 |
|
|
Why would Death by STARVATION be an option in this case or any other. What is going on in this country? People are fined and sometimes even jailed for allowing animals to starve. How can DEATH By STARVATION even be CONSIDERED as a solution. This is MURDER by BTK (Bind - Torture - Kill). Terri Shiavo is bound in a body that isn't working properly, starvation causes such great pain and suffering and finally ... death. Those convicted of murder and sentenced to death many times have a choice of death by electric chair or lethal injection. Even IF Terri's choice had been death, would she have chosen Death by STARVATION? If it were me and I had a choice I would want an alternate method and my heart tells me that she would too. ~Vickie Barker March 18, 2005 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. 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. Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u= /ap/20050318/ap_on_re_us/brain_damaged_woman_63 |
She has sustained brain injuries and cannot speak or eat normally. Nevertheless, the only tube attached to her is a small, simple, painless feeding tube that provides her nourishment directly to her digestive system. Her legal guardian is her husband, who already has another woman -- by whom he also has children. He wants Terri's feeding tube removed. Of course, he could simply allow her to be cared for by her parents and siblings, and get on with his life, but he refuses. I have had two opportunities to visit Terri, most recently on the first Sunday of February. I have been able to talk to her, to listen to her struggle to speak, to watch her focus her eyes and smile and attempt to kiss her parents. I have prayed with her, blessed her, and assured her that she has many friends around the country and around the world, who love her and want her to enjoy the same protections we all enjoy, even when we're wounded. News articles have recently characterized Terri's situation by saying that some want to "keep her alive against her husband's wishes." But Terri is not dying. What does "keeping her alive" mean, if not the same thing as keeping you and me alive -- that is, by giving us adequate food, shelter, and care? Some say that Terri's family should "let her go." But this is not a matter of "letting her go," because she isn't "going" anywhere. If, however, she is deprived of nourishment, then she would slowly die in the same way that any of us would slowly die if we were deprived of nourishment. It is called starvation. If the courts permit that to happen, then why should that permission apply only in Terri's case? There would be no way to limit it to her case alone. Countless others would follow, and their deaths would be described as "letting them die" instead of "killing them." Where, indeed, does the state get the authority to starve people? Court decisions permitting this lack all authority, as Pope John Paul II teaches in "The Gospel of Life" (section 72). These decisions cannot be obeyed, because they are not binding on the conscience and are in fact acts of violence. At the present time, there are two simple things you can do. Educate your neighbors about this situation. Visit our website, http://www.priestsforlife.org , and click on the "Terri Schiavo" link. Second, contact anyone you know in Florida and ask them to encourage their Governor and state legislators to continue doing everything possible to save Terri's life. For more information on this crucial case, visit our website, www.priestsforlife.org . If you want educational cards on Terri's situation, contact our orders department at: orders@priestsforlife.org , or by calling 888-PFL-3448, ext. 237, or by writing Orders Department, Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314. This column can be found online at http://www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2005/05-01-31schiavo.htm Comments on this column? Email us at mail@priestsforlife.org , Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980- 6515; web: http://www.priestsforlife.org Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life |
The inmates choose the method of execution in writing and can't backtrack on the decision. If they don't choose, then they waive that opportunity and die by lethal injection, Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw explained. Given a choice, who would choose the yellow electric chair, challenged in court as unreliable cruel and unusual punishment, over a needle that's viewed as more humane? The deadly drug cocktail sedates, paralyzes, then stops the prisoner's heart - instant death without possible sparks and smoke. Crenshaw said the Alabama law changing the form of execution in use for 75 years was modeled on Florida's law, which also gives the inmate a choice. Source: http://www.annistonstar.com/news/2002/as-state-0423-0-2d23g2110.htm Terri Schiavo is not a convicted criminal. Terri Schiavo is not on life support. Terri only needs food, water and nutrients, just as you and I do. IF Terri DID choose death, would she have chosen Death by Starvation? |
