Terri Shiavo has died.

[ambitious_wench]

Terri Shiavo has died.

She's well away from the media circus, the political grandstanding, the debate in this country over end-of-life matters that in my opinion should remain in the hands of the citizens and not congress.

What it boils down to is this: my opinions on whether or not she was a vegetable, or brain dead, or simply disabled don't matter. What matters is her husband's decision. We can question his motives, and if there is evidence, try him for attempted murder.

However, numerous courts have investigated him, and found nothing.

What I fear now is a backlash in congress. I fear that *my* end-of-life wishes will be negated by strangers in Washington, that I will be kept alive against my will.

I do not wish to live like Terri did, oblivious to the world around her, locked in a body that was of no use to her.

There are some who say otherwise. There are folks who feel that a persistent vegetative state is not a living hell, but believe that they will find new worlds within their own mind.

I know the worlds in my mind from dreams. I don't want to live there.

As long as I have some connection with those I love, if I can communicate by blinking my eyes, let me live. But don't hold me here in a useless body if I'm a vegetable.

Comments

[romeoblack.livejournal.com]

Dearest Mom.

I love you with all of my heart and I will respect your wishes to the last. If for some reason you should haveto make a decision for me, I would also like the same. I don't want to live a partial existance aided by machines or feeding tubes. If there isn't a large chance of success for my revival, then pull the plug on me.

That being said, what I don't understand is why don't more people sign Do Not Resucitate(Sp?) forms. That would solve all of our problems and the government wouldn't be able to touch that. It's a legally binding contract and it cannot be overruled by anybody, including congress. We are gravitating closer and closer to George Orwell's 1984. The government already wants to try to make laws to control women's bodies over the debate of abortion. And don't get me started on the religious overtones many of these congressmen are using as a transparent shield. Seperation of church and state my fat white hairy ass!

[kcmistresskatie.livejournal.com]

It's because most people don't want to think about death. How many people reading this post have filled out medical proxies or living wills? How many have committed to paper what they want done with their bodies (donation, burial, etc.) I just asked my closest friend yesterday if she would be willing to do this for me.

[kcmistresskatie.livejournal.com]

And as far as separation of church & state.... When you testify in court, why is it that you are asked "so help you G-d?". Why does American currency (coins & bills) say "in G-d we trust"?

[mdrnprometheus.livejournal.com]

It's a legally binding contract and it cannot be overruled by anybody, including congress.

False, I'm sorry to say. Congress can declare actions illegal, including the withdrawal of artificial life support, if it so chooses. Should it do so, your legally binding contract is worth as much as the toilet paper in the stall down the hall (though the contract is probably softer).

[redhead-sue.livejournal.com]

Your son knows your wishes, and that's important. But I think what we all learned from this is that it's not enough. Please, if you feel that way, sign a living will. There are ways of making it very clear in this document where you draw the line between when you would like to live and when you would like to be let go.

[kij66.livejournal.com]

We just had this discussion with the family at Easter, and my grandparents, who are 81, signed the paperwork with my sister (an attorney) on Wednesday. I'll prob'ly do the same next week. No reason to leave it to chance :-)

[frou-frou.livejournal.com]

I really feel for her husband - and if it wasn't bad enough watching his wife starve herself during her twenties (I'm assuming her eating disorder was either anorexia or bulimia as I know no others), and her condition bringing on a heart attack - he's had to endure fifteen years of watching her live a strange sort of non-inclusive life, and antagonism from her family.

At least now the poor man (presumably in his forties) can now get on with his life. I've heard nothing about his plight but his life can not have been an easy one. There will more dramas to come, no doubt, due to his notoriety. I'd move house, personally.

[silverblue.livejournal.com]

Or country. Really, something like Australia or somewhere in Europe...I'd move too. He needs to have his own life at some point, and he's not to blame - hardened criminals get shorter sentances.

[shadow-5tails.livejournal.com]

It was bulimia, from what I've read, leading to a drop in potassium levels that triggered the heart attack. As observed here, it is unfortunate indeed that this fact has been somewhat lost in the furore; the hard facts of this tragedy are a powerful illustration of the dangers of the eating disorder.

What I find particularly poignant about it all is that although Michael Schiavo had the right as legal guardian to decide on his own that his wife should have her feeding tube removed, everything I've read about the case suggests that he didn't - he went to the courts with the available evidence and petitioned them to decide whether she should have the tube removed. Admittedly he took the position that Terri be allowed to die, while her parents opposed it, but he didn't make the decision autonomously. To be branded a money-hungry murderer for deciding to discontinue life-support would be horrific at any time, but to be blamed for the decision when you didn't actually make it, but deferred to the authorities deemed appropriate in the circumstance, is particularly awful.

[frou-frou.livejournal.com]

That's a very interesting article - I agree: this is an opportunity to highlight some of these issues, and that has been lost on most people. Many articles don't even mention why a woman of 26 had a heart attack in the first place.

I can't help appreciating the irony (very black irony) that the whole debacle was over force-feeding a woman who if she'd fed herself when she could, would never have been in this situation.

I like to think that in this country we're not quite as hung up on the pursuit of physical beauty, but as one who used to have anorexia/bulimia, who am I to speak?

[shadow-5tails.livejournal.com]

*hugs you sadly* Anecdotal sample set though it may be, the number of women I know who were similarly affected doesn't leave me much hope for Australian society being much better...