waiting for a miracle?

[low_delta]

Terry Schiavo's parents want her kept alive in case a miracle happens and her brain starts working again. I say, if God had wanted her to live, why would he have let her brain deteriorate so much?

And the more important question: why did this case get so out of hand?

Comments

[ghostofzuul.livejournal.com]

in my opinion it's a bunch of religious nuts and politicians who have never met her and know nothing about her besides what's in the press who want this...

her husband has maintained all along she never wanted to live this way...

really... it's a state's rights issue... here in oregon people are watching this case very carefully... ashcroft already sued oregon trying to reverse the right to die law here and it was upheld in the court of appeals but the supreme court is hearing it this summer... if the 11th circuit decides that she should have the feeding tube reinserted then the supreme court will probably reverse that... if they don't it's going to set an ugly presedent in terms of state's rights...

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

The Republicans are all about states' rights until a state tries to invoke a right that they disagree with. And the precedent this is setting is worrisome.

[zaecus.livejournal.com]

Because it's ilegal to assist her death in a humane and painless way.

Even people who agree with her husband's case get twitchy when they realize it means slowly starving her death over the course of several days.

If the court rules in her husband's favor, the anti-freedom brigade who believe they can tell people how to live and how to die will be facing several days of the nation watching a woman die slowly in agony and realize that, whatever the outcome of the court case, that is just wrong and needs to be changed. Death for a convicted felon is as painless and effortless as possible, but this woman gets one of the slowest deaths imaginable.

Yeah, so those emotional issues are why this got so out of hand. They're not necessarily at the core of the case, but they're at the core of why we all know about it now.

[banana.livejournal.com]

I don't know whether this woman is in any condition to fell pain, but surely thay would give pain killers if the feeding is stopped?

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

from an article that Serendipity posted:

Without her feeding tube or water, and barring legal intervention, Schiavo probably has less than two weeks to live. But in a vegetative state, does she feel hunger, thirst or pain? "As a neurologist, I would say no," said Smith.

A person who is unconscious will feel no more hunger or pain than a patient who has undergone general anesthesia. The awareness functions of the higher brain are no longer a factor. "It is why anesthesia works," Smith said.

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

if God had wanted her to live, why would he have let her brain deteriorate so much?

Easy, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

He did it to test our faith, right? *rolls eyes*

[emschin.livejournal.com]

Actually, your Mom and I were talking about her yesterday. I wanted to know why doctors couldn't tell things about her brain function that would say whether she had any hope of recovery. They didn't just pull "persistent vegetative state" out of the air to be cruel.

Then late last night I saw part of an interview with a man who was involved as a trustee in earlier years. He said that they were able to tell from tests that the portion of the brain that controls the personality/thinking part had liquefied and could not be restored. What was left were the portions that controlled involuntary movement, breathing etc. A person could grunt or twitch because of that part, have random eye movement and mouth movements.

He said hope is so powerful that her parents see her twitch or make a sound and interpret that as her thinking. So they say, "she tries to talk, she laughs when we joke etc". I believe what he was saying scientifically, and believe in the human urge to think that surely your baby isn't gone.

And, then, I think congress etc got involved because it was politcally expedient to play to the religious right and they see the gathering of votes that way. I hear the religious right tie it to abortion and want to make points in other areas.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Considering how many times this case has appeared before a court, I don't see why they could hope to achieve anything but appearances.

[shoo.livejournal.com]

Right wing religious zealots is why...

She had a heart attack from suffering from anerexia...If she was so freaked out about her body image then,...You can bet your ass she would HATE being seen in this condition now.....

Lesson learned here...GET A LIVING WILL!!!!!

[(Anonymous)]

my questions to any liberal out there are these "why do you want this woman dead" and "why doesn't the husband step aside and let her parents care for her"

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Funny, I was just thinking about that. The only reason I would ask the same thing is because Terri isn't in there anymore, and feels no suffering, so why not let her body live? As for the husband, I can't think of any reason why he'd stick around, if he didn't care for her, like he's been accused of.

In most other cases, it's a matter of suffering. Most liberals believe that a person should have the right to die if he or she feels the need, and this case could have repurcussions in that respect.

[shoo.livejournal.com]

is this you Lisa?

Because of HER wishes...not her parents