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US Senate to convene emergency session. (Schiavo) Fox news. Tom Delay speaking now
Fox News

Posted on 03/19/2005 11:30:38 AM PST by Ravi

Just heard on Fox that U.S. Senate will convene today in emergency session regarding Terri Schiavo.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: 109th; culktureodeath; cultureofdeath; eugenics; euthanasia; feedingtube; greer; killingthedisabled; schiavo; terri; terrischiavo; terrisfight; tomdelay
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To: freedomdefender; onyx; veronica; Howlin; DeeJay
Then what's all the arguing about? You're in agreement with most everybody else here.

No, please don't lump me in with the people here. I believe her husband, that she would not want to live like that. I know I wouldn't. I believe he is/was acting in her best interest. I do not believe he is the devil incarnate. I believe he's a man who was put in a terrible situation made worse by 10 years of legal fighting. So, I don't agree with most people here.

I only believe that because there was no written consent you must go on the side of life. Although I personally do not believe that is a life. I hope this is a wake up call for everyone to have their living wills in order.

I also don't believe her parents will be able to take care of her. She will eventually end up on the State's dime. Lying there all alone, with strangers taking care of her. But I know all of you who love Terri so much would never let that happen now, would you?

1,261 posted on 03/19/2005 6:46:24 PM PST by Hildy
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To: nmh
While this is given a new pair of eyes will the feeding tube be immediately put back in?

the judge is certain to make sure that the subject of his inquiry won'y be allowed to die

1,262 posted on 03/19/2005 6:47:05 PM PST by freedomdefender
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To: Hildy
I only believe that because there was no written consent you must go on the side of life.

That's the bottom line issue here. As Hugh Hewitt said ysterday, all the stuff about the husband and his motives is speculation, diversion and irrelevant to the core issue.

1,263 posted on 03/19/2005 6:49:34 PM PST by freedomdefender
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To: Hildy

Gee, Hildy, you are amazing. You have boundless faith in both MRS and "living wills."


1,264 posted on 03/19/2005 6:49:53 PM PST by Theodore R. (Will the GOP fiddle while Terri churns?)
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To: Theodore R.

Now you are against living wills?


1,265 posted on 03/19/2005 6:51:45 PM PST by Hildy
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To: TightyRighty
If you disagree on something in the slightest you are labeled "pro-death" and "part of the death squad".

I am pro-death. For convicted murderers.

1,266 posted on 03/19/2005 6:51:49 PM PST by Mad_Tom_Rackham (This just in from CBS: "There is no bias at CBS")
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To: nmh

If this goes back to Lazzara's courtroom (the federal judge who told the Schindlers' attorneys basically to "get lost" last time around), Terri is still in trouble.

If this goes back to Greer's courtroom to be retried, well, the day that happens is the day I grow wings and fly myself to the moon.


I hope and pray the Senators know who they're up against.
Greer and company are in it for all the marbles.


1,267 posted on 03/19/2005 6:53:12 PM PST by Deo volente (God willing, Terri Schiavo will live.)
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To: Hildy

I am not against living wills, but I do not have much confidence in them as a whole. The wording can be easily manipulated by the disingenious.


1,268 posted on 03/19/2005 6:53:55 PM PST by Theodore R. (Will the GOP fiddle while Terri churns?)
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To: Theodore R.

You must be really fun at parties.


1,269 posted on 03/19/2005 6:55:15 PM PST by Hildy
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To: nmh
And in the UK, a doctor has performed a late-term abortion based on the diagnosis that the child was afflicted with a "serious disability"...which happened to be a cleft-palate.
From Drudge: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1439312,00.html
Shall we euthanize our Alzheimer's patients, those who suffer from any degenerative disease? When is too early in the process? If I could determine that my child carried a genetic predisposition that would render him "handicapped" in our culture, should I abort? What if, instead of a cleft-palate or a degenerative disease I decided that being gay would handicap that child?
1,270 posted on 03/19/2005 6:56:49 PM PST by amystitz
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To: Hildy
"I also don't believe her parents will be able to take care of her. She will eventually end up on the State's dime. Lying there all alone, with strangers taking care of her. But I know all of you who love Terri so much would never let that happen now, would you?"

Don't worry..if she can't be at home with her parents for long, there are people that care. There is a whole culture of people that live their lives every day for people just like Terri.

1,271 posted on 03/19/2005 6:57:26 PM PST by Earthdweller (US descendant of French Protestants)
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To: pieces of time
The hypocrisy of the leftists on this is astounding. Congress should save Anwar for the antelope, the trees for the owls, the wetlands for the birds and frogs, test lab animals, the criminals from punishment, the terrorists from panties and waterboarding, women's rights to their own bodies. Yet, these same activists say that Congress has no business in saving a disabled woman from being starved by her husband. Be afraid, be very afraid!

The best example I have is my Burmese cat Muffin. We did our best to keep her alive with she had kidney problems. She was first diagnosed in January 2002 and we could have lost her then if we didn't give her special care and so on. She had a good extra 2 and a half years until she passed away last July (2004). Even when she was dying, we did our best to keep her alive in the hopes she could bounce back even though the odds were against us. Well, God chose to call her home and to be with my aunt who asked us to care for her before she passed away.

