🚀 go-pugleaf

In talk.euthanasia Tim Bruening <tsbrueni@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote:
> I believe that the only way to save Terri Schiavo is to remove Michael
> as her guardian.  To the end, I urge Governor Jeb Bush (please contact
> him at jeb.bush@myflorida.com) to file a lawsuit against Michael seeking
> to remove him as guardian on the following grounds:

And who should take over?  The same person who took over
for the mentally challanged girl who was raped, and whom
Governor Bush forced to have a baby by appointing a
lawyer for the featus and thus her up tied-up in court until
it was too late to have an abortion?  It was the _raped_
*girl's* rights he should've been concerned about, not
the "rights" of a tiny featus.  And by "protecting"
the "right" of the fetus, Jeb managed to violate the
girl all over again... twice!  Once in court and once
when she had to suffer the pregnancy and birth!

> I. He has abandoned his marriage to Terri by taking up with another
> woman (Jodi) over a decade ago and having two children with her. 
> Therefore, he doesn't have her best interests in mind.

So?  She's been in a coma for *fifteen years* (*over* a decade)!

He did all he *could* for her, even after he understood
there no longer were any hope -- by trying to let her
die with some dignity.  And by then, she had been in
a coma for 6-7 years already.
 
> II. He has violated her freedom of religion by denying her daily
> communion.

Perhaps he thought her God had done such a terrible job
of protecting her and keeping her safe -- especially in the
light of her devotion to Him (God) -- that he decided
that until He did something to make her better, He could
find some other poor souls to abuse?

> III. He has illegally denied Terri rehabilitation services in violation
> of Florida Statute 744.3215 and also illegally denied her water and food
> via her mouth, as opposed to her feeding tube (no one has denied her
> ability to swallow, and nurses have successfully fed her Jell-O).  No
> one is even allowed to place ice chips in her mouth!

It's not a question if she can eat or not... it's
a question of wheter or not there is any purpose of
her *doing* so!  If all her future held -- even if
she lived to be a hundred -- was *this*... lying in
a bed with no measurable brain-activity, is it *really*
in her's (or the person she *used to* be) to prolong
her life for as long as possible?

If there had been *any* hope for recovery -- at least
partial, sure... but there wasn't!  Wheter she was
fed and kept alive for 10, 20, 50 or 80 years, this
would be all.  Sure, one could claim she had "lived
out her life", but really... when she as a little
girl dreamt about living until she was a hundred,
was it *really* becomming wrinkled and grey-haired
while being vegitated she dreamt of?

> I found the following information about Florida laws on
> http://www.terrisfight.net/myths.html
> 
> Florida Statute 744.3215: Rights of persons determined incapacitated:
> 
> 1: A person who has been determined to be incapacitated retains the
> right
> i To receive necessary services and rehabilitation.
> This is a retained right that a guardian (Michael) cannot take away. 

I assume this is something the guardian is also
expected to *pay* for?

> Additionally, it does not make an exception for patients in a Persistent
> Vegetative State (PVS).  

Perhaps it should?  There are many laws that
works better in some imaginary world in some
politicians head than in the real world...

There is little point in trying to reabilitate
someone there is *no hope* for!  If most of her
brain _is_ *permanently* destroyed, then 
*pretending* otherwise is just a waste of time.

> Hence, Michael has illegally denied Terri
> rehabilitation, as many nurses have sworn in affidavits.
> 
> As for food and water, the courts have only allowed the removal of
> Terri's feeding tube, not regular food and water consumed the old
> fashioned way (via the mouth).  Michael has illegally ordered the denial
> of regular food and water.  The law only allows the removal of "life
> prolongation procedures," not regular food and water.

If she had woken up and gone down to the cafeteria
and ordered some food, do you *really* think Michael
would have stopped her?  However, as long as she
*didn't* eat by herself -- even if she *could* 
swallow -- that would make food and water (or at
least getting it into her) "treatment"... which is
something her next-of-kin *should* have a say in.

> Florida Statute 765.309: Mercy killing or euthanasia not authorized;
> suicide distinguished.  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
> condone, authorize, or approve mercy killing or euthanasia, or to permit
> any affirmative or deliberate act or omission to end life other than to
> permit the natural process of dying.  Forced starvation and dehydration
> is not the natural process of dying.

Which is what has been done!  It's not *natural* to
feed someone through a tube!  It's not *natural* to
spoon-feed an adult!  Dying after not drinking or
eating -- no matter *why* you haven't drunk or 
eaten -- on the other hand, *is* quite natural!
One could also claim that dying would also have been
the "natural" thing to do for someone who had such
an incident as Terri.

> I therefore urge you to sue Michael to remove him as Terri's guardian,
> thus allowing her parents to save her life!

It's moot anyway now, but had she *really*
had that much of a "life" for the past
15 years that it would be worth extending
for another 20-30 years?

-Koppe


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