terri schaivo

[juniatalax07]

loin pride..what is wrong with you...legally, in our great nation, when someone is in a complete vegetative state as was Schiavo...their legal guardian is given the right to choose for them...so what is your problem with her husband...you republicans try to have things work both ways for you

[fleaflicker]

He thinks marriage should only be between a man and a woman since it is a sacred union before God, yet the husband shouldn't be allowed to make any decisions for his wife in the event that she becomes disabled unless they agree with Republican party values.

[LionPride]

Hey jack, regardless of what you want to believe, politics had NOTHING to do with my views on this.

Yes, I do believe marriage is between a man and woman and it IS sacred. Wait until you get married and then you can talk to me about marriage being sacred.

And if you trully believed human life was sacred, then maybe you would have felt differently about the Schiavo case. You may even change your views on the daily murder of innocent, helpless children.

Oh, you'll scream from the highest mountain top that you do believe human life is sacred, but do you really? Think about it.

[fleaflicker]

I believe any and all life is sacred. A few years ago, I killed an 8 point buck, and rather than elated, I was sick to my stomach. I had inadvertently shot it in the jaw, taking part of its brain, and the deer stumbled around about 5 minutes. I was all of 16 at the time, and I cried for a few moments, and debated whether or not to leave the deer there. I decided not to, since it would be compounding my crime not to make use of it, so I went on with it.

So yeah, I do believe life is sacred. It's just that my defination of life is different from yours.

[count2infinity]

flea...i'm not trying to be mean or anhything...but there is a big difference between human life and animal life...are you a vegetarian?

[fleaflicker]

Yes, there is a big difference between human and animal life, in that humans are smart, capable creatures with lives that are much more valuable than animals. If I'm killing a deer, do you think I'm a vegan? The only reason I would even consider that is health benefits. But anyways....

I value life just the same as anybody else, but I have a different defination of life. Life, at least in my mind, is not just the state of having a beating heart. That is being alive, but not having life. Life is having the ability to think and feel, and being aware of your surroundings. Terri, unfortunately, had none of that, and was never going to get any of that back. For all essential purposes, with the state of her mind, she was brain dead. When somebody is missing 50% of your brain, much of the cranal cavity is filled with spinal fluid, and the person is in a permanent vegetative state, there really isn't much hope for recovery. Yes, the person in question may be alive by biological terms, but that's about it. The entire human experience is missing. I doubt that most anybody (except for a very rare person) would want to be kept alive in such a