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Equal Time
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blue9t3
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Joined: 23 Aug 2004
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Location: oregon

PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 6:21 am    Post subject: Equal Time Reply with quote

Of course we can all expect those people who have gave so much of thier time and personal experiences to devote the same amount of energy to the thousands of people who have found themselves in the same situation as the woman in the news that was used as some sort of political pawn and has disrupted the american society to the point to where we must force our lawmakers to make a law that states "we must obey our laws".

That was one sentence, does anyone recall the man that said insanity is repeating the same over and over again and expecting a different outcome? Shocked

Get over it and die of something else!------blue9t3
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Fort Campbell
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 1:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Equal Time Reply with quote

blue9t3 wrote:
Of course we can all expect those people who have gave so much of thier time and personal experiences to devote the same amount of energy to the thousands of people who have found themselves in the same situation as the woman in the news that was used as some sort of political pawn and has disrupted the american society to the point to where we must force our lawmakers to make a law that states "we must obey our laws".



I can also only hope that the energy used to post concerning Terri Schiavo will also be extended to these people, blue. One is no more valuable than another.

Quote:
NEW YORK — Terri Schiavo is not the first person to have a feeding tube removed, although the public may be left with that impression because of intense media attention and her parents' emotional pleas to have the tube reinserted.

In 2003, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the National Center for Health Statistics (search) reports that 146,000 procedures were performed to insert permanent feeding tubes into patients. According to the Brain Injury Association, there are between 35,000 and 40,000 people diagnosed with being in a persistent vegetative state — the same diagnosis that Terry Schiavo’s parents dispute.
These statistics, however, can offer only a glimpse into just how many families may be struggling with decisions regarding keeping a loved one alive through artificial means.

“It’s not an uncommon occurrence,” said Jon Radulovic, vice president of communications for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Radulovic said that anecdotal evidence culled from doctors, families and other health care professionals confirms that “thousands and thousands” of patients are removed from life support each year.

Hospital officials concur, characterizing life-support-removal decisions as everyday occurrences that rarely spark public — or even private — controversy.

"It happens all of the time, you just don't hear about it," said Amanda Engler, director of communications for the Texas Hospital Association. Engler said thousands of patients are removed from life support in Texas each year, either as a result of decisions reached by family members and doctors or because of the patients' own advanced directives or living wills.
"It's just like every other medical decision," she said.
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Navy_Navy_Navy
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 4:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Equal Time Reply with quote

Fort Campbell wrote:

I can also only hope that the energy used to post concerning Terri Schiavo will also be extended to these people, blue. One is no more valuable than another.



You know, it really sounds to me as if you think those of us who give a damn about whether Terri Schindler really wanted to die, and think that she really wasn't a "vegetable" and that she deserved our protection and awareness are a bunch of hypocrites for not protesting this sort of action all the time.

And maybe that's because it's not happening all the time.

Maybe until Terri Schindler's case, we had not an inkling that this had become a country in which it's acceptable to starve a helpless, innocent person to death.

Here are just SOME of the reasons that some of us find the Schindler-Schiavo case a little difficult to stomach:

1. No living will - her last wishes were not known. A single judge found that she had indicated her dying wishes because of hearsay evidence from what now appear to be less-than-unimpeachable sources.

2. Terri had been talking to friends, family and co-workers about divorce - why could not a divorce been granted to her based on hearsay evidence? Why was her guardianship not given to her parents, given that her husband already had another "wife" and children and clearly could not have Terri's best interests foremost in his heart as did her parents.

3. The recollection that Terri had expressed a desire to die instead of living hooked up to machines came only years after the collapse. The timing of his and his witnesses' sudden memories is suspicious.

4. The faulty diagnosis of PVS was made by a hand-picked doctor... one who is a leader in the cult of death. Repeated petitions for alternate opinions were ignored. PVS patients do not speak in context, do not laugh and cry at appropriate times, do not anticipate pain and protest a procedure before pain actually occurs. Terri did all of those things.

5. The order to remove the feeding tube was not incognizant of the fact that Terri could swallow. It specified that she was not to be nourished by mouth. You are not allowed to do that to a cat or dog (or cow) in this country. How in heaven can we be allowed to do it to a thinking, feeling, aware human being?

6. There are clear conflicts of interest involving Felos, the hospice and the judge.

Now, you show me another case that has this much questionable history and this many questionable characters in it, and I'll be glad to write to my Congressmen and women. I'll be glad to try to raise awareness of the victim's situation.

I care about due process and I care about life, no matter whose it is. Even convicted murderers get better assurance of due process than did Terri Schindler.

When a judge is presented with new evidence that a convicted person is innocent and therefore wrongly jailed, they get another chance.

Why was this innocent woman not given another chance to counter the evidence presented which ended in the judgement that she was a "vegetable" and that her husband should be the guardian?

She tried even at the end to say that she wanted to live.

And they killed her anyway.