I know Muffin was a cat and Terri is human, but one, a common thing people and animals share is if they desire to live, they will do their best to survive. I see that in Terri as she lights up when her parents and siblings come in. There are also reports that she CAN take semi-solid foods like Jello and so on. That indicates a desire to live. Second, we did heroic measures to keep Muffin alive with success in 2002 and failure in 2004. Well, we did get 2 and a half years with Muffin (had Muffin lived a month, she would have been 17) that we would not have had so I consider that a success. If we continue feeding Terri AND therapy, we could see a miracle or at least some success, but still if we don't try, we are not doing the right thing. Third, if we did the same thing to a cat, dog or some other animal which her husband and the activist judiciary is doing to Terri, you and I would be in the slammer and deservedly so. Yet, her husband and the jagoff judge are not. I have not even touched upon the moral implications yet although they are the most important of all. We are duty bound to protect the lives of our fellow citizens and again we are falling down on that with Terri. We are supposed to take the moral and ethical high ground here but if we don't, in the future, we could end up being no better than Nazi Germany and Al Qaida.
1,272 posted on 03/19/2005 6:57:46 PM PST by Nowhere Man (I hope you enjoyed your dinner, Terri Schiavo can't. B-()
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To: Hildy
I also don't believe her parents will be able to take care of her. She will eventually end up on the State's dime. Lying there all alone, with strangers taking care of her.

Hildy - why do you think this? I think her family has demonstrated a remarkable dedication to her.... she has a brother (unsure of other sibling?) as well as her parents.

I am speaking from experience as our family cared for my bedridden brother for 18 years - had my parents died first - I would never have dreamed of putting him in the care of strangers..... all because of the example of my parents... There is little glamor in caring for a relative in such a state - but many joys and peace from doing the right thing.....

1,273 posted on 03/19/2005 6:58:18 PM PST by Momto2 (daily training the next generation of freepers - with joy!!)
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To: Earthdweller
I have seen and interacted with many brain damaged people, and those with defects.

That is not what is going on here. These activists and others have twisted this beyond what it is.

What this is, can only be described as a death that was interrupted while there was hope for a modest recovery, but what has occurred was degradation and there is no hope any longer.

that is how the husband sees it, and he does not want to keep her in a protracted state of absolute misery with no awareness and constant muscular distress as indicated by the more sensible of assessments and the majority assessment as well.

He wants to allow her to move on to the next existence, as her time here is misery, any way you look at it.

But he did not, and is not making that decision, because he can't.

He petitioned the courts to do it, and they have. He would have lived with it either way. But now he will help her achieve the finality of death, rather than existence in between.

This is a act of compassion, not anger or greed. It has been made and approved by the courts.

That is the way I see it. and believe me when I say I have seen the so called evidence in this attempt to besmirch him.

The damage will be done by Federal interference in this matter. There are no guidelines that can be written by man to address this. These decisions are made case by case and are supposed to stay private for a very good reason.

This situation could bring laws that do not discern between those who want to pass on and those who do not. Between conditions that can be lived with and those that can't. That is what happens when protocols take the place of family held values and decisions.

Legislators, at the behest of a ill informed public, are making a huge mistake. One that we may not be able to fix.

1,274 posted on 03/19/2005 6:59:38 PM PST by Cold Heat (This space is being paid not to do anything.)
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To: Hildy

Thanks to her husband's use of her care money on lawyers rather than treatment and his unwillingness to turn her care over to her parents who have offered to pay, she is CURRENTLY on the "state's dime" as you call it.


1,275 posted on 03/19/2005 6:59:43 PM PST by amystitz
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To: amystitz

She'll be on the State's dime forever.


1,276 posted on 03/19/2005 7:01:46 PM PST by Hildy
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To: Hildy
a feeding tube will not keep her alive "forever"..but your melodrama does bring a smile...
1,277 posted on 03/19/2005 7:02:49 PM PST by amystitz
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To: Cold Heat

Thank you. Your rational common sense is a welcomed pleasure. Be ready for the hateful messages about to come your way.


1,278 posted on 03/19/2005 7:03:44 PM PST by Hildy
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To: Raycpa

Here's an opposing point of view, from another doctor:
http://doctorisin.blogspot.com/2004_12_01_doctorisin_archive.html

"Euthanasia is the quick fix to man's ageless struggle with suffering and disease. The Hippocratic Oath - taken in widely varying forms by most physicians at graduation - was originally administered to a minority of physicians in ancient Greece, who swore to prescribe neither euthanasia nor abortion - both common recommendations by healers of the age.

The rapid and widespread acceptance of euthanasia in pre-Nazi Germany occurred because it was eminently reasonable and rational. Beaten down by war, economic hardship, and limited resources, logic dictated that those who could not contribute to the betterment of society cease being a drain on its lifeblood.

