes I want to die, and one “ohhh” for no, I don’t? It would seem that the professionals contemplating this case would have thought about this already. The thing with this is how to communicate to her that two “ohhh’s” actually mean yes, and that one “ohhh” is for no. How do we know that she isn’t responding in a way that states that she wants to die? The doctors don’t know that either. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/5 "2005-03-26T21:53:26Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > How do we know that she isn’t responding in a way that states that she wants to die? The doctors don’t know that either. Yes, they do. So much of her brain has atrophied at this point that it is impossible to credit the claim that she is capable of perceiving her surroundings, much less responding to language. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/6 "2005-03-26T21:59:18Z")
Oh I know, I was just making a point that teaching of the number of “ohhh’s” just wouldn’t work. I guess my last question should have been directed to someone who would state that her “ohhh’s” mean that she wants to live. The question would have been a counter-question to that… er whatever… ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/7 "2005-03-26T22:17:41Z")
OK, **PA** , gotcha. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/8 "2005-03-27T00:20:36Z")
maybe she’s related to [Michigan J. Frog](http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~aaron2/wb/michigan.html), only dancing and singing when nobody’s looking. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/9 "2005-03-27T01:07:58Z")
View the **videos** of Terri on this [web site](http://www.terrisfight.net) and judge for yourself whether her movements and sounds are random or whether she’s responding. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/10 "2005-03-27T01:16:49Z")
> [@Large Marge](#): > > View the **videos** of Terri on this [web site](http://www.terrisfight.net) and judge for yourself whether her movements and sounds are random or whether she’s responding. Very heavily edited videos, of course. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/11 "2005-03-27T01:24:27Z")
In order for that response to be meaningful it would need to be repeatable. If you ask the question morning afternoon, and evening for three days in a row and get the same, or substantially the same, response every time then you could have some confidence in claiming that she was congizant of the question and responding to it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/12 "2005-03-27T01:27:43Z")
Garp! ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/13 "2005-03-27T01:47:05Z")
> [@Large Marge](#): > > View the **videos** of Terri on this [web site](http://www.terrisfight.net) and judge for yourself whether her movements and sounds are random or whether she’s responding. View the videos in their entirety, not just heavily edited portions that have been cherry picked and you’ll see the groans and laughs **are** random. Because on occasion she’ll groan when someone says something they can film that and make it look like she understands what’s going on. They don’t show the dozens of other times the question is repeated and all she does is stare off into space. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/14 "2005-03-27T03:02:31Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > View the videos in their entirety, not just heavily edited portions that have been cherry picked and you’ll see the groans and laughs **are** random. Because on occasion she’ll groan when someone says something they can film that and make it look like she understands what’s going on. They don’t show the dozens of other times the question is repeated and all she does is stare off into space. Where can the unedited videos be found? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/15 "2005-03-27T03:36:00Z")
> [@Catalyst](#): > > Where can the unedited videos be found? My understanding is that they are a matter of public record with the Florida Court this matter was initiated in. But I don’t know how a member of the public could go about getting a copy. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/16 "2005-03-27T03:48:07Z")
> [@](#): > > **Docs Say Schiavo Tapes Don’t Tell Story** > > They say film doesn’t lie, but does that mean it tells the truth? The public sees fleeting videotaped images of Terri Schiavo, appearing to many to turn toward her mother’s voice and smile. They hear what sound like moans and laughter. They watch her head move up and down, seemingly following the progress of a brightly colored Mickey Mouse balloon. And often they ask: How could anyone conclude but that she is aware of her surroundings? > > – snip – > > The public has seen only a tiny portion of the more than four hours of videotape shot during the past seven years of litigation over whether to keep the 41-year-old woman on a feeding tube. Even doctors who have agreed that she is in a persistent vegetative state have admitted to being swayed, if only briefly, by the now familiar images that have been played and replayed on national television. > > – snip – > > But Bambakidis noted that such visual tracking “commonly occurs spontaneously in people in a persistent vegetative state.” After reviewing her brain scans and visiting with her, he came to the conclusion that she had no hope of recovery. > > Dr. James Barnhill, a neurologist hired by Michael Schiavo, the husband who has fought through the courts to honor what he says would have been his wife’s wishes, reviewed the videotapes and came to a similar conclusion. > > Barnhill has said Terri Schiavo engaged in “pathological laughter, pathological crying … consistent with the vocalizations that are seen in people with persistent vegetative states. I see nothing on that tape that indicates an awareness there or consciousness.” Source: [AP Wire](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=541&ncid=716&e=8&u=/ap/20050327/ap_on_he_me/brain_damaged_woman_videotapes) It depends upon how you spin the story, er distort the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/17 "2005-03-27T05:01:31Z")
In the baloon clip, I notice they don’t show where the balloon is. I can hear the fellow holding the balloon, however, often correcting her with phrases like “c’mon Terri, no no, c’mon”, “look over here, look over here”, “c’mon over here, c’mon over here”, which indicates to me that she’s probably not tracking the balloon very well at all. It’s also possible for someone performing such a test to (even unconsciously) sense how she’s turning and “lead” in that direction. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/18 "2005-03-27T05:05:46Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Very heavily edited videos, of course. There are six and they are all very short clips. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/19 "2005-03-27T05:07:01Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > View the videos in their entirety, not just heavily edited portions that have been cherry picked and you’ll see the groans and laughs **are** random. Because on occasion she’ll groan when someone says something they can film that and make it look like she understands what’s going on. They don’t show the dozens of other times the question is repeated and all she does is stare off into space. Have you viewed the videos in their entirety? Have you viewed the short clips on the web site? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386/20 "2005-03-27T05:09:50Z")
> [@Large Marge](#): > > they are all very short clips. That’s the point. They prove absolutely nothing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terry-schiavo-case-how-can-she-respond/296386.md?page=2)