The Terry Schiavo Case

[Noot]

Well, it's definitely good to hear your voice on the matter, Miho~. I was hoping someone would take the opposition because I was rather suprised by the voting turnout. This case isn't as simple as we would all like because just by reading your arguments you have moved me back into the "Don't Know" category. (I already voted though, so that won't change, heh.)

Yes, you're right, life is a precious thing. And it's hard to let it go even in the face of impossible odds. But sometimes it's just the humane thing to do. To let a person be at eternal peace instead of facing this mockery of an existence that she faces.

You have to understand that when it comes to Shiavo, there is no hope of recovery. Knowing this, if you were in her shoes, would you want those closest to you wasting their lives taking care of you in your vegetative state when it's all for nought? I know it's a macho thing to say "pull the plug on me", but really, if I were ever in that condition--with absolutely no hope for recovery--I would want my family to come to grips with it and move on with their lives.

But like you pointed out, who has the final say on the matter? Whose choice is it? I'd really like to say for sure that it was the wishes of Mrs. Schiavo that she either lived or died in this case, but I can't be entirely sure on that. Does someone have the right to death as they would have the right to live? Surely living is good when it is more than just the biological processes that occur without our control, but to truly live one must be able to experience the world around them. Being in the state that Shiavo is in, can that truly be called living?

EDIT: Also (and this is slightly off-topic), I just want to point out that terms like "pro-life" and "pro-choice" are meaningless and only exist to confuse the issue. Everybody is pro-life and everybody is pro-choice. It's for or against euthenasia that is the problem here. Please don't use such political devices in this discussion because it only hinders it.
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~~Harmonian Tenhei Star~~

It's hard to bargle naudle zauss with all these marbles in my mouth.

[Sparhawk]

[Noot]

I'm sorry to those who felt that I worded the question poorly, but because this is such a contraversial subject I was bound to lose no matter how I put it. I just thought that the mods didn't have enough work to do in this forum lately and it needed a good contraversial topic to keep them on their toes (just kidding, folks!) :D

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050316235609990012

Here's the latest news on this case for those who'd like to read. (Sorry it's an AOL link, but hey, it's the service I pay for so it's the news I'll read.)
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~~Harmonian Tenhei Star~~

It's hard to bargle naudle zauss with all these marbles in my mouth.

[Marshmallow]

This is a strange subject for me. On one hand, I don't think she should be subjected to spending her entire life as a vegetable, since I think even if she, at one time had the capacity to recover, apathy on the side of her husband and others has screwed up her chances for recovery. I think she should be allowed to die (as much as this contradicts with some of my other beliefs, I feel it's justified because the alternative would be basically purgatory on earth).

On the other hand, I think her husband is a "string of words that would either be filtered or I'd get in trouble for for using them on here", and if I were in her exact position, I would want to stay alive to spite him (Obviously, I'm a jerk). So I didn't participate in the poll, because I don't side with that [insert expletive of choice here] or the Judge. I still have no idea what Bush's stance on all this is, but he and the government and all of us really have no right to dictate this when it should, in all respects, have been kept a private manner.

Another point I'm making (yup, I ramble) is that, if she would have chosen death, she should have been "euthanized (that term sounds kinda mean in this situation :( ) instead of having her feeding tube removed. As much as legislation allowing that would alter our laws and such on suicide cases and such.

I hope I made some sense.

[Vextor]

I think Michael Shiavo has been wrongly labled as heartless for pursuing the removal of his wife's feeding tube. A lot of people are buying this hype, which is unfortunate.

[Tonberry]

You're absolutely right SARS. He is not some inhumane villain. He is just trying to do what he assumes is what his wife would like.

[Miho~]

Yes i do agree with you SARS and Everyone's Grudge, Michael Schiavo is getting a pretty false negative reputation but so are the parents/family, whom some people believe are being selfish by prolonging their daughter/sister's life.

