[Deepblue]

Originally posted by Rictor
I guess the main question is: what are her chances of recovering within the next say 10 years. If its single digits, pull the plug.

Whats the big deal anyway? Its just one person. An innocent, yes, but hundreds of thousands of innocents die every day, and their deaths are easily preventable. What makes her so special?

We TRY to stop the deaths of innocents, the fact that it is not always successful does not give people the right to STOP trying. If you think otherwise you are a cold-hearted monster.

[Ford Prefect]

Careful with the categoricals, there.

[Deepblue]

I'm sorry but anyone who does have sympathy for others is exactly that.

[Ford Prefect]

None of us has classified you according to your stance on this issue, because we understand that your beliefs stem from genuine concern for the well-being of humanity. I am simply countering with what I believe to be for the best. I do not like to see people die or suffer. (Except for the internet videos I occasionally watch late at night.)

[vyper]

If you were living like this, would you want to live?

[Flipside]

The question is, and always will be...

What does she want, not her husband. If she can communicate emotions, particuarly pleasure, and chooses to do so, then she has not given up on the 'real' world, and the real world should not give up on her.

[Stealth]

i'm split.  some say she's conscious, other say she's brain-dead, such as:

Court-appointed doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery.

That's off MSN.com, and it's an awfully strong statement to make without evidence.

i'm going to watch those videos though

[Ghost]

Flip: she's brain damaged. She has no idea what's going on,  and can't really express true emotion, only childlike wonder. She is as bad as mentally retarded children. I say let her die; it's the kind thing to do. Would you want to stay in such a state for a normal human life span? No, I don't think you would, and neither would I. One could argue that it's a form of cruel and unusual punishment to keep her alive like this.

[Taristin]

Supposedly those clips that DB posted are only mere moments of a 4 hour video. And that supposedly she makes similar noises and movements (the blinks and the like) when she's alone in her room, too.

That said, I dont know where to stand on this issue. I feel for her husband, who *may* genuinly believe that she is suffering somehow from her state, and wants to move on with his life, and be able to mrry again.

And I feel for the parents, for not wanting to give up on their child.

It's a tough chouce. not one I could make, certainly.

[Stealth]

OK after watching close to a dozen videos, and reading most of this page: http://www.apfn.org/old/terri.htm here's my conclusion:

first, i don't trust her husband, although his motives COULD be be sincere, but i still don't trust him.  however, the videos and testimonies don't demonstrate that Terri has any (hate to say this, but) intelligence.  the tasks she's been asked to perform in those videos are ones that a 2 year old could perform (following a balloon with her eyes, smiling when people touch her and show her affection). so therefore i don't believe that she's completely there.  i mean, if she can move her eyes and understand what's being said, then obviously people would've tried communicating with her (i.e. "Terri, move your eyes left for 'yes', or right for 'no')... particularly her parents.  as was mentioned, i think she's just displaying "childlike wonder"...

Does this constitute her being a "vegetable" though?  I doubt it, because as far as i knew a vegetable was someone who wasn't conscious of anything going on, they couldn't live without machines supporting them, and were completely and utterly brain dead.  

Should she be killed?  The whole "but she understands what's going on!!!" argument is invalid at this point.  Will she recover?  probably not, it's been 15 years and apparently there hasn't been much in the way of change.  the point is not whether she'll recover or not, or whether she's a living, mentally aware person... it's whether the life she's living is worth living. do you think it is?  I sure don't, and i'm sure most would agree.  If there's no chance she'll ever be anything but a figure on a bed who can't communicate, who can't live on her own, lives each day like the previous, then i say kill her.  not "let her die"........ kill her.  make it quick, but put her out of her misery.  removing the feeding tube is too painful, but there are other methods of terminating someone that are literally painless, can be done in her sleep.

[redmenace]

Frankly I am torn,
A. Her husband is an ass. This is quite different than a Coma aswell

B. This is a job for the states courts to decide and they have. It was an infraction of states rights to have Republican pass that law. Although, it was kinda amusing to see hard left democrats argue states rights.

[Stealth]

lolol i agree with "B"

[Deepblue]

BTW that statement above about court appointed doctors is not complete. They also had quite a few that argued she was not in a vegetative state.

[Deepblue]

Any life is worth living, death is not a viable option unless it is brought on by natural causes. It stuns me that they will not allow Terri's parents to put a freakin' ice cube in her mouth to help her.

[Stealth]

i disagree with the way they're carrying this out, but i agree that it should be done, if only by a better means, such as lethal injection.

there have also been reports of videos been tampered with and edited, and other reports that her brain tissue is partially liquified, that she's pretty much not aware of what's going on and her surroundings, so i take back what i said... maybe she is a vegetable, although a more active vegetable than some.
no joke intended

ummm i think that since she didn't have a life will, or DBA, or anything like that, the responsibility rests on her husband to decide.  and if i were in her situation, i'd be glad to be put out of my misery.  

i disagree with your "any life's worth living".  how about people that have been in comas for 20 years, been in the same position, and can't do anything (breathe, eat, etc.) on their own, but they've been kept "alive" on machines.  do you think that even CONSTITUTES a "life"?  would it be inhumane to put those people to sleep!?  "death is not a viable option unless it is brought on by natural causes"... well this is pretty natural:  she had a heart attack, and she WOULD have died (note, she would be dead) were it not for her being on a MACHINE.  i say let her rest in peace...

[Deepblue]

She can breathe on her own, she just can't eat because they are afraid she will choke. Shes not on a machine, she WAS on a feeding tube. And her husband has pretty much caused her deterioted condition, he WANTS her dead. "When is that ***** going to die?"

[Liberator]

This statement scares me a bit:

She is as bad as mentally retarded children. I say let her die; it's the kind thing to do.

So it's now okay to kill mentally deficient people because they don't have what you consider to be a minimum quality of life?

All the hubbub aside, she isn't being sustained in anyway except through the provision of nutrients.  There aren't any respirators or cardiac stimulators/pumps.  

We treat dogs better than we're treating her.  At least when we put dogs down we give them a shot so they don't suffer.

OT
hoohah! I can post again!!!:D

[Ghost]

Is that quote on record, or is it hearsay?

Now, if her husband could be proven guilty of trying to get something out of having her dead, I'd say shoot him and try and bring her out of it. As it stands, let her die... it's the humane thing to do.

EDIT: Liberator... she wasn't born this way. And yes, to a certain extent, it would help the human race out if mentally ill children were not allowed to live. Flame me all you want, but guess what: how do you think humankind got to where it is today? Natural selection... in other words, mentally ill people didn't survive. However, the recessive genes that can cause mental illness are still out there.. If I have a mentally ill kid.. holy ****. I don't even know what I'd do... I wouldn't kill it myself, because it's my kid, but I wouldn't want it to grow up like that. I reiterate, it's the kind thing to do.

[Stealth]

but think though, just because her husband wanted her to die and he's evil, doesn't mean that because of that she SHOULDN"T die...

she isn't being sustained in anyway except through the provision of nutrients. There aren't any respirators or cardiac stimulators/pumps.

yeah, but i mean, she can't move or anything, sooooooooo it's not like the only thing she can't do is swallow food.  she can breathe, and her bodily functions are carrying on as normal, no one said they weren't, but she's a vegetable apparently...

[Stealth]

If I have a mentally ill kid.. holy ****. I don't even know what I'd do... I wouldn't kill it myself, because it's my kid, but I wouldn't want it to grow up like that.

god damn i laughed so hard you have no idea.  my chest hurts from that.