Long before its application to ethnic groups and enemies of the State, it was administered to those who made us most uncomfortable: the mentally ill, the deformed, the retarded, the social misfit.

While invariably promoted as a merciful means of terminating suffering, the suffering relieved is far more that of the enabling society than of its victims. "Death with dignity" is the gleaming white shroud on the rotting corpse of societal fear, self-interest and ruthless self-preservation.

It is sobering and puzzling to ponder how the profession of medicine - whose core article of faith is healing and comfort of the sick - could be so effortlessly transformed into a calculating instrument of judgment and death.

It is chilling to read the cold scientific language of Nazi medical experiments or Dutch studies on optimal techniques to minimize complications in euthanasia. Yet this devolution of medicine, with some contemplation, is not hard to discern. It is the natural gravity of man detached from higher principles, operating out of the best his reason alone has to offer, with its inevitable disastrous consequences.

Contributing to this march toward depravity: The power of detachment and intellectualization.
Physicians by training and disposition are intellectualizers. Non-medical people observing surgery are invariably squeamish, personalizing the experience and often repulsed by the apparent trauma to the patient. Physicians overcome this natural response by detaching themselves from the personal, and transforming the experience into a study in technique, stepwise logical processes, and fascination with disease and anatomy. Indeed, it takes some effort to overcome this training to develop empathy and compassion. It is therefore a relatively small step with such training to turn even killing into another process to be mastered.

The dilution of personal responsibility: In Germany, the euthanasia of children was performed with an injection of Luminal, a barbituate also used for seizures and sedation of the agitated. As a result, it was difficult to determine who was personally responsible for the deed: was it the nurse, who gave too much?

The doctor, who ordered too large a dose? Was the patient overly sensitive to the drug? Was the child merely sedated, or in a terminal coma? Of course, all the participants knew what was going on, but responsibility was diluted, giving rationalization and justification full reign. The societal endorsement and widespread practice of euthanasia provided additional cover. When all are culpable, no one is culpable.


Humans have the remarkable ability to utterly separate disparate parts of their lives, to accommodate cognitive dissonance. Indeed, there is probably no other way to maintain sanity in the face of enormous personal evil.

The banality of evil: Great evil springs in countless small steps from lesser evil. Jesus Christ was doubtless not the first innocent man Pilate condemned to death; soft porn came before child porn, snuff films, and rape videos; in the childhood of the serial killer lies cruelty to animals.

Small evils harden the heart, making greater evil easier, more routine, less chilling. We marvel at the hideousness of the final act, but the descent to depravity is a gentle slope downwards.

The false optimism of expediency: Solve the problem today, deny any future consequences. We are nearsighted creatures in the extreme, seeing only the benefits of our current actions while dismissing the potential for unknown, disastrous ramifications.

When Baby Knauer, an infant with blindness, mental retardation and physical deformities, became the first child euthanized in Germany, who could foresee the horrors of Auschwitz and Dachau?

We are blind to the horrendous consequences of our wrong decisions, but see infinite visions of hope for their benefits. As a child I watched television shows touting peaceful nuclear energy as the solution to all the world's problems, little imagining the fears of the Cuban missile crisis, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, the minutes before midnight of the Cold War, and the current ogre of nuclear terrorism.

Reason of itself is morally neutral; it can kill children or discover cures for their suffering and disease. Reason tempered by humility, faith, and guidance by higher moral principles has enormous potential for good - and without such restraints, enormous potential for evil.

The desire to end human suffering is morally good. Despite popular misconception, the Judeo-Christian tradition does not view suffering as something good, but rather something evil which exists, but which may be transformed and redeemed by God and grace, to ultimately produce a greater good. This is a difficult sell to a materialistic, secular world, which does not accept the transformational power of God or the existence of spiritual consequences, or principles higher than human reason.

Yet the benefits of suffering, subtle though they may be, can be discerned in many instances even by the unskilled eye.

What are the chances that Dutch doctors will find a cure for the late stage cancer or early childhood disease, when they now so quickly and "compassionately" dispense of their sufferers with a lethal injection?

Who will teach us patience, compassion, unselfish love, endurance, tenderness, and tolerance, if not those who provide us with the opportunity through their suffering, or mental or physical disability?

These are character traits not easily learned, though enormously beneficial to society as well as individuals. How will we learn them if we liquidate our teachers?

Higher moral principles position roadblocks to our behavior, warning us that grave danger lies beyond. When in our hubris and unenlightened reason we crash through them, we do so at great peril, for we do not know what evil lies beyond.

The Netherlands will not be another Nazi Germany, as frightening as the parallels may be. It will be different, but it will be evil in some unpredictable way, impossible to foresee when rationalism took the first step across that boundary to kill a patient in mercy."


1,279 posted on 03/19/2005 7:03:59 PM PST by FBD ("A nation without borders is not a nation." -- Ronald Reagan)
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To: Momto2

Please don't. I've been taking care of my bedridden mother in my home for six years.


1,280 posted on 03/19/2005 7:05:01 PM PST by Hildy
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