if you were in Terri Schiavo's condition...

would you want to be kept alive for years even decades with little/no hope of recovery and what would constitute recovery?...would you want to be a burden on parents/spouse/children, even if they were willing and happy to take care of you?...if people are really concerned about Terri's wishes, can they answer WHY they think she would WANT to be kept alive in this state when MOST of us (regardless which side of the do/don't reinsert tube issue you come down on) would prefer DEATH to what currently passes for TS's life...we don't want to make judgements about whose life is worth saving but God forbid it happens to a loved-one and a decision has to be made by SOMEBODY and if you're married, it falls to your spouse...there is a such thing as a fate worse than death...how can anyone say for sure they are supporting/fighting FOR Terri by keeping her alive...they may be punishing her and prolonging her suffering far worse than they can imagine...it's a heartbreaking and impossibly difficult enough situation already without the whole world feeling entitled to insert themselves into the middle of your family tragedy...

:-)

After the docs and therapists determine that I can't be rehabilitated, let me go.
What baffles me is that these are Christian people, who believe in the afterlife, in heaven. When Terri dies, the Christian belief is that she goes to heaven, to the presence of God. If they really believe that, how can they hold her here, suspended between life and death? I just don't get it.

It's about Roe v. Wade, and don't let anyone tell you anything different.

That's why the laments aren't making sense to you. See? Because they're not making sense.

I know you're right. I keep wanting stuff to make sense, but we really are through the looking glass at this stage.
Where were the right-to-lifers when that baby Sun was taken off the respirator last week? Why wasn't he worth the effort?

has been how her parents violated a court order that was intended to guarantee Mrs. Schiavo's privacy - and dignity - that forbade any videotaping of her.

The parents walked right through that order and now that videotape - that disgusting manipulative smear - is what people will think of when they think of this whole sordid mess.

Parents who love their children try to protect them, and that does NOT mean exploiting their misfortune so as to line their pockets, which, I am convinced, is all the Schindlers want out of this.

Well, they want attention, too. I can't wait to see what happens to them when she's gone.

... who needs neo-cons?

And IMO, keeping these people alive like that is cruelty. They are not enjoying their existense if they have any conciousness at all. They lie in tedium all day, prone to pnuemonia, decubitus ulcers and other infections. There is no quality of life. None!
As a nurse caring for unfortunate people like this, I DO NOT want to be kept like this. I DO NOT want my family to visit me, bring me flowers, show me videos, try to talk to me...I wont give a shit! I wont have a functional brain.
Pull my tube, my plug...or better yet give a big shot of morphine so I'll go to sleep with a smile on my face and die is some state of dignity.

MAveRiC

that her feeding tube be re-inserted actually been part of an end of life decision for a family member???? My dad had a generic living will partially filled out naming my brother to make the decision, but he neglected to discuss the matter with my brother. It was a very difficult decision. My brothers and I talked to each other, my father's pastor and hospital social workers among others. But it was a decision that had to be made and made privately and with full regard to his dignity.

Her Parents won a court ruling and have been keeping her alive via feeding tube and and ventilator since 1993. She is also 41 and her husband, never in favor of her parents, blocked his decision to execute her wishes.
Let me check the archives.

It's so completely screwed up that the greed for money seems to mess people up so much. It always makes any relationship problem a million times worse. Personally, I believe Mr. Schiavo's side of the story. He sure stuck in there for his wife until all reasonable hope was exhausted.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&ncid=676&e=1&u=/usatoday/20050325/ts_usatoday/feudmaybeasmuchovermoneyasprinciple