Here's some points from the parent's website, and my counterpoints:

1. Terri has no will. Should she die, her husband will inherit what is left of Terri

 

Hopefully every single one of you who posted on this thread has taken or will take the time to have a health care power of attorney (aka living will) and durable financial power of attorney drawn up.

It's quick, easy, and inexpensive....go do it!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jmc1971
Hopefully every single one of you who posted on this thread has taken or will take the time to have a health care power of attorney (aka living will) and durable financial power of attorney drawn up.

 

Would it be clearer if she asked someone to put a pillow over her face and smother her? Or bring her a pistol so that she could shoot herself? We put our pets down for less and they too are part of the family. Who wants to be there when she asks you to please kill her or bring a gun so that she could blow her brains all over the wall? The only way you can really have any input on extending her life is to personally go there and care for her around the clock. You would have to love her also. Love her and care for her year after year and then you have a legitimate argument. Otherwise, it's just speculation.
At times like these, as if there will be any money left anyway after medical and legal fees, money means nothing. Some of us see money as the priority because it isn't us that loves and cares for her. If it were, perspectives and priorities would change. Secondly, not everyone sees the world through that lens. Not everyone is unscrupulous and greedy. I worry about people that think everyone is.

Addendum: Where is the compassion for this man? Can you fathom what he has to live with? How will this effect him and his future? How will he feel about himself? This is a nightmare that he can't wake up from. It will be with him and perhaps haunt him the rest of his life.

 

rwone,
Not trying flaming you just my humble opinions here:

1. Ok, so what if he just take the difference between $750K and the legal fees+medical fees so far incurred and just move on with his life and spare her life? Would this be fair? According to what's written so far, he didn't/refued to spend much, if any, for her rehab. I think this could be a good compromise but I doubt this will ever happen, since accepting only the money and "moving on" would suggest Michael Schiavo was in it for money only in the first place. The only way that he can keep the money without spending it for the rehab. (AND make sense out of it legally) is for Terri to die...naturally if possible but "unplugging" her, by convincing the judge that she is "hopeless" could certainly be an option.

2. I have nothing against him re-starting a family. But he should not keep the money that was allocated for Terri's recovery.

3. No change in her condition. There is no way for you nor I to determine that (unless you are a qualified doctor, I certainly am not). We really don't know what progress she WOULD have made in those "3 years," had she not denied of the care that she rightfully deserved IMHO. Besides, if the court ruled that she is truely hopeless and must be "terminated" immediately, then I still fail to see any reason why Michael Schiavo has to keep a dime out of the $750. Unplugging a feeding tube certainly does not cost that much does it?

4. Maybe so. But you don't think her own family deserves to know her detailed medical history of her condition? Your daughter/sister is being sentenced to death by the judge (who BTW is just as ignorant in medicine as you or I) based on some facts, wouldn't you want to know what the "facts" are?

5. What's wrong with getting a second opinion? If I was diagnosed with cancer today by a doctor, I certainly would want to get a second opinion. Of course, in this case, much more is at stake since the diagnosis of the qualified doctor is the basis in making the decision to let her live or die.

6. Again, you and I are not qualified to say that she is "ready to go" dignified or not.

7. Same comments as 6. Not a doctor, haven't even seen her in person.

 

I never thought you were. I respect differences of opinion.

I'm just looking at is as a non-emotionally attached 3rd party. None of us know all the facts and none of us want to be involved in this kind of situation. There's so much propoganda and misinformation flying about it's really hard to make sense of what the real situation is with her. For example, when I did a Google search on her case, just about all the articles that I came across were negative towards the husband. On a radio show here there was a discussion about the case, the husband's side was presented. It seems to be no big secret that most of the money allocated to her care was spent on answering legal challenges to removing her life support.

I frankly don't know why he would not divorce her so that her parents can resume care of her aside from the money issue. That is, unless he really did know her wishes and he really does not want to see her kept in this fashion for the rest of her life. Just because he wants to start a new life does not mean he cannot still care for her. He may have simply come to the same conclusion as his doctors - there's no chance for recovery, and his last caring act he can do is to put an end to her apparent suffering.

Yes, if she's truly brain-dead then it doesn't really matter now, does it? But the thought of keeping her "alive" this way is simply grotesque in itself.

Again, as a 3rd party, I would still claim that quality-of-life issues are what matter the most here. It's too bad the single person whose opion means the most in this matter is apparently unable to answer for herself. That's probably the biggest tragedy of them all.

 

The fact that there's this much debate over her mental status and his motives speaks pretty clearly that there's some legit questions over both.

She deserves a court-appointed guardian to come in and take a look at things.

All I know is that Florida is a mighty dangerous place to be if you're a child in state custody or if you're a disabled adult without a crystal clear health care power of attorney.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jmc1971
The fact that there's this much debate over her mental status and his motives speaks pretty clearly that there's some legit questions over both.

 

You have to ask yourself if you really want to live like that? My answer is no. So no matter what the husband has done and questions as to his true motives, letting her pass away is the right thing to do in this case IMO. Her pain and suffering will soon be over.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mav
You have to ask yourself if you really want to live like that?