Marshmallow,

[Filipe]

Fact of the matter is no matter how you look at it or how much the family wants it to be different, the only person right now with the right to decide what's in Terry Schiavo's best interest is Micheal Schiavo. The moment they got married the family can complain until their faces turn blue but they have no legal standing to stop him. Besides, what makes them think that she wants to live in that state? Fact of the matter is she didnt tell them either way whether in that situation she wanted to live or die. Her husband says that she told him that she would not want to live that way and who are we to say that he is lying? On top of that three individuals who have absolutely no personal interest whatsoever also heard her say as much. It's an open and shut case, she doesnt want to live like that so dont force her to do so merely for her parents and siblings personal feelings.

The only thing I am completely and assuredly sick of is this pathetic attempt by some members of her family, to try and make people think she is trying to say to keep her alive. It is complete and total garbage and they know it. She doesnt have the brain capacity anymore to mutter anything at all and any noises she does make are involuntary. I have the utmost sympathy for her family, both her blood relatives and her husband in this situation but the facts are simple, she is already dead.

Oh and just for the record those blaming Micheal for not getting her the treatment that would have made her "better" why didnt the parents pay for it then? Someone could say, but he's her next of kin so it's his responsibility to do so. Well it's also his responsibility to decide whether to keep her alive or let her die
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[Georg Prime 2nd]

In a short answer, I think she should be allowed to die. There is little to no chance that she will ever wake up, and even if she did, she would be such an incredible vegetable, I would be hard pressed to believe that anyone would want to live like that.

This is one of those situations where it would be beneficial for euthanasia to be legal in the US. As much as I think she should be put to rest, I don't think that starvation is the right way, even if she can't feel it at all. It just doesn't sit right with me. I think that she should get a lethal injection, and the whole thing should be over. Unfortunately, that can't be done.

I really feel bad for Michael Schiavo, having to watch his wife starve to death, especially after making the decision that it should happen. He must feel absolutely terrible about himself, even though he knows in his heart that he's doing her a favor. And her parents definitely aren't helping him any. All they're doing is dragging him through the mud, and putting him through a bunch of crap he really doesn't need to go through right now.

But again, that's just my $0.02...
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I want to be just like my dad.

[St. Ajora]

[kuwaizair]

for those who are so admient on her "being cured" why not let her live and put her to work? Ive seen some tripe about the "handicap discrimination" so then, if we treat her as "useless" and shold kill her its just like saying a retart is, then put her to work if she so able? sorry for this hatefull nonsence but she's not contributing to socity, thats what being alive is isn't it? thats why people don't like some others, like system leaches and such.


the one thing here to is the "anti animal testing" if you don't want to test on a brain dead monkey then let HER be the gueina pig to "cure" brain damge.

I read somwhere that she had an eating disorder and had a stroke/heart attack or somthing that was caused by a potasium imballance, now one one had you can say "see she wasy killing her self from the start", then you have pro eating disorder people, or those that say "you can't help them, its like SI or AIDS". who knows
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Its intersting to see how many people say she should die, I guess they are right, its not like she was born with a slight mental disiblity, I'm no expert and I don't know how many people have "gotten out of" the states she is in, but you'd think how they make prognosises would tell how bad she is, or with all of our technoligy how much she is "home". There is this guy I saw on TV who is completly paralized, they tryed an experment where they wired his brain to some electronics, these electronic devises became like his body, eventualy they had him hooked up to a computer and he'd use that to communicate.

mind you this guy's body dosen't work, not his mind. he is Home, he just can't move. This case is differnt, you'd think if shes such a tropper with god on her side that she'd jump up, fail her arms in protet to being killed the first time they wanted to kill her.
I could have more to say but Its not comming to me.
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few runes short of a set of 27

[Sadness]

I would hate to live like that on the bed for more than a decade. But that's just me. I think her husband should decide. If I was married, I wouldn't want my parents making the decision (but that's just me).
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Make me feel with your razor.

[Inko]

she's dead now, and what does it matter about one person anyways there are probable 300 other people out there right now experiencing the same thing...

[Vextor]

Terry Shiavo passed away on March 31st, 2005.
May her soul rest in peace.