Category: Let's talk
Most of you, if you happen to live in the US, are aware of the court battle that is going on right now. For those of you who don't know, it is over a woman named Terri schiavo who has been comatose now since 1990. Her parents want to keep her alive, but her husband who is her legal guardian wants her dead. what do you think?
www.terrisfight.org is a site that i found that has some video of terri, its quite heart breaking so don't listen to it if you cry easally.
er lauren? there is another topic about this already started, your a bit late, mate.
Is this video jaws audible?
Sadly we lost Terri early this morning. Yeah it's sad, and I feel for her family. But at least she's not suffering like she was.
Actually, I had visited that site AldGirl had posted here, and according to that, she had been responsive to her family and others by vocalizing, facial expressions, etc. It's sad to know that it came to her dying, but I hope noone else would have to go thru that. It honestly makes me consider writing up something, just in case anything should ever happen to me.
Leilani
You know, I don't know if I'm a little too young for it but I'm thinking about writing something up myself. I already told a few people in my family and including my doctor, that if I was to ever go through a state when I'm semiconscious or need a feeding tube or other exoorderinary means, I would like to go in peace. No more fighting with me in court just to keep me alive if I can't do anything for myself, just let me go, and don't cremate me, cause I don't believe in cremation.
I think what's so sad is the fact that her family and husband were in battle until the bitter end. her family (parents and brother and sister that is) weren't even allowed to be at her bedside when she died.
Oh I want to go peaceful and all but don't starve me! If I am in that state and they won't give me a quick needel, then keep me on any and all tubes. I was listening to a doctor that said they starve people all the time. He went on to say they don't die frm starving they die from dehydration. Like what happenes to slugs when you put salt on them. The doctor didn't say about the slug thing but I did. Leave me all hooked up until they are willing to give me the last prick.
that's right that's why they disconnect the water as well - you can actually live on just water for a considerably longer time than without it. as for cremation ... yeh i wanna be cremated .. i wanna make damn sure I've gone .. wouldn't wanna wake up underground now.
I feel sorry for everyone who lives in America, the so called land of freedom! What freedom? If a person can't even choose to and or decide how and when they want to live or die. Lucky for me cause in the Netherlands euthanasia is legal! As is prostitution, soft drugs, and many more things... now that is true freedom not the superficial kind that is marketed in the USA.
well there are arguments for and against euthanasia of course, however in Terri Schiavo's case she was not able to vocalize her decision and did not have a living will. so how does the law stand in the Netherlands Star, if someone is in a vegetative state, and they have not previously stated whether they wish to remain in such a state, can next of kin make the decision on their behalf? It'd be interesting to know. As for soft drugs and legalization of prostitution, they are both subjects for different topics ..
I'm glad the bag is dead, now I can hear about my sports teams, and the baseball scandle shit.
Ok, the bitch is dead, and that can't be changed. She should have had that tube pulled out years ago, because there hasn't been hope for her since I dunno, like nineteen ninety-two or so. So why bother debating it? If you don't want to or do for that matter want to live in that kind of state, you'd best get yourself a lawyer. Like it or not, if you live in America, you're gonna have to get a living will, and call it good. The right decision was made in this case, and when the autopsy results come back, the world will realize that.
Just because she made random vocal sounds and facial expressions does not mean she was in any way aware of what was going on around her. One of the main features that differentiates humans from other animals (except arguably for some higher primates) is that we can think and reason; we have rationality, language and self-awareness. She was diagnosed by so many doctors as being in a permanent vegitative state, so she showed no response to stimuli, and her cerebral cortex, the place where our higher functioning takes place, was severely damaged. Hopefully she couldn't feel any pain, but even if she could, at least they could sedate her, and it would not be nearly the same as when a self-aware, thinking person feels pain. I do feel horrible for all involved, and think that even if the husband wanted to respect her wishes, he should have let the family have time with her and the funeral and all. I do believe it is not the government's place to get involved; that's not what freedom is all about. Also, the conservatives who believe in the sanctity of marriage should also keep in mind, who would know her wishes better than her husband? From what I've heard also, even the Right To Life groups agreed with the current laws in place that allow families to make the decision over governments.
I think that once a person is in a percistant vegetitive state that they will not recover from enough to be able to live a normal life, then regardless of what other people want or indeed the wishes of that person before reaching such a state, the person should have their lives terminated. Most of the people I have spoken to on this issue wouldn't want to live through that state, health resources are wastewd keeping all these people alive. If someone is ill and able to recover, and the hospital is out of beds because it's accomodating people who won't recover, I think that is wrong and unjustifiable. Also the money which is spent keeping these uncurable people alive could be better spent on curable people.
well ww that theory is all very well but at what point do you determine that a life should be ended. After all, lots of people have diseases they will never recover from, and which, in some cases, will ultimately cause death. so do you think these people also should be euthanised? and if so, at what point, at the stage of diagnosis?
I think that if people befcome terminally ill they should be able to live while they still are capable of looking after themselves. There was someone from Leeds who got cancir and was terminally ill with it. She did all sorts of cycling to raise money and things to help cure it. People like that should be kept alive. If someone reaches the point though when they can't do anything for themselves and they rely on technology to keep them alive like Tery Chiavo did, then it's time for their lives to end.
I agree WW except, what if they want to live? Who are we to stop them?
Um Blind guy, that was too out of line. This poor lady went through a lot and she died, that's arogant of you to call her a bag. Just put yourself in her state, would you like if somebody called you a bag? Think about it brother.
If a person in a vegititive state wants to live, that wish shouldn't be respected unless they can do it without the assistance of technology which could be more useful if used on people who would be more likely to make aenough f a recovery to resume their life as it was before they became ill. If Blind Guywas in that state I don't think he'd be aware of what people were calling him and his brain would be too damaged for him to decide what th thinks of it.
Ok think about it this way. If he was in a wheelchair, whould he like somebody calling him cripple? Or if his own mother was in that state would he like it if someone went up to him and called his mother a bag? I don't think so.
I don't know he'd have to answer that himself. I wouldn't like people making such remarks about members of my family, but they are entitled to make them and I wouldn't prevent them from doing so.
ooooh nothing about a bit of family loyalty now is there .. his mother must be so proud.
And imagine if someone tried to convert someone from his family to extreme Christianity, in that case obviously they should be sued and all their possessions taken from them <grin>
Even though I'm not living in the US, they were talking about this a lot on the TV and on the radio. To be honest, I think it should have been a fight between her parents and her husband, but it became a larger fight. And, I know this might sound hard, but I think it's better that she died than a life only lying in bed. This would at least for me be no life. I would want to do it the same way.