Judge: Allow woman in coma-like state to die

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greenfreak

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Judge: Allow woman in coma-like state to die
From Richie Phillips

CLEARWATER, Florida (CNN) --A judge Friday sided with the husband of a woman who has been in a coma-like state for 12 years and ordered that her feeding tube be removed and she be allowed to die.

The parents of Terri Schiavo, 38, who suffered heart failure and massive brain damage in 1990, had sought to keep her alive. She breathes on her own, but is fed through a tube.

In a nine-page order, Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George Greer ordered that food be withheld from her starting at 3 p.m. January 3. The delay in carrying out the order will give the parents time to file an appeal.

"We are very pleased that the judge ruled as he did," said George Felos, a lawyer for Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo. "Terri is in a persistent vegetative state and the court found as such. There are no treatments or therapies that can help her and the judge's ruling supports that position."

"She wouldn't like to live like this, and that's all she's doing -- surviving," Michael told CNN before the ruling was announced. "There's nothing there."

Schiavo said his wife had told him and others she would not want to live on life support.

But the woman's parents argued that she never would have said such a thing and have fought to keep their daughter from dying.

"It's inhumane," said Bob Schindler, her father, prior to the ruling. "How in the world can you starve someone to death that is cognizant? I mean, she's a person. It'd be like starving you to death."

Last year, Michael Schiavo won a court ruling to discontinue his wife's feeding. But her parents appealed, and the feeding resumed three days later.

The case was reheard recently. Two doctors selected by the husband and one by the court testified Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state, beyond help.

"Unfortunately, I know of no single treatment or combination of treatments that could result in any meaningful improvement in her current situation," said Dr. Peter Bambakidis, a neurologist.

But the woman's parents insist she is aware and responsive, and two doctors selected by the parents testified Terri Schiavo is not brain dead, and can be treated.

She is being cared for in a hospice near St. Petersburg, Florida.
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http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/11/22/coma.woman/index.html

I know we've been over this but starving someone to death?! Yikes.

All the more reason to have a living will drawn up, NOW.
 
Yes, although I believe a person such as that should be allowed to die, it should be done with a lethal injection or some other way to ensure there is no pain. Starving a person to death should not be the way to do it.

This is interesting though, I always understood a coma to mean unresponsive, but the parents claim she is responsive. I think the decision would have to go with the fact that the doctor selected by the court agrees with the husband that there is nothing else that can be done.
 
people in a come have been known to respond to sounds or tactile stimulation.

she can breath on her own so that means part of the brain stem survived. how much higher functioning she has left is anyones guess. i wonder if she really is aware and responsive or if the parents are just seeing what they want to. (that isnt a slam on the parents. that happens all the time)
 
i have some real concerns about that. it looked like to me on CNN that she could move her head and it looked like she might have some facial expressions. i'm concerned that she might be conscious and people can't tell it. can you imagine starving while conscious? a lethal injection would be more humane.
 
lethal injection would be best, but we dont put people to sleep. that would be inhumane. :rolleyes:
 
I think he had to quit finally. He skirted the law too close too many times. I wish there were more like him out there.
 
ordered that her feeding tube be removed
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Don't these stupid fucking liberal judges with zero common sense know that this is murder? Pulling the life supporting gizmos is one hell of a lot different than starving someone to death. That's spelled out in my living will-DNR & no extra's but do not starve me.
 
Bubba said:
kevorkian was sent to prison
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Isn't he like some crazy dude who talks about dying and stuff?
I know a lot of stuff, I just can't remember it.

They can always pull the plug, but thye can never put it back in. (aka if she stays alive they can always still kill her, but if they kill her she can never be alive again)
 
He was a doctor that supplied people with the means to commit suicide. The state he lived in passed a law against assisted suicide and convicted him of it. The state was Michigan if I remember correctly.
 
i remeber him being on trial in michigan. he just seemed to drop off the radar completely.
 
so starving someone to death (in itself a natural occurance due to her physical state) is inhumane but taking their life from them is (in every essence unnatural)?
 
It may sound odd, or unnatural, but yes. Starving someone to death intentionally is inhumane. Helping someone to die without pain is not.
 
True, and probably would be even quicker than lethal injection, but also be alot messier.
 
lethal injection is quick. you'd get a dose of a sedative like valium or fentyl (like the russian gas) and then get hit with a large dose of potassium chloride. stops the heart mighty fast.
if your health is failing, a very heavy dose of a narcotic could do it easy too.
 
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