Home » The Shiavo case–a family affair

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The Shiavo case–a family affair — 5 Comments

  1. If they removed her water supply, she did not die painlessly. She died with her body drained of life saving water, with tissues and cells failling one by one because osmosis no longer worked to supply cells with food.

    Death by starvation takes weeks. Death by dehydration is one of the cruelest tortures imaginable. One would not subject one’s dog to that, let alone a human being. Michael is coward to take the way he did, regardless of his good or bad intentions.

    And the thing I hope we derive from Terry Schiavo’s death is a law that lists Capital Punishment as “Death by starvation and dehydration”.

  2. Ditto. Thanks for saying it for me once again.
    I especially appreciated the link to Mr Krauthammer’s post. I had seen and heard him on tv but had no idea of his own physical condition, which I think in this case, only gives his opinion more weight and credibility.

  3. note: I see Charles Krauthammer said what I said, though of course better. The issue of chronic pain seems to be implicitly assumed as something a first-degree relative would take into consideration. I think that’s better than leaving it to the law to decide what chronic pain is.

  4. This has been the best comment of many I’ve read on the case, and the only one not to attack one side or the other.

    Personally, I would change your proposed law so that if there were no living will, any first degree relative willing to be primary caretaker would be given that, except in a case where there is chronic pain. Err on the side of life is a good motto to me.

    (an aside: nobody I’ve seen on Mr. Shiavo’s side has considered the parents. Its as if they can’t see them.)

  5. Thoughts on dying….

    I agree 1000% with Ymarsakar, March 3, 2007 at 12:00 am:

    If they removed [Terri Schiavo’s] water supply, she did not die painlessly. She died with her body drained of life saving water, with tissues and cells failling one by one because osmosis no longer worked to supply cells with food.

    Death by starvation takes weeks. Death by dehydration is one of the cruelest tortures imaginable.

    I have also read this elsewhere.

    My daughter and hospital have strict instructions not to let this happen to me.

    Also, I am reading that death is a process that can take much longer to occur than most have thought heretofore. (And that people have come out of coma after many years.) I don’t know if these claims are true, but I think the smart money bets that they are.

    Someone said that that was the origin of the wake (“vigil”) — to give the corpse 24 hours to repair itself in case it wasn’t actually dead. FWIW.

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