XPost: alt.activism, alt.activism.children, alt.activism.death-penalty   
   XPost: alt.activism.peacefire, alt.activism.student, alt.activism.youth-rights   
   From: alpertl@xxgmail.com   
      
   XDCC wrote:   
   > In article , alpertl@xxgmail.com   
   > says...   
   >>   
   >> XDCC wrote:   
   >>> In article , alpertl@xxgmail.com   
   >>> says...   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Shadowhawk wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>> The problem is, she effectively died 15 years ago, at least in a   
   >>>> mental sense.  The rest of her body just caught up with the rest of   
   >>>> her.   
   >>>>   
   >>> It is so good to have some make a post that actually had the chance   
   >>> to visit   
   >>> Terri. I was not able to actually see for myself, so I sided with   
   >>> life on the chance that there was something there. That way if I was   
   >>> wrong and there was nothing there, like you stated, then it would   
   >>> not matter because mentally, she was dead. Then it would be an   
   >>> error on the side of life. I would hate to think that she was   
   >>> deprived of water, either through a feeding tube or orally for   
   >>> almost 2 weeks with a sense of that was happening. Imagine the   
   >>> torture and suffering, and not being able to do anything about it.   
   >>> Especially when a faucet was probably only 8 feet away.   
   >>   
   >> She has been examined by many physicians that are much more equipped   
   >> to   
   > make   
   >> this determination then you or I could with any amount of personal   
   >> visits.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >   
   > There were some physicians that were in disagreement with those that   
   > said   
   > she was unresponsive. If that was the case, why would you want to   
   > make her   
   > die from dehydration. If she was not a "vegetable", it was a terrible   
   > way to go. If she was, then it would not have mattered if she was   
   > allow to live. She was not terminally ill. Everything but the brain   
   > was in full function. It just became easier to get rid of those that   
   > no one wants. How many old people that have no family to   
   > take care of them are at risk. An overdose of morphine is much   
   > cheaper than 6   
   > months of indigent care.   
      
   The key here is "everything but the brain".   
      
   As far as euthanasia or refusal of treatment as opposed to the agony of some   
   treatments, I believe it should be a matter of choice for those that are   
   either terminally ill or aged.   
      
   My mother chose this route (no treatment of her cancer) due to the specifics   
   of her case. We (family) supported her decision, as difficult as it was.   
   The choice was 5 or 6 months of misery and then death, or a good 3 months of   
   enjoying her grandchildren before hospice and morphine took over for the   
   final few weeks.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)