Woman in Florida left to die in hospital

[Drogue]

I know if that was me, I would want to be killed. Not starved to death, that's inhumane and painful, but killed, as quickly and painlessly as possible. Probably by given and overdose of pain medication. No only do I not want to be a burden (we have the NHS here, so it's a burden on the state not my family) I wouldn't want my family to be forced to see me contantly in that state. I cant't imagine how much it woul hurt to see the person I love like that, and I could never do that to her.

I am not sure of what should happen to her though. I know the husband hired his own doctors, and would not let others examine her, and that he has much to gain financially, if she dies he gets the $750,000 for her care, which is being withered away by this. That is why he didn't divorce her IMHO. I can imagine, after 13 years like that, he can hardly remember what it was like to be with her, so I don't blame him for pursuing another relationship. However it does give him a vested interest. What I would do would be to order a couple of doctors to examine her to say if there is any chance of recovery. If there isn't, then she should be killed, as painlessly and humanely as possible. If there is, which after this time seems unlikely, then she should be kept alive. I don't think simply removing her feeding tube should be an option. Either let her live or kill her humanely, not as slowly and painfully as possible

I voted for "I want to kill her myself" as that is what I would want in that position. I think she won't recover, after 13 years, and I think it is cruel to let her die slowly.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

This exact situation was examined in Britain in the mid-90's when a Hillsborough survivor who had been in PVS for several years was allowed to die through removal of nutrition.

[Ben Kenobi]

Right, Ben. Divorce her. That's the honorable thing to do, isn't it?
umm,umm,umm. Rub that head.

The honorable thing would be to stick with your wife, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.

[Dis]

Well ole' Jeb Bush has now forced the feeding tube back into her mouth.

Anyone else think that is just a little too much power for a governor?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/10/21/coma.woman/index.html

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
The honorable thing would be to stick with your wife, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.

YAY, have the sickness ruin both lives instead of one. Great idea !

And I think it was very noble of him not to file for divorce. It shows he still loves her, as he's still having the legal responsibility for her. Many people would have simply dropped the marriage and forgotten the whole deal

As to her euthanasia: if she hasn't expressed her will in any provable form, and if her coma prevents her from suffering (i.e if it is clear she doesn't feel anything), then I think she should live.

[TCO]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
IIRC, he hooked up with the "other woman" after six years, and numerous diagnoses that Terri Schiavo wouldn't recover.

One might wonder (I have) why he didn't file for divorce, but that's another issue.

It might have something to do with this:

"Michael Schiavo collected more than $1 million in malpractice settlements stemming from his wife's collapse, but only about $50,000 of that settlement remains. The money has been frozen by the court. "

Lemme see. He collects and spends 950K and doesn't get divorced. Now, he wants to pull the plug. Hmmmm.

[Kuciwalker]

She's never going to come out of the coma, right? So how is she even really alive? She's just a lump of cells that are still alive because they are being fed from the outside. The "plug" got pulled when she went into the coma. She's dead already; her body just hasn't been convinced of the fact.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Why should this man decide whether Terry lives or dies, if he does not love her enough to be faithful?

Because his wife is effectively dead, nothing more than a breathing corpse, and has been for 13 years?

[JohnT]

The man has a "vested interest" because he won over a million dollars in malpractice suits over what happened to his wife, a million dollars that is not going to bring her back regardless of how it is spent.

[Berzerker]

All we have is the word of her husband who stands to gain from the death of Terry Schiavo.

According to the court, Terry told a number of people about her wishes. The judges aren't going just by what he claims.

TCO - The hubby isn't making money off this, whatever trust fund set up for her care is about depleted. But I don't see why the parents can't take care of her unless Terry made it clear she doesn't want to exist like this... Did you clear out your PM box?

[Berzerker]

The desparation of the parents is understandable but they've gone so far as to insiniuate that the husband is guilty of foul play.

[TCO]

I don't think what she said is sufficient. We need a higher standard to allow suicide. It needs to be documented.

[Kuciwalker]

SHE'S ALREADY DEAD

[Berzerker]

I don't think what she said is sufficient. We need a higher standard to allow suicide. It needs to be documented.

I tend to agree, but the courts are apparently satisfied of her wishes.

[self biased]

i dunno, guys... i've worked with some people who are pretty damn near vegatative in the group homes i used to work in. these people did, though, have their likes and dislikes, they were aware of their enviroment to a certain extent, and they sure as hell deserve a chance to live.

here's a question: how much of that million went to her treatment? it is entirely possible with therapy could have given some degree of recovery. i'm not talking about a complete turnaround, but perhaps she'd be more coherent.