Here is the rule that should be. After a month of intrense care, if they put food in front of you and you can't eat it to survive, sayanora.
Life is too precious to get stuck in bed with bedsores and grieving relatives around you. Either "function", or "leave".
As medical technology advances, these are questions that will have to be answered.
The big lesson here is: Make your wishes known, in writing, because you never know what can happen.
It is not out of the realm of possiblity to me that Terri indeed would NOT want to have her suffering dragged out as it has been. (I sure wouldn't) But we will never know, because there is no record.
Bones
I demand to know why everyone thinks this is any of their business. Don’t any of these “Save Terri” groups ever stop to think that maybe the facts as presented in court and reviewed multiple times are correct and Terri would not want to live like this? Her family has said they would still fight on even if they knew for sure that Terri said she would not want to live like this. They also said even if she had to have all of her limbs amputated, they still would want to keep her on life support against her wishes. To me that is extremely cruel and heartless.
This case sucks big time. She is *not* coming back, but who calls the shots as to when her life is ended? The law says her husband does.
I am a supporter of the right to die with dignity, but she left no written instructions or anything like that. And if they do remove the feeding tube, it is going to be a slow death (with the assumption being that she is not cognitive...that assumption part scares me - what if she feels pain?).
The best case scenario to me would be they let her go and she feels nothing, not a bit. But, as it stands, unless the medical team produces something more definitive about her mental state, she should be kept alive.
I seriously believe that another judge needs to rule on a suit brought with this current judge as defendant. Sentence the guy to two weeks without food and water, and see if he survives. In fact, if this were attempted as a way to execute someone on death row, people would be calling it cruel and unusual punishment. And this woman has committed no crime!
Legally, yes. At that point all of her medical decisions are the responsibility of her spouse or nearest living relative.