So, Starving Someone To Death Is Permissible and Acceptable Now?

When my Daddy was alive, he had a feeding tube and hydration tube. He suffered from what the doctors called Alzheimer's Disease, but he didn't always show signs of Alzheimer's. There were a couple of times when the doctor would speak to my oldest sister, who was our Daddy's guardian, if she wanted the feeding tube removed. She would then come to the rest of us girls and ask what we wanted done. We all stood fast and said we didn't want the feeding tube removed.

This is why I didn't want it removed -

1. He could still feel.
Daddy had good days and bad days even though he was in his own world. Some days he didn't smile so much, other days you could tell he was in discomfort, but he couldn't tell us how. If a nurse handled him too hard he would wince and feel pain. He could still feel.

2. He tried to talk to us.
It wasn't often, but he did try to communicate.

3. He was a human being and my Daddy.
To remove the feeding tube would have been to kill him in slow degrees by starvation. No human being, no creature, deserves that. This is the man who taught me how to cast a fishing rod, how to drive, how to shoot, how to live up to the responsibilities of the person I wanted to be. What respect did I have for him to remove the feeding tube and let him punish and suffer to the point of death?

Now, here is this woman, married, who is a living breathing human being, and she is going to be killed by slow starvation. THIS IS WRONG! I'm not afraid to say it point blank. THIS IS WRONG!

A marriage is sacred and this man has not lived in marriage with this woman for untold amount of years. Marriage really does mean a lifetime. It's a shame this had to happen to his wife, but why can't he honor her. Why not get the divorce? He has been acting as if she is dead for years! Common decency should actually point this out to everyone involved. Yet, it seems "common decency" is a thing of the past and all anyone can see is their own freedom in situations such as this. What are his children going to do when he gets old and in the way? Put him out of their misery? This is a wonderful example for them isn't it? You just get rid of people when they are in the way, you don't love them and try to take care of them until their time has come to an end. Honor has nothing to do in this case, or in similar cases. It is just plain selfishness.

Starving someone to death, starving an animal to death, is just WRONG!

Brain-Damaged Woman's Feeding Tube Removed

By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube Friday despite an extraordinary, last-minute push by Republicans on Capitol Hill to use the subpoena powers of Congress to save the severely brain-damaged woman.
AP Photo
AFP
Slideshow: Terri Schiavo Right-to-Die Case

Congress Subpoenas Doctors To Keep Schiavo Alive(AP Video)

Schiavo's family issued a statement on their Web site confirming that the tube had been disconnected. It is expected that it will take one to two weeks for Schiavo to die, provided no one intercedes and gets the tube reinserted.

The removal came amid a flurry of maneuvering by Schiavo's parents, state lawmakers and Congress to keep her alive. Committees in the Republican-controlled Congress issued subpoenas for Schiavo, her husband, and her caregivers demanding that they appear at hearings in the coming weeks.

But the judge presiding over the case later refused a request from House attorneys to delay the removal, which he had previously ordered to take place at 1 p.m. EST.

"I have had no cogent reason why the (congressional) committee should intervene," Circuit Judge George Greer told attorneys in a conference call, adding that last-minute action by Congress does not invalidate years of court rulings.

The tube's removal signals that an end may be near in a decade-long family feud between Schiavo's husband and her devoutly Roman Catholic parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. The parents have been trying to oust Michael Schiavo as their daughter's guardian and keep in place the tube that has kept her alive for more than 15 years.

The tube has twice been removed in the past, but was re-inserted within days in both cases.

Michael Schiavo says his wife told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents dispute that, saying she could get better and that their daughter has laughed, cried, smiled and responded to their voices. Court-appointed physicians testified her brain damage was so severe that there was no hope she would ever have any cognitive abilities.
Several right-to-die cases across the nation have been fought in the courts in recent years, but few, if any, have been this drawn-out and bitter.

The case has garnered attention around the world and served as a rallying cry for conservative Christian groups and anti-abortion activists, who flooded members of Congress and Florida legislators with messages seeking to keep Schiavo alive.

Outside Schiavo's hospice, about 30 people keeping vigil dropped to their knees in prayer when word spread of the judge's ruling calling for removal of the tube.

"What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus," they sang. Messages on protest signs included "Impeach Greer.com," a reference to the judge, and "Execution — It's Not Just for the Guilty Anymore."

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, told reporters in Washington earlier Friday that removal of the tube amounted to "barbarism."

But Rep. Henry Waxman (news, bio, voting record) of California, senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, called the subpoenas a "flagrant abuse of power" and amounted to Congress dictating the medical care Terri Schiavo should receive.

"Congress is turning the Schiavo family's personal tragedy into a national political farce," Waxman said.

Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when a chemical imbalance apparently brought on by an eating disorder caused her heart to stop beating for a few minutes. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding and hydration tube to keep her alive.

Both sides accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance.

The Schindlers also said that Michael Schiavo wants their daughter dead so he can marry his longtime girlfriend, with whom he has young children. They have begged him to divorce their daughter, and let them care for her.

The tangled case has encompassed at least 19 judges in at least six different courts.

In 2001, Schiavo went without food and water for two days before a judge ordered the tube reinserted when a new witness surfaced.

When the tube was removed in October 2003, her parents and two siblings frantically sought intervention from Gov Jeb. Bush to stop her slow starvation. The governor pushed through "Terri's Law," and six days later the tube was reinserted.

That set off a new round of legal battles which culminated in September 2004 with the Florida Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruling that Bush had overstepped his authority and declared the law unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) has been unwilling to hear arguments in the case.

On Feb. 25, Greer gave Michael Schiavo permission to order the removal of the feeding tube at 1 p.m. Friday.

The family and lawmakers continued with their fight in recent weeks.
In Tallahassee, the Florida House on Thursday passed a bill to block the withholding of food and water from patients in a persistent vegetative state who did not leave specific instructions on their care. Hours later, however, the Senate defeated a different measure 21-16.