I have spent an eternity saying this.

[conuly]

Terri Schiavo is not on life support. She does not use a ventilator. I don't know where that story started, but here it ends. She is not hooked up to any machines. She uses a feeding tube. That is not life support. Taking her off the feeding tube will cause her to - slowly - starve or dehydrate.

There is evidence that she reacts to things around her. There is also evidence that her condition would be drastically improved if the money from the settlement had gone towards her treatment instead of her husband's court bills.

So please, base your opinions off of accurate information.

And now, I will let other people talk about being in situations where they were believed dead, and post those links (links I've posted before) about other people who nearly died because "after all, she's not going to recover, might as well pull the plug now" - and at the time, they were conscious.

Comments

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

I don't believe that at all, I'm afraid. His wife is still alive, and still exhibits that. Although her body is technically a vegetable (much as I hate that term), she is still mentally active and aware. Clumsy, yes, but aware.

By the same token, then, would you consider a stroke victim to be "dead"? Or a person in a coma? How about a preemie baby who has to be under 24/7 surveillance because it is that unstable?

I would imagine he has not "fled" with the money because, as was said above, he believes he is doing the right thing, but moreso because he would feel guilty if he simply walked away. Doing things this way, even though it means his wife's death, allows him to leave with a clean conscience. (This is, of course, my opinion, and yours is yours, so may we agree to respectfully disagree?)

[l33tminion]

I haven't worked out exactly where I draw the line, but I can say for sure that I consider anyone who's been unconscious for more than a decade to be dead.

Also, guilt is usually not the defining trait of scumbags.

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

Scumbags have guilt. They're just better at justifying it and pushing it onto other people. I've had the unfortunate delight of living with one in the past.