Terri Schiavo spinoff

I think the case has all the ingredients of a Lifetime movie plot:

attractive young woman

sympathetic, religious parents

devoted then 'cheating' husband

$$$

The media love these dramatic elements.

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Posted by brooklynbridezilla


-on msnbc.com, she is referred to as being born into a 'well-to-do' family, that makes me think of moneywell to do unless terri's parent's lawyer was working for free, it must have cost them a fortune over the years.

-i agree with marymoon- a lot of people in that situation don't have the money for the kind of care Terri was receiving for very long. it may be possible that the money ran out, and that may play part in the decision to remove a feeding tube. if they can't afford the care, i don't think they could afford the lawyers to bring the case to court and out in the open.

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Well see Terri was in hospice care..which essentially the state of Florida was paying the bills on.

I would be curious to know how much is left in her fund though!

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Posted by cluelessbride


devoted then 'cheating' husband

$$$

The media love these dramatic elements.

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devoted cheating husband...that is speculation

and i think that it is sad
but that is off the topic here

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Posted by RedHead

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Posted by cluelessbride


devoted then 'cheating' husband

$$$

The media love these dramatic elements.

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devoted cheating husband...that is speculation

and i think that it is sad
but that is off the topic here

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I don't necessarily agree that this is off topic..you asked why this case was different, and that is one element (potential element whether fact or fiction) that surrounds her case.

I'm not sure about this but maybe in other cases where feeding tubes were removed, there was some sort of consensus from family/spouse that its what the person wanted? I don't know. That could be a reason though...the thing is that there was definite question as to whether she wanted this. Parents say no, husband yes. And the husband who has indeed moved on....won. I think that definitely separates this case from others....though other cases should of course have more involvement.

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Posted by Johnny&Maur

I'm not sure about this but maybe in other cases where feeding tubes were removed, there was some sort of consensus from family/spouse that its what the person wanted? I don't know. That could be a reason though...the thing is that there was definite question as to whether she wanted this. Parents say no, husband yes. And the husband who has indeed moved on....won. I think that definitely separates this case from others....though other cases should of course have more involvement.

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true...but a lot of people's outrage was about the actual act of it...

and whether the DH was seedy or not has nothing to do with this thread since it isn't based on anything at all

I understand what you mean...circumstance that 'might be true' shouldn't be basis for anything but....you have to admit...that her husband does play a role in this case. The media coverage, the extensive involvement comes down to a few things and he is one of them. And his character/background had made part of this case what it is. So it does have SOMETHING to do with why her case was so pivotal...

But i do understand what you are saying. It should be a non issue, unfortunately it has become one though.

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Posted by Johnny&Maur

I understand what you mean...circumstance that 'might be true' shouldn't be basis for anything but....you have to admit...that her husband does play a role in this case. The media coverage, the extensive involvement comes down to a few things and he is one of them. And his character/background had made part of this case what it is. So it does have SOMETHING to do with why her case was so pivotal...

But i do understand what you are saying. It should be a non issue, unfortunately it has become one though.

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playing devils advocate here...Do you really think that if Michael Schiavo had never gone on with his life, stayed next to her everyday...then decided it was time to let her go...that her parents wouldn't have done the same thing?

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Posted by RedHead

What i find interesting is that...and what others might not realize is that...other people have had their feeding tube taken out who were not as bad (the damage to her brain that is) as Terri

Yet everyone is making such a big deal that it was done in this case

WHY is it that the others aren't debated, why is president bush not involed in that???

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I can't justify why TS's case is more public. But, isn't this the case with everything, why was Amy fisher or the Lacy Peterson stories so public? You have people killing their pregnant wives or a mistress attempting murder everyday.

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Posted by jozieb0925

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Posted by RedHead

What i find interesting is that...and what others might not realize is that...other people have had their feeding tube taken out who were not as bad (the damage to her brain that is) as Terri

Yet everyone is making such a big deal that it was done in this case

WHY is it that the others aren't debated, why is president bush not involed in that???

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I can't justify why TS's case is more public. But, isn't this the case with everything, why was Amy fisher or the Lacy Peterson stories so public? You have people killing their pregnant wives or a mistress attempting murder everyday.

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but there is nothing to learn from those cases...
THIS one there is...!

