Per Gallup: 70% Of Americans Support Euthanasia

Arlen wrote: Her husband may have wanted to remarry. He may have not wanted to divorce Terri Schiavo because of insurance money. So he may have had her put to death for that reason. Who knows?

The right-to-life political morons you refer to were her Mother and Father.
(Tell us, what do you L J, think of your mother and father?)

If we had found Terri Schiavo on Mars in the same condition in which she was in the hospital, every newspaper and television in the world would have headlined "LIFE FOUND ON MARS!".

So you, snark, decide that another person's life is not worth living if she cannot rise out of bed and run the 100 yard dash. Who says that you do not believe in religion? You think that you are GOD.

The problem, as I remember it, was she did NOT have an ADVANCED DIRECTIVE, that explicitly
gave her wishes (she VERBALLY related that info to her husband and he was ATTEMPTING to
carry out her wishes...the parents did NOT agree with the VERBAL arrangement).....a VERY
STRONG reason for doing an ADVANCED DIRECTIVE for end of life/critical issues. I have a DNR
in place AND an Advanced Direct called 5 Wishes...IF anyone would like a FREE pamphlet of
the 5 Wishes I would be more than happy to share my copies (I ordered 25 because they
were so INEXPENSIVE and the Hospice Organization that issues them is a very reputable
source....my hospice RN friend gave me the "lead".....PM me if you want 5 Wishes and I will
get them to you.

LadyJazzer wrote: She was brain-dead. That is not "life." That is cell-division... And that's a fact, Jack. Yes, the right-to-life political morons inserted themselves into something that was none of their business...

The morons who you speak of were her Mother and Father.

Arlen wrote:

LadyJazzer wrote: She was brain-dead. That is not "life." That is cell-division... And that's a fact, Jack. Yes, the right-to-life political morons inserted themselves into something that was none of their business...

The morons who you speak of were her Mother and Father.

No, the MORONS of which I speak were BUSH and the CONGRESS:

Bush, Congress intervene in Terri Schiavo case: political thuggery in the service of reaction

The intervention of Congress and the Bush administration into the case of Terri Schiavo—the Florida woman on life support for the past 15 years—is an act of unmitigated political thuggery, exploiting a family tragedy for the most reactionary political purposes. It is both a moral abomination and a frontal assault on basic democratic rights.

The assertion of unbridled government authority over the most intimate and private concerns is an ominous warning of the political direction of the US ruling elite and its political agents. The emergency bill being rammed through Congress has been accompanied by open appeals to religious hysteria and thinly concealed incitement to violence against Michael Schiavo, his lawyer, and the Florida judge who upheld Schiavo’s decision to terminate life support.
Government Involvement in the Terry Schiavo Case

“Terri Schiavo” does not just refer to the woman at the center of the country’s most politically-charged bioethics case, but has also become shorthand for a Congress out of control and religious right over-reaching. For the first time in the history of the United States, Congress met in a special emergency session (on Palm Sunday, March 20, 2005) to pass legislation aimed at the medical care of one patient: Terri Schiavo. President George W. Bush encouraged the legislation and flew back to Washington, D.C. from his vacation in Crawford, Texas, to be on hand to sign it immediately.
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/st_org ... as0607.pdf

Mr Bush and Congress need to take account of the costs of their intervention, particularly when it comes to setting all sorts of unfortunate constitutional precedents.

The Republicans, who are usually stern defenders of states' rights, may come to rue the day when they urged the federal system to ignore them.

In short, for a mixture of motives—some sincere, some political—the Republicans have over-reached themselves. In the meantime, Mrs Schiavo's case should remind any Americans who do not want to put their families through a similar ordeal to start writing their living wills right away.
http://www.economist.com/node/3789436

But thanks for playing. She was brain-dead. That is not "life." That is cell-division... And that's a fact, Jack. Yes, the right-to-life political morons inserted themselves into something that was none of their business...

I think private individuals should have the ability to decide when they're done.
I don't agree with our so-called "Christian" censorial culture. (I don't think it's all
that Christian, to be honest).

That said, I don't think said individuals should expect hearty agreement from:
- society in general
- their insurance company (particularly, life insurance)
- Social security

To be fair - most folks don't want or expect hearty agreement from the above.

However, it's the exceptions we ed up bickering about.

That said, I have a progressive and understanding insurance company, which provides pre-death benefits in the event that I end up with a condition that is documented, and determined to be terminal.

In the end, I don't think government should harass, prosecute, or even notice physicians that
provide compassionate and progressive-minded care for people that suffer from terminal illness. I side with nature-writer, David Petersen on this issue.

Heck - just watch how a loving vet helps you put your favorite pet out of their misery. Why can't we do that for humans?

So, how do you feel about Kevorkian? A man ahead of his time? He actually helped a friend of mine, John Zdanowicz, die in October '97.

It already happens informally. When my FIL was dying of cancer, they let him use as much morphine to ease the pain in his last couple days so they overdose themselves.

As long as the stinking politicians, so-called 'christians', and right-to-lifers stay out of it, I'm all for anyone doing whatever THEY CHOOSE to do...

bailey bud wrote: Heck - just watch how a loving vet helps you put your favorite pet out of their misery. Why can't we do that for humans?

In the end, we are the responsible party for our four legged companions. We have bred them to be dependent upon our choices for them from birth through death. That's the difference BB. If you want to walk out into the forest and go without food and water until you perish there is not a single thing anyone can do to prevent you from doing that. If you want to tie a rope around your neck or but a bullet in your own brain that is something you, as a self determinant life form, can decide to do. A dog is not self determinant, nor is a cat or even a horse for that matter.

If you wait too long to make that determination yourself you ought not to be such a coward that you expect anyone else to do the dirty deed for you. You don't want anyone interfering? Fine, take care of your own business yourself rather than leave it to others to do for you. I, personally, feel like there ought to be a permission slip signed to put someone on life support to begin with. If no directive to take heroic measures to save your life exist then you live or die according to your body's ability to sustain your life, especially if you've been found cold and unresponsive when the EMTs show up or your heart stops beating 15 minutes out from the hospital. There will be a lot less problems then because you will have expressed a desire to cling to whatever life you can by agreeing to be hooked up to the infernal machines to begin with.

Have friends that are EMT's and a friend who is a hospice RN....they ALL DNR's because they
KNOW the ramifications of the aftermath of medical procedures,meds and EXTRA ordinary measures to keep someone alive....NOT a good thing when you are past the age of 50 or60....
it's obviously a VERY personal choice, but life has to have QUALITY or what's the purpose? JMO

I am thinking about a "tat".....DNR.....because jewelry gets lost and paper is sometimes NOT
timely in it's intent.....NOW, where to put the tat is a "burning" question....