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Feb. 11, 2005 Disclaimer. Please note that this article contains only my opinions, plus opinions of others. Some of the information here may be fact, while other information may be fiction. I have done my best to present fact, mostly gathered from the Internet, but cannot be held responsible for information that I present, which may be untrue. The Case Against Terri Schiavo (part 1).
(Picture of Terri and her mother taken from her site, Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation. The name Terri Schiavo has almost become a household word in America today. Her name is a catchword with the right to die and the right to life community. Some folk say that she is a 'vegetable' and her life shouldn't be prolonged any longer. Others say that she has quality of life, and deserves to live. If you haven't heard of Terri, here is a little background information. Terri collapsed from unknown causes in 1990. She had suffered a severe brain injury. Her husband Michael, felt very concerned for her welfare and, on her behalf, brought a medical malpractice case seeking damages so that he could care for his beloved wife. During the malpractice suite, Michael demonstrated his love for Terri by stating "I believe in the vows I took with my wife, through sickness, in health, for richer or poor. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that." The jury were touched by Michael's public outpouring of love for Terri and awarded approximately $1.3 million in damages. Approximately $750,000 was set aside to pay for her rehabilitation and care. Terri did receive some rehabilitation; but not long after the money was banked, Michael had a do-not resuscitate order placed on her chart. He could do this because he was her guardian. Then Michael remembered that Terri once said that she did not want to be kept alive artificially; so he asked the court if he could wind down the money that had been originally earmarked for Terri's rehabilitation, so that the funds could instead be spent on the legal costs of ending her life. Judge George Greer of the 6th circuit court of Florida, a committed Christian, gave Michael permission to do this. Since 1992, Terri has not received any rehabilitation. If Terri died, Michael would receive all the money earmarked for her rehabilitation. Michael has now for some time been petitioning the courts to have Terri starved to death by removing her gastronomy tube. This gastronomy tube provides her with nutrition and hydration. If the gastronomy tube is removed, Terri would die a slow and terribly painful death, lasting from 10- 15 days. Her death would be no different from either you or I if we were starved to death in a similar manner by being not given nutrition. Terri's parents quite understandably want to care for her and do the best that they can for her. Michael and Terri's parents have been backwards and forwards to the courts many times in this battle to have Terri killed or to save her.. Michael himself has moved on. He now lives in an adulterous relationship with a women, and has had two children from this relationship. If he divorced Terri, he would not receive any money. In the media there has been a lot of talk about the gastronomy tube, perhaps influencing some folk to believe that intense medical care must be used to keep Terri alive. Really nothing could be further from the truth. Terri can breath for herself; her organs are working fine; she is not on life support systems and she is not dying. However, just like you or I, if she was not given any nutrition, she would die. For her to stay alive, she needs to be fed by the gastronomy tube. If you have never seen a gastronomy tube, here is a little picture of one.
The part below the horizontal red line is permanently under the skin surface and enters the stomach. Liquid nutrition is provided through the feeding tube above the horizontal line. When the feeding tube is removed, all that is visible is a little 'button' about a quarter of an inch above the skin and approximately the size of a quarter. To feed someone via a gastronomy tube is very simple. It would take about one hour for a lay person, with no medical experience, to learn how to do the feeding.. People can be fed via a bolus ( a type of large syringe) during the day and have meals that way. Or alternatively they can be fed slowly via a pump, during the day. Either way, they can be quite mobile and if they are in a wheelchair, the feeding tube pump can travel with them. This is not rocket science. One of Michael's statements to the courts is that Terri would never want to live like this and be fed by a tube. This statement, according to Terri's parents was never made in their presence. Michael remembered Terri's statements shortly after he and Terri had been awarded the malpractice money. Throughout the world there would probably be hundreds of thousands of folk with different health problems, who have gastronomy tubes to keep them alive or to provide them with extra nutrition, because they may have problems eating.. For example, adults and children with cerebral palsy, who have muscle spasms, quite often have the tube. Children with the gastronomy tube can go to school and participate in school activities. Adults can go to work. Children and adults are properly nourished with the tube. Make no mistake, the gastronomy tube is a wonderful device, which is used to save the lives of tens of thousands of people worldwide, who have different degrees of illness. A gastronomy tube can provide an incredible enhanced quality of life to someone who without it may have problems in eating. I am sure if you interviewed many of the people with gastronomy tubes and asked them if they would prefer to die, because they are being fed 'artificially' via a gastronomy tube, they would reply with a resounding 'No'. On a personal level, our own child Tim, who is now 16, has a gastronomy tube. He is profoundly disabled just like Terri. He has intractable seizures (seizures that cannot be controlled on a day to day basis), has severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine), is in a wheelchair and has a VNS (vagal nerve implant), a type of pacemaker device, which helps reduce the seizures. He has recently had an osteotomy (removal of the ball joint in his leg), to lessen the twising of his spine.Without the gastronomy tube, Tim would die of starvation. I believe that The Case Against Terri Schiavo in favor of her being killed because she is fed through a gastronomy tube, is without credibility. The question we need to ask is "Should Terri be killed because she cannot feed herself?" I hope that you will agree with me that the answer is "Of course not!" The courts have accepted the suggestion that she would want to die and tragically, she may be be killed soon unless we do something, and do something now. As of this writing Terri's situation is critical. The courts, may as early as 22nd of February allow Michael to remove the feeding tube, and so kill her. Please consider visiting Terri's site at www.terrisfight.org and see how you can help save Terri. If you are a Christian, you might consider contemplating Ephesians 6: 11-18, and pray for Terri and her family to have 'The Armor of God." The injustices mentioned in this article are
only the tip of the iceberg,
regarding Terri's plight and the totally unfair
treatment that she has endured
because she is disabled. I will post another
article very soon, regarding her
situation.
Paul Copeland is 58 years young. He is
happily married to Alison. Their
children are Tim, aged 16, who is profoundly
disabled and Alicia who is 22 and
engaged to be married. Paul's family are
Christians. He, is very concerned about
Terri's welfare and has set up a site at www.saveterri.com,
to alert folk about Terri's plight. Paul can be
contacted at:
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