I'm going to guess that one of the main reasons why this case is so public is because it was not clear what Terry herself wanted. I think if Terry had made it clear to everyone that she would not want to live on a feeding tube then, there would not be the outrage that followed here.

This situation was different because, all speculation aside, no one knew what she wanted. You had her family saying she wanted one thing and her husband saying another.

I think, people, myself included, would like to believe as President Bush said - that 'the presumption would be in favor of life.' I think what happened in this case, shocked many people.

That's jmo.

Ya know.. I was out sick yesterday and watched Crossfire. I heard about a case of a woman in Texas who’s 9 year old son died. He was on a ventilator and was not brain dead at all. There is apparently a law in Texas (yeah, my home state) that allows a hospital to pull the plug OVER the families wishes.

She didn’t want her son to die, but he did. She was quoted saying that she didn’t have the money or connections that Terry’s family had.

I hope that wills are tighter and much more clear on the patient’s final wishes.
I hope that this brings attention to the needs of many ‘unwanted’ in situations where family may be keeping them alive for selfish reasons.
I hope this brings attention to the other cases out there where families are all in agreement to keep their loved ones alive, but can’t get the publicity that Terry got.
I hope this brings the attention of those families who are forced to make these decisions and I hope it helps them realize it’s never easy, but sometimes necessary.

Mostly, I’m REALLY glad it’s over.

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Posted by Annieb

I'm going to guess that one of the main reasons why this case is so public is because it was not clear what Terry herself wanted. I think if Terry had made it clear to everyone that she would not want to live on a feeding tube then, there would not be the outrage that followed here.



That's jmo.

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yea but i think this is more the case..that there is no 'known' knowledge of what the person wants...since it rarely gets brought up in daily life.

and 2 how many of us really have health care proxies....?

but i guess you are right...it definately added to the reason...

BUT again now...waht about all the others from here on out?

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Posted by kel2004

This case got so much attention because the family disagreed on the course of treatment, and took it to the courts to be decided.

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true...but now...seeing this case.
Are al the people who were outraged going to continue this protest to the act?

Or is it just going to die?

I guess my whole point is about peoples objection to the act of removing the feeding tube.

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Posted by RedHead
true...but now...seeing this case.
Are al the people who were outraged going to continue this protest to the act?

Or is it just going to die?

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Probably just like everything else, it will fade away in the publics eye.

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Posted by Jan05Bride

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Posted by RedHead
true...but now...seeing this case.
Are al the people who were outraged going to continue this protest to the act?

Or is it just going to die?

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Probably just like everything else, it will fade away in the publics eye.

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i think so...but i do hope that people will go get health care proxies or DNR's (if that is their choice)

I hope we learned that much!
ESPECIALLY to the ones that were really against the removal of her feeding tube!

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Posted by RedHead

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Posted by kel2004

This case got so much attention because the family disagreed on the course of treatment, and took it to the courts to be decided.

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true...but now...seeing this case.
Are al the people who were outraged going to continue this protest to the act?

Or is it just going to die?

I guess my whole point is about peoples objection to the act of removing the feeding tube.

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I see what you mean. I think the issue will fade from the spotlight.

I can't believe people being so passionate about this issue without knowing all the details. And nobody knows all the details. I've seen interviews with doctors who say she is brain dead, and then friends of the family who say she is alert and responsive. Only the people there really know the truth.

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Posted by Xelindrya

There is apparently a law in Texas (yeah, my home state) that allows a hospital to pull the plug OVER the families wishes.

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NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In what instances does that happen? What if it is against the patient's wishes?

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Posted by brooklynbridezilla

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Posted by Xelindrya

There is apparently a law in Texas (yeah, my home state) that allows a hospital to pull the plug OVER the families wishes.

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NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In what instances does that happen? What if it is against the patient's wishes?

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ALSO..the requirements for even being called a vegetable and brain dead are differnt in different states!!!

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Posted by kel2004


I can't believe people being so passionate about this issue without knowing all the details. And nobody knows all the details. I've seen interviews with doctors who say she is brain dead, and then friends of the family who say she is alert and responsive. Only the people there really know the truth.

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i agree on some level...
but there is fact and then there is clouded judgement (on both side)

her condition was factual
her status and it changing was factual
the realness of her movements and reactions..still factual, even though portrayed as subjective (imo media hyped and parents desperation)

WHAT was subjective was her wishes! the only true debateable topic imo!