Terry Schiavo is in a Persistent Vegetative State.
She is beyond brain-dead, as parts of her brain no longer exist and have been replaced with cerebral fluid.
Terri Schiavo, bless her soul, is not going to recover. Ever. Period.
She was not abused, she was not strangled, she was not hit on the head- not that any of that really matters- it doesn’t change her condition.
Much to my shock and disbelief, certain elements within my party have decided that this is a case that they need to demagogue:
Shortly before a feeding tube was to be removed from a brain-damaged Florida woman, U.S. lawmakers on Friday called on Terri Schiavo to appear before congressional committees in an attempt to keep her alive.
House of Representatives leaders issued subpoenas for Schiavo while the Senate called her as a witness to congressional hearings to stave off the removal of her feeding tube, scheduled for 1 p.m.
Both the House and Senate also summoned her husband, Michael, who contends she would not have wanted to be kept alive in what court-appointed doctors describe as a persistent vegetative state.
“The Senate and the House remain dedicated to saving Terri Schiavo’s life. While discussions over possible legislative remedies continue, the Senate and the House are taking action to keep her alive in the interim,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican.
Absolutely disgusting, and Bill Frist knows better, which mands for makes this even more disgusting. I don’t even know what my party stands for anymore.
The court has ordered that Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube be removed. Say it again so it sinks in.
FEEDING TUBE.
The woman is not a human being anymore- that was all destroyed. Her wit, her charm, her personality, her memory- in essence, Terri Schiavo- is long gone.
If the Republican leadership really respected life, they would immediately ask why Mrs. Schiavo must slowly starve to death rather than dying with dignity.
The answer, of course, is that the Big Government Republicans don’t trust you to make your own decisions, even with something as fundamental as your life.
*** Update ***
The most disgusting aspect of this is the villification of Michael Schiavo. If I read one more false accusation of abuse, I am going to blow my top. Terris Schiavo is probably in the state she is in because she had a potassium imbalance most likely brought on by bulemia which triggered a cardiac arrest.
She was not strangled.
She was not hit on the head.
There was no bleeding- you do think attending physicians would notice that, right?
I understand that some of you feel strongly about this- but making up vile stories about her husband, who is as much a victim as Terri, is simply inexcusable.
Jimmie
How can you say with any degree of certainty that your description of her is accurate when boatloads of medical professionals are far less sure?
Her condition is by no means at all a certainty and, given the information on the case which is out there right now, more likely to prove that she is not in a PVS.
Then again, the videos I occsionally see of her on television seems to indicate someone capable of interacting meaningfully with her surroundings.
What seems obvious is that she can’t swallow without help. She could get therapy for that were she allowed to do so but, for reasons I can’t even begin to explain, she can’t.
FYI – It appears from the outside here that your party stands for giving life the benefit of the doubt. That’s a winning position to take every time.
JPS
John:
“Big Government Republicans don’t trust you to make your own decisions, even with something as fundamental as your life.”
With respect, John, you’re begging the question. The question isn’t whether the government will let her make the decision. The question is whether her husband or her parents should be allowed to.
The husband says there’s no hope. The parents don’t want to give up. Maybe there really is no hope, and they as grieving parents can’t see that. But what philosophy of governance states on first principles that their wishes count for nothing? Not mine, anyway.
The doctor I know best (a small-government conservative who does believe people should be allowed to make this choice for themselves) is also in favor of leaving the damn plug (so to speak) right where it is for coma patients. He’s seen too many wake up long after everyone had given up. Can you really damn her parents for betting on a miracle?
And it amazes me that you put this in libertarian terms. You side with those who want the state to tell her parents, who would pay for that bet themselves: No, you can’t keep your daughter on life support. Sorry, I’ll side with your big-government nanny-state conservatives who are trying to prevent that.
John Cole
She is MISSING massive portions of her brain. That is how I am certain she is brain dead. The only people ‘uncertain’ about her condition are quacks.
As far as the government- her husband is her legal guardian.
Oceanguy
People like Tom DeLay and many who have leeched on to Terri Schiavo, have no idea of the FACTS of the case. They are using her situation for their own personal aims, with no real thought of the woman at the center of it all. The right has largely demonized Michael Schiavo and seem to ignore the decade of history of Dr.s and Courts judging the merits of both sides’ claims.
Demagoguery is a great choice of words.
J Bowen
Take a look at some articles on NRO and see if you still trust Michael “when is this bitch going to die?” Schiavo and his expert witness Dr. Cranford.
And I’d like to know why the 6′ 6″ 250 lb hubby insists on having the body cremated right away? IMO we’ll find that her PVS (if in fact it is so diagnosed by a neurosurgeon who doesn’t have an agenda, ie not Cranford) might have been caused by hubby himself, and he’s trying to bury the evidence.
Just how do you know she was not abused?
In the meantime what’s wrong with letting her live? If her parents are planning to foot the bill, what skin is it off your back?
And those last two paragraphs don’t make any sense. It’s the “Big Government” that’s trying to keep her from slowly starving to death. It would be a damned sight scarier to me if it were the feds trying to starve her.
Jimmie
Quacks? Check out the last post I wrote about this (and I’m by no means a crusader on this) and check out the first NRO link from the Reverend who has dozens of physicians on the record about the inadequacy of the CAT scan to determine her condition.
As best I can tell, the judge decided from the first case, that the intial diagnosis of PVS was the correct one, no matter how many other physicians testified before him that the diagnosis could not be conclusively made. After that, further testing on her was forbidden.
Make whatever decision you want in the end, but do it based on the most complete information out there. If they run an MRI on her (which they can certainly do but haven’t done) and decide that her brain’s a puddle of mush then fine. But they haven’t and they can’t because the court won’t let that happen.
JPS
John:
“As far as the government- her husband is her legal guardian.”
Yes, I know. And to her parents, his desire to let her die makes him an unfit guardian.
I understand that for you this is a question of letting her die with dignity. You could be right that that’s the right thing to do. But you seem to think there’s no reasonable position but that the husband’s wishes should be final.
I don’t think that’s a no-brainer, and (re your update) I don’t have to impugn his motives to question that.
John Cole
‘But you seem to think there’s no reasonable position but that the husband’s wishes should be final.’
Legally, that is the only position.
The parents love their daughter- and it has muddied their thinking.
Chuckg
30+ neurosurgeons have come forward to say that the inadequate and incomplete testing given to date would not, if they were handling the case, be considered sufficient to diagnose PVS without an MRI.
That’s more neurosurgeons testifying on this case than handwriting experts testified against the validity of the CBS memos.
And yet *we’re* the “brain dead” ones?
Riiiight.
Jonathan Bartlett
Just for the sake of argument, let’s say that the diagnosis of PVS is correct. Do you even know what that means? PVS IS NOT THE SAME AS BEING A VEGETABLE. People in PVS have a HIGHER mental awareness than those in a coma. Man PVS patients can actually eat. In fact, it’s possible that Terri could, too, if she had been offered some rehab. 50% of PVS patients recover in the first year, and 10% of PVS patients recover after that. In fact, you can be diagnosed with PVS even if the doctor believes you will recover, as long as your recovery includes disability.
Remember, Michael Schiavo won a lawsuit for 1 million dollars, on the basis that he planned to use that FOR HER REHABILITATION. Upon winning the money, he immediately ceased the rehabilitation efforts.
Shannon
J. Bowen, you forgot the extreme hypocrisy of the Republicans slashing Medicaid while that’s what’s paying for much of Terri’s “treatment.” Her parents aren’t footing the bill. And Jimmie, that video they keep showing on TV is not only years old, but features a few *minutes* culled from six *hours* of tape. Given those editing parameters, I could make my dachshund look like Einstein.
Scott
Does anyone have factual data to back up the various claims made by proponents of reinserting the feeding tube? The media is inundating us with heresay and innuendo. From listening to reports from all the major news sources, one has to either conclude that this is either a “no-brainer” (pun intended), or a major portion of this story isn’t being presented. Questions which come to mind are 1) Why has the Florida legislature not been able to pass a bill to transfer custodial rights? The state legislature is heavily republican, http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Welcome/index.cfm. 2)Are there any known cases in which a patient recovered after 15 years of PVS? There sure seems to be alot of hope that Terri can recover, but I can’t find any medical evidence to support this hope. 3)Finally, this case has been in the court system for years and reviewed by judges of mixed ideology, if the case to keep her alive has merits, how did it ever get to this stage?