You just show me ONE case that resembles this one - I'll be in there feet first.
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Last edited by Navy_Navy_Navy on Sun Apr 03, 2005 5:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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shawa
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Joined: 03 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well said, Navy!!!!
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kate
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agreed, well said EJ,
Thanks for putting into words, in this post and others, how many of us feel.!
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LewWaters
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 6:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Let us not forget that her husband in name only, the one so strongly desiring her death and the one who supplied only his family members as evidence of her desire to die is also the same one who, right after he was awarded 1.2 million dollars for loss of consortium and lifetime care and FEEDING of Terri Schiavo stopped any and all therapy of her and prevented any attempts of rehabilitation for a period of 12 years.

In a 1990 medical report from Bayfront Medical Center, where Terri was at the time, it is reported that although medical staff have not witnessed attempts at verbal communication, "but it has been reported by HUSBAND and other family members and therapists over at College Harbor."

Even if she had made this wish back in 1985, who is to say she still maintains that wish? Have not all of us, one time or another, made wishes or passing comments that we changed our minds on years later? Are we now such sticklers for following the letter of the law that passing comments made several years prior may be used to justify killing us, if we are unable to communicate? If we are that intent on following the letter of the law, why aren't we prosecuting marijuana users and those who drive 1 mile per hour over the speed limit?

Just over 60 years ago, America, as the sole litigators, prosecuted 16 judges and 23 doctors, convicting most, for war crimes, which included euthanasia and starvation deaths of thousands of people.

Now, we have a legally blind judge who refuses to watch or allow videos of Terri obviously responding to those around her, who also made a fatal error in his dating of a prior event used to disallow evidence to the contrary to her wishes, who will not even entertain the idea that his ruling for her death may be erroneous when his own error is pointed out to him.

While this practice may have been going on for some time, this is the first case that has grabbed public opinion on the scale it has. Not knowing of the other cases does not make them any less hideous. Having a necrophiliac attorney publicly state how beautiful she looks near the end of her starvation and dehydration execution, while visions of those liberated from Dachau and Auswitzch dance in our minds, only added to the public outcry against this practice.

This was and is a very complex case, one that a woman was brutally killed by a barbaric action and there was not a single outcry from any major advocacy group that is always crying about mistreatment of women. She died while politicians played political football trying to use her for their own gain and furtherance of their careers. Many of these same politicians will stand up soon announcing the need for additional tax dollars to feed those who are hungry within our inner-cities and in other lands, but they were content to let this woman die as a result of starvation and dehydration and not one spoke out against the description of peaceful and beautiful used towards Terri Schiavo.

It's a sad day to look around and wonder which one of us may be next in this quest for a perfect society and to realize that we are allowing the same practices we prosecuted others for back in the 1940's.
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Tanya
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Joined: 13 Aug 2004
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Questions and Answers about "Artificial Feeding"

"Removing their food and water isn’t "letting them die." It’s making them die. Nor is this type of death "putting them out of their misery," as some would say. Instead it’s putting them into misery - the misery of dying in an excruciating manner. How could dying of thirst possibly be considered a peaceful death?"

http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/dehydration.htm

Thank you Navy3x
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Barbie2004
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Joined: 18 Sep 2004
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't know it was going on. I didn't know that my country had become a place where killing a helpless person was "accepted".

How many cases don't make it to the national media?

Now that I am aware, I consider this every bit as important as Iraq, terrorism, and national security.

Afterall, we are being attacked from within, through systematic brainwashing and propaganda.

BTW: I am still waiting for someone to show me where this "right to die" is in the Constitution.

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srmorton
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dittos to both NavyX3 and Lew!!!

Although I had heard of Terri Schiavo prior to the March 18 deadline,
I guess I just did not believe that a healthy 41 year old woman could
be publically starved to death with the blessings of the judicial system
in the United States of America. Now, we are all aware that such an
atrocity can happen and will do all in our power to prevent it from
ever happening again.

If the patient does have a written living will, the family is in agreement,
and there is truly no hope for the patient, I would still be sad to see
someone starved to death in such a horrible manner, but I would have
to support the action of the family in that case. The Terri Schiavo case
satisfied none of those criteria and I still believe that many who now
think it was just a "private family matter" will be horrified when they
are confronted with the whole truth that the MSM refused to report.
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Barbie2004
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just my few words of caution:

Quote:
If the patient does have a written living will,


Even written documents can be left up to "interpretation" and did the maker of the "living will" have informed consent. That is, did the person know, understand, and accept the horrors of being dehydrated and starved.

Also, did the person understand that doctors make mistakes or might be influenced in his/her diagnosis by having used up all insurance/medicare funds and now wants to just rid the organization "legally" of any further obligations to the life of the patient??

Quote:
the family is in agreement,


Does the family have an inheritance to protect. That is, is it possible that the "family" doesn't want their inheritance spent on rehab and other care? Not all families function as your's and mine.

Quote:
and there is truly no hope for the patient,


"Where there is life, there is hope." Terri's friend told the public Terri had told her one time.

Doctors make mistakes. We have heard many different opinions regarding Terri's condition and prognosis. That's the tame words of caution. The not so tame I stated above. Not all doctors are in it for the patients. Some are just as greedy as some lawyers.

Quote:
I would still be sad to see someone starved to death in such a horrible manner, but I would have to support the action of the family in that case.


I understand where you are coming from, but I disagree. We all have pictures in our minds of how what happened to Terri would be acceptable. But I ask you to consider some of the points I make above.

It is a very slippery slope.

I can honestly say that I believe we need to get away from that slippery slope and just say that everyone has a "right to life", which is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, a document that all veterans have fought for, and one that we should now fight for.

There is no "right to die" in the U.S. Constitution. Let's draw the line at "the right to life." Then we don't have to worry.

Let God decide the rest.

Idea Idea Idea Idea
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ocsparky101
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with all that everyone is saying though about Terri's case. The question though is what are you all going to do about it? The President has even come out on many occasions and said there is a problem in the Judiciary in this country. How many Judges did you see get voted out of office? Judges in this country get elected on their names. Their fathers and grandfathers were judges and they get elected year after year because their names have been on the ballots for so many years. The judiciary today is the only place the liberals have any power today yet they still appear to be in control and feared by the conservatives for what they can do. Yet we have a State Supreme Court Justice today traveling the country with the "Ten Commandments". Why? Because he has no job and nothing else to do
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srmorton
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 3:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Barbie2004, I actually agree with everything you said in your response
to my post. What you said is closer to my own personal opinion. I was
trying to look at it more from a legal point of view since there already is
precedent for removing "life support" from a patient under certain
circumstances. I do not agree with those who consider a feeding tube
a form of life support. I would actually be in favor of a law that prohibits
removing food and water from any patient who can not speak for
themselves. I also agree that where there is life there is hope, because
I believe in a God of miracles.

I was just trying to emphasize that Terri's case did not remotely qualify
as a "test" case for the euthanasia crowd because there were (and still
are) so many unanswered questions about what her true wishes were
and whether she was truly in a PVS. We as a nation are poised at the
top of that "slippery slope" that you refer to and it is up to the state and
federal legislatures to enact laws that keep us from plummeting down it.
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Navy_Navy_Navy
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 4:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ohmigod... from the link Tanya posted I found this amicus brief:
http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/pdf/schiavo.pdf

This is not written in legalese - even I understand it perfectly.

It puts into words what some of us find so creepy about some of the Michael Schiavo side of this case and you will not believe what this Doctor Cranford dismisses and denigrates in the way of function-level.

A man operates an electric wheelchair, plays simple card games, chooses correctly colored pegs when asked and learns even to write. And Doctor Cranford argued that his feeding tube should be removed!

In both of the cases cited in this amicus brief, the court went against Dr. Cranford's "expert" testimony and two human beings remained alive. Too bad he managed to prevail in Terri's case.

In fact, Dr. Cranford has testified that there should be no differentiation between "minimally conscious" and "PVS" with regard to whether or not someone should be kept alive. He also says that spoon-feeding becomes a medical treatment when it delays the intended outcome (the death of the patient)

In one case, he testifed in response to a question about giving the patient the benefit of the doubt that the patient wouldn't be harmed by being allowed to live, but that "Robert should be allowed to die so the family can grieve." Shocked This was a man who smiled and interacted with family members. He claimed that absolutely the smiling was mere reflex and did not come from pleasure. Who ARE these doctors and lawyers who claim to know what these patients are feeling and thinking?

This doctor is up for sale to any person in the country who wishes "expert testimony" to support their choice to end another person's life!

He will testify even in cases in which he is unable to administer neuropsychological tests of cognition and even though he has not ever worked in a long-term brain injury rehab setting.

The amicus brief describes how words and terminology are being changed in our culture in order to make the repugnant acceptable.

And it describes how the "bar was raised" in the case of Terri Schindler - requiring her to meet a higher standard than prescribed by law and tested by precedent - that she be constantly interactive with her environment in order to be judged "conscious." (There's that "chipping away" effect in action, again)

Everyone who cares - take the time to read this brief.

Your eyes will pop, your blood will boil, but at least you will be aware of just how pervasive and effective is this culture of death.

This woman died not for lack of medical care - she died for lack of adequate legal representation.
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blue9t3
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 4:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It sounds all good and dandy, till the rubber meets the road! Where are all these empty voices when there needed? thought so! jump on the wagon and sleep good tonight! put up or shut up....... Jim......aka......blue9t3
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 4:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Navy_Navy_Navy wrote:You know, it really sounds to me as if you think those of us who give a damn about whether Terri Schindler really wanted to die, and think that she really wasn't a "vegetable" and that she deserved our protection and awareness are a bunch of hypocrites for not protesting this sort of action all the time.

And maybe that's because it's not happening all the time.


This sums up my sentiments....so well said Navy3......God bless you.
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