AS I SEE IT...

A Better Way to Die

A Better Way to Die

This is not just about Terry Schiavo, but about the issues her particular case brings into question. This is what it is about to die of starvation. The body is a biological machine fueled by food, regardless if that food is eaten or administered through a tube. The point is starvation is cruel and unusual.

· For instance, the nurses will put lip balm on Terri because her lips will crack, peel, and bleed from the dehydration.

· They’ll use body lotion because Terri’s skin will begin to break down and show signs of flaking, drying, cracking, or being parched.

· They’ll put a “scopolamine patch” behind her ear to enhance the drying up of saliva and other secretions.

· “Chux pads” will need to be used—and changed quite often because of incontinence of Terri’s bowels and bladder.

· When Terri begins to writhe in pain (multifocal myoclonus) and she becomes agitated from metabolic changes and electrolyte imbalances due to no fluids or nutrition, the attending staff will have to give her 5 to 10 mg of Valium (diazepam)—rectally—every 4 hours.

· If Terri experiences a Grand Mal seizure, they’ll give her 15 mg of Valium immediately, and then as needed thereafter.

· When her body shows signs of an inability to breathe by gasping for air (dyspnea), they will immediately give Terri 2 to 4 mg of morphine every 4 hours.

· And all of this will go on for 7 to 10 days…

It is a horrific death.

The problem is not death in and of itself; it is the legal argument against euthanasia that is at the heart of the problem. Euthanasia is illegal in the United States of America. Mainstream media is reporting that doctors have declared that Terry Schiavo is brain dead. For some unknown reason Terry Schiavo body continues biological functions. She continues to breath unassisted by a ventilator. She continues to have basic facial expressions, and make sounds. This woman, who is being presented as nothing more than a biological unit of flesh, blood, and bone, is being denied the right to live with any dignity, and being denied the right to die without pain, because euthanasia is illegal. Terry Schiavo actually has fewer rights than that of dogs and cats that are taken to the vet and euphemized on a regular basis regardless of the reason.

Terry Schiavo has living parent's that are ready, willing, and able to care for her, but have no legal standing. Huh?

As for Terry’s husband, I have no words to describe what I think about him. My opinion is he should have withdrawn from the situation legally as soon as he starting seeing much less living with another woman that he now has two children with (that’s what I have heard). Obviously, this situation has been going on for quite some time. I suspect the $1.2 million dollar he collected in a malpractice law suit by virtue of Terry's misfortune plays a major part in his quest to let her die. You think? Gezzzz!

I know our government and the law are between a rock and a hard place. Removal of the feeding tube takes on the appearance of NOT being euthanasia, and or murder, but it is. Starving a person to death is horrible. I can picture her parent’s sitting by their daughter's side watching her waste away. I don’t know why they would want to put their themselves through this horrific ordeal, but I suspect if the courts don't stop them; they will. It is wrong.

We worry about the humanity of the death penalty, but somehow the humanity is lost on Terry Schiavo. If Terry Schiavo had been convicted of a capital crime and received the death penalty she would be, and mercifully so, given an injection, and allow to die quickly. There is still some question as to it being painless. Nobody has argued to starve even the most deserving of convicted criminals. Why?

The following web address contains information, as well as a request for a cash donation. I don’t support the cash donation request, but this was buried several pages back in my Google search, and it is where I got the treatment information given for starving Terry to death that I listed in the beginning of this blog.

http://www.operationrescue.org/schiavo/

Dr Death, who is also known as Dr. Jack Kevorkian, is serving a prison term after being found guilty of assisted suicide. This is the flip side of the Terry Schiavo saga. There are people that believe if Terry wins the right to live - they lose. It is just truly sad.

And even sadder is I don’t feel I can believe everything I hear from all the sources. Everybody involved in this case has his or her own agenda.

I remain,
The Disturbed Critic