southernhybrid

Have you ever wondered why the parents and the husband seemed to have had a congenial relationship for the first seven years of her condition? Have you ever considered the possibility that the husband, like the parents, was also in denial regarding her prognosis and he finally accepted that she was gone and then felt the desire to try and follow the wishes she had expressed to him? You do realize that this man has turned down numerous offers of large sums of money to end his case, don't you?

While we will never know every single motivation of either the parents or the husband, I think the fact that so many judges have ruled the same way probably means that the evidence presented by the husband must have been quite convincing.

It's sad and tragic that this event happened to the young Terri Shiavo, and it's sad that all the family members couldn't agree on what would be the best course of action to follow after it became obvious that she was in a PVS. As a professional nurse who has done a lot of rehab type work, I think all this talk of rehab is pure bullshit. This woman simply has no rehab potential, and some of the folks spewing that line know better. It would take a miracle to rehab her and god has had 15 years to perform one.

It was an electrolyte imbalance that stopped her heart. She had bulemia and probably was hypokalemic when her heart stopped. Our K+ level must be maintained in a very narrow range or our heart simply stops. Severe vomiting and/or diarrhea can result in an electrolyte imbalance. If you would look at the evidence from a rational point of view rather than from an emotional one, it might start making more sense.

Our particular type of democracy has a judicial branch to intervene in such difficult cases, and decide the best course to follow after considering the evidence. I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision myself but I'm willing to let our system take its course and I'm willing to accept the decision made. Judges are not infallible but it was not merely one or two that looked at the evidence. It makes more sense to trust impartial number of judges than to rely on family members that are incapable of being objective.

You would think that the family would be able to lean on their god and trust that he will take their daughter to a better place. I guess religious beliefs don't always offer the comfort that many claim when it comes right down to it. When examined critically, they often fall apart and they don't usually ease the heartbreak of losing one's daughter or spouse. The support of friends and family as well as positive diversions will give one far more comfort during grieving than religion could ever provide.

Anguirus

So the answer is NO, he didn't read the Wolfson report. You could have saved everyone's time and just said that. I'm not debating someone on this case who refuses to acquaint himself with the facts.

Jakanapes

Imagine a cancer research facility or a community clinic everywhere there's a church that cost more than 50K to build...

Spanish_Inquisitor

Here's a quote from the initial opinion of the trial judge after the first trial.

Here's a link to the entire opinion if you are interested. It's not very long.

SI


* a loss of consortium award is that portion of the judgment paid directly to the husband for the loss of the company of his wife, as opposed to damages paid to Terri for the damage done to her. Michael Schiavo received $300,000, while her guardian received $700,000 on her behalf. Michael is her guardian, but he holds the money for her benefit. If she dies, he probably gets what's left, as her heir. That's what the parents are fighting over - who gets to control the money in her estate. Someone else said "follow the money".

Thor Q. Mada

Well maybe nobody trusts in god anymore because his track record is not very good????

Anguirus

The damages went to a trust fund. All but $50,000 has been spent on Terri's care.

The parents offered to GIVE Michael Schiavo the money if he'd just go away. If he's doing this out of greed, that's an odd action.

Boro Nut

Erm... three questions
In what sense would that be in her best interests?
Would she even know if she won?
Is she even legally competent to place a bet?

Boro Nut

Aria

Want to know something interesting?

Terri's friends have all gone on record saying that her parents did do this. They were the probable cause of her bulemia.

As for Mr. Schiavo. He has been offered money to wash his hands of this. A LOT of money. This one fact alone should be enough to convince any reasonable people that he is obviously not in this for himself. Why would any sane person continue fighting for something that was just some fabrication after being offered so much money?

The only answer is that Terri told him what he says he did. Terri's friends attest to this fact, that she would not have wanted to be kept alive.

But this has turned into a political issue, and I am hoping this bites all the politicians right in the ass. The American public overwhelmingly agrees that Congress is overstepping, and has absolutely no business enacting legislation regarding this issue. The LAST TIME something like this happened, we got the Elian Gonzales fiasco. This is quickly turning into the same tired bullshit. How do these idiots get elected to office?

_Naturalist_

If she is aware at all, which I can't see how she possibly could be, then is it really her wish to be attached to the same hospitalbed for 15 years? Who would wish such a thing for themselves, or as in some cases, for somone else?