Unclear on the concept

[docwebster]

You know, this Terri Schialvo thing and peoples reactions here on LJ have got me skeeved just a bit. Why? Because I'm not real sure people are clear on just how that woman is apparently now going to die.

Starvation and thirst, people. She is either going to starve to death or die of thirst.

I just don't understand people.

Apparently, her "husband" wants to "put it behind him".

PUT IT BEHIND HIM?

She's your goddamn wife, you sack of crap, not some old car!

Comments

[poisoned-flower.livejournal.com]

Who?

[nokturna.livejournal.com]

i haven't posted anything about it honestly because it is really distubing me to the core of my being... how on earth can we do this to a fellow human being.. hell we don't even do that to animals in shelters or convicts, they get euthanized... but nooooo her slimy shit of a husband (who in my book is WORSE if not the same as that fucker Scott Peterson) decided that he knew what was best for her... yes this is why i haven;t posted about it, but it is why i have a candle burning for her and am considering fasting like many others are

[bassbone.livejournal.com]

I would tend to agree with you. Especially after hearing some of the things about how she's responsive... It's amazing the kind of support Terri is getting from both sides of the aisle.

[kshandra]

You know, beyond a doubt, that I love you.

But here we must disagree.

(When gridlore went in for his surgery, he had a DNR on file, and I had power of attorney. It was incredibly fucking difficult for me to sign the POA, because damnit, he's my husband, and I want him to stick around if at all possible. But it's HIS fucking life, and if he doesn't want heroic measures employed to prolong it, I have to - need to - respect that.)

Quoting from rivka's blog:

None of the 17 affidavits are by providers who examined Schiavo.

Only one of the 17 providers claims to have reviewed her medical records. The remaining 16 providers apparently based their statements primarily on six snippets of videotape, totalling 4 minutes and 20 seconds, which have been posted on Schiavo's parents' website and broadcast repeatedly on the news. Several of them explicitly say that they viewed these clips on the net, and the others all refer to the same short samples of behavior (e.g., Schiavo's eyes tracking a balloon). Many of them say they read news stories about Schiavo. One admits to only seeing news stories and photographs. They all reference their experience with "similar patients," but without qualifying what they mean by "similar." For example, one doctor draws comparisons to catatonic patients - but catatonia simply refers to an absence of voluntary motion or interaction, and can be caused by any number of things. Another references stroke patients, and two more talk about patients with Alzheimer's. As Ampersand points out, not one of them mentions the specific degree and type of brain damage that Schiavo has, as documented by her CAT scans.... (all emphasis mine - KMB)
Perhaps more when I'm sober. Perhaps not, as this is a difficult subject for me to contemplate.

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

I like how under the picture here it says her death will be "very serene":
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Schiavo/story?id=531907&page=1

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

"Overwhelmingly, what will happen is nothing."

Yeah, cuz you know...starving to death is absolutely NOTHING.

"Some people can last four or five days — some people can last 20 days." I'm sickened.

[yobadself.livejournal.com]

And can I just say, even if she said she wanted to die beforehand or whatever, starving to death is NOT a good way to do it. Just...sick.

[inkmistress.livejournal.com]

And this, my friends, is why we should have euthanasia for our people.
We have it for our beloved pets so that we can end their misery when they become terminally ill or horribly injured because it's the humane thing to do.....

I would hope that my husband would put a bullet in my head before it came to something like this!

Excellent post on the subject

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/community/liberal/2322678.html?style=mine

[thatvoiceguy.livejournal.com]

What gridlore said.

Seriously, though: Whether or not her husband is a great guy, the larger issue --- at least now --- is that GOP lawmakers are stepping in (not only at the State level, but at the Federal level) and meddling with ALL these people's lives. This is right-wing politics run amok.

The idea of her starving to death is terrible, but once again: She is not going to feel it. She doesn't have any capacity to "experience" it the way you or I might.