MSNBC – Schiavo feeding tube removed

6 thoughts on “MSNBC – Schiavo feeding tube removed”

1. This Terri Schiavo thing is making me nuts.

   I find it sick, really sick, that her situation is being exploited by the Republican party for political gain.

   Much hay is being made about the husband wanting to be rid of her since he has a new family. I think this is just a load of ****.

   If he has a new family, the easiest thing in the world would be for him to abandon Terri and move on, leaving her to the care of her parents.

   Instead, he’s taking all the heat, is being called all kinds of names, and is a lightning rod for the so-called “right to life” movement.

   The fact that congress got involved just goes to show how over-the-top this has become.

   Clearly, Terri’s husband is at odds with her parents. Clearly, her parents are desperate. This is extremely tragic.

   All the more so because Terri is now the object of exploitation, and has become yet another political prop to further conservative agendas.

2. I just wanted to add the following question, for everyone reading this:

   If you were in a coma, would you trust your spouse, or your parents, with the decision? Personally, I would trust my spouse. I love my parents dearly, but they don’t really know my wishes. I would certainly trust either of them over some government agency.

3. If you were in a coma, would you trust your spouse, or your parents, with the decision?

   Hmm. I know, let’s ask Lacy Peterson! Oh, right. Never mind. Darned inconvenient, that.

4. Lacy Peterson? You must be kidding me.

   The Schiavo case is about the United States government passing a law specifically to keep Terri alive, despite numerous court rulings that upheld her right to die.

   As far as I know, Lacy Peterson was murdered by her husband.

   I get your point, but you just made mine for me. It seems to me that the level of polarization is so extreme that Mike Schiavo is now equated to a murderer.

   And what’s with those fools bringing bread and water to Terri Schiavo? “It was meant to be symbolic” – again, Terri’s pain is the Republican’s gain.

5. That’s a great question Patti.

   As I’ve written on this before, in my opinion we don’t have the right to take life away. It wasn’t ours to give in the first place.

   Sure, politicans are manipulating this issue. That’s what they do – it’s natural for them. Disgusting sometimes, but natural.

6. From the Toronto Star

   Schiavo: `Not much time’
   Judge ponders woman’s fate Family pleads

   with court

   TIM HARPER
   WASHINGTON BUREAU

   WASHINGTON—Despite warnings that Terri Schiavo is nearing death, a Florida federal judge has slowed the frenetic pace of events surrounding reinsertion of a tube to feed the woman whose plight has become a symbol of America’s wrenching right-to-die debate.

   U.S. District Judge James Whittemore yesterday reserved judgment in the case, which drew more than 260 American legislators and President George W. Bush back to Washington for an extraordinary Palm Sunday debate, leading to yesterday’s court hearing.

   Bush was awakened at 1:11 a.m. to sign a bill moving the case to federal court after it passed a two-thirds majority in the U.S. House of Representatives early yesterday and the Schiavo case consumed this country all day.

   “Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together (Sunday) night to give Terri Schiavo’s parents another opportunity to save their daughter’s life,” Bush said in Tucson, Ariz., in his first public comment on the case. “This is a complex case with serious issues, but in extraordinary circumstances like this, it is wise to always err on the side of life.”

   Lawyer David Gibbs, representing Schiavo’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, said their daughter was being murdered.

   “If this court does not act quickly, the entire litigation will be mooted because Terri will die,” Gibbs said. “There is not much time.”

   Some Republicans were privately unhappy with Whittemore, who did not even hear the case until 3 p.m. yesterday even though Gibbs had the Tampa court remain open all night in anticipation of a speedy hearing.

   But the lawyer representing 41-year-old Schiavo’s husband, Michael Schiavo — who has been battling the parents for more than a decade — said the judge was showing the independency of the judiciary after the extraordinary congressional intervention.

   “We are very hopeful the judge is going to recognize that there is no possibility Mr. and Mrs. Schindler can ever prevail in this case and we’re hopeful he will deny the temporary injunction,” said George Felos.

   Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed last Friday. It has been removed under court order twice before being reinserted, once under court appeal, once by legislation passed by Bush’s brother, Governor Jeb Bush.

   The woman is still breathing on her own, but doctors estimate she would survive no more than a week or two without nourishment and hydration.

   The hostility between Schiavo’s blood family and married family was on display again yesterday. Her father said she smiled when told she was going to be fed. But Michael Schiavo’s brother Brian said anyone who thinks Terri Schiavo responds to anything “needs a mental health examination.”

   Whittemore’s consideration shows the legal battle still looming for Schiavo’s family despite the spirited endorsement in Congress.

   Her husband’s efforts to allow her to die were reviewed by 19 Florida judges in six courts since a 1990 heart attack brought on by an eating disorder robbed Schiavo’s brain of oxygen, leaving her in “a permanent vegetative state.”

   Brain scans that were part of the Florida state court record showed the part of Schiavo’s brain that controls thought and voluntary movement had atrophied. The brain stem, which controls involuntary movement such as breathing and blinking, remains intact.

   Bush, along with the Republican senior leadership, have come down firmly for what they euphemistically call “the culture of life,” generally acknowledged to be a moniker for the anti-abortion movement.

   But polls yesterday showed that most Americans felt Congress overstepped its jurisdiction in diving into the middle of an intensely personal family fight which had been repeatedly decided by a state court.

   The move by Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, was widely seen as a response to pressure from a religious right voter base that the party must count on for support in next year’s mid-term election and the 2008 presidential race.

   But there were questions as to whether Bush had changed position, based on a bill he signed in 1999 while Texas governor.

   The Advance Directives Act in Texas allows for a patient’s surrogate to make end-of-life decisions and spells out how to proceed if a hospital or other health provider disagrees with a decision to maintain or halt life-sustaining treatment.

   The Texas law, first raised by a Florida Democrat debate in the House of Representatives Sunday night, would appear to allow Schiavo’s husband to remove the feeding tube with the backing of his doctor.

   The White House denied that was the intent of the Texas legislation and said Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was spreading “disinformation.”

Comments are closed.