Terri Schiavo is sustained only by politics

The Miami Herald ^ | 12-09-03 | Fred Grimm

[phenn]

But scientific reality didn't matter. The governor and legislators were indulging in anti-science, like medieval potentates, hauling Terri into a political forum to appease their ignorant zealots.

[phenn]

Here, we see yet another writer attacking lawmakers on the political level for protecting a vulnerable person - instead of reporting all the shenanigans that have gone on in her case.

Curious as to why all this slanted press lately? Please read this: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031205/laf025_1.html

If you wish to make your thoughts known on this particular column, you can do so here:

Letters to the Editor HeraldEd@herald.com (305) 376-3512

I'm, personally, a bit tired of the death agenda being forced on me. If you feel the same, please ping, bump and write. Thanks.

[phenn]

Whoops! Almost forgot. The writer can also be reached:
Fred Grimm at fgrimm@herald.com

[headsonpikes]

bump.

[lilypad]

I saw where Wolfson admitted that her wishes were "hearsay" but you notice, that part is NEVER mentioned on these slanted articles.

[floriduh voter]

bttt. IMO, we need to see the negative as well as the encouraging stories so we focus on the challeges ahead.

[floriduh voter]

I can never find the Terri Daily Thread. If there's a ping list, please put me on it. Thanks... fv

[msmagoo]

Another unbelievably lame opinion piece out today:
A living will to disinherit politicians

One particularly offensive excerpt (emphasis mine):

"3. Under no circumstances shall the governor of Florida butt into this case and order my doctors to put a feeding tube down my throat. I don't care how many fundamentalist votes he's trying to scrounge for his brother in 2004, it is my wish that he plays politics with someone else's life and leaves me to die in peace."

Are we supposed to take this bozo's opinion as a sick joke? He doesn't even have the facts right - Terri does not have a feeding tube down her throat. Obviously he's been bitten by the End-of-Life virus - that rabies-like scourge which threatens to eliminate all traces of human dignity once power-crazed doctors can euthanize people at will when the doctor decides their life serves no useful purpose.

Can I sign up this columnist, Carl Hiaasen? I have reason to believe he is brain dead and serves no useful purpose. Evidently he feels that disabled people have no rights and unfaithful husbands should be allowed to terminate their wife's life at will under suspicious circumstances.

Sarcastic babbling from ill-informed ninnies is not going to change the simple truth: Jeb Bush is occupying the higher moral ground in this battle. Defending life is always more noble than seeking to end life.

[TigersEye]

Socialism is anti-life by nature. Most media outlets are socialist. Most media hacks are socialists.

[sweetliberty]

You are already on the ping list. If the thread is active, it stays in the sidebar. When it isn't real active, it doesn't. You can always type in "Terri's Fight" in the search box to get to it.

[phenn]

Posted on Tue, Dec. 09, 2003


Schiavo case prompts Florida campaign by right-to-die group
MITCH STACY
Associated Press


TAMPA, Fla. - Spurred by the Terri Schiavo case, a national right-to-die group launched a public relations blitz in Florida this week to raise awareness of end-of-life choices, including the importance of living wills.

The $60,000 campaign by the Denver-based End of Life Choices - formerly the Hemlock Society - includes newspaper ads in Tallahassee, Orlando, Tampa and Miami, and speeches throughout the state this week by organization officials.

"As we sit back and take a look at this tragic tug of war over Terri Schiavo, we have definitely detected there is what we call a teachable moment for Floridians and the rest of the country," the group's CEO, David Brand, said Tuesday.

Brand said the case of the severely brain-damaged woman should serve as a "wake-up call" for those who do not have advance directives and are not aware of the laws governing end-of-life decisions in their states.

He hopes the Schiavo case and the ad campaign will get people talking about the subject.

"Today's headlines are full of the pain of unspoken wishes," one newspaper ad says. "Save your loved ones the anguish of making a difficult decision when you are unable to speak for yourself."

Schiavo is at the center of a fierce court battle between her husband and her parents over whether her feeding tube should be removed so she can die.

She was left in what doctors call a persistent vegetative state after her heart stopped suddenly in 1990. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, convinced a judge that she once stated her wishes not to be kept alive artificially.

Terri Schiavo left no advance directive, and her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, dispute that she had any such end-of-life wishes. They also believe her condition could improve with therapy.

Florida courts have repeatedly affirmed Michael Schiavo's legal right to remove the feeding tube, and he did so Oct. 15. Six days later the Florida Legislature intervened, hastily passing a law allowing Gov. Jeb Bush to order the tube reinserted - a move Michael Schiavo contends was unconstitutional.

Brand said his group opposes the state's intervention in the Schiavo case and believes the courts are best suited to make end-of-life decisions when there is no advance directive.

"The notion that someone outside of the court system via the Legislature would impose their own morality on a situation like this is intolerable to us and incomprehensible," he said.

Pat Anderson, attorney for the Schindlers, accused the group of using the Schiavo case to play on people's fears.

"Floridians need to know that this is the Hemlock Society with a new name, and they are trying to hide their pro-euthanasia agenda," Anderson said. "They are using Terri Schiavo to promote euthanasia."

Brand denies that. He said the group changed its name last summer to be more specific about its mission. He noted that the group has taken no position on whether Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed.

"What we simply want to do is allow for every individual the right to have choices and have their choices known and honored," he said.

Bush spokesman Jacob DiPietre said the governor agrees that everyone should have a living will. But he defended Bush's intervention in a case where there was no written directive and some doubt exists regarding her wishes and medical condition.

"We should err on the side of life, and that's what the governor is doing," DiPietre said.

End of Life Choices, funded by donations and membership dues, has about 34,000 members in 90 chapters nationwide, including 11 in Florida.

[floriduh voter]

Okay. I was typing in daily and I got every daily there is at free republic. Thanks. My pictures turned out great. I'll have patience tomorrow to try and upload them. I'm going to copy my article on that thread so that the pictures and my report are together. FV

[amdgmary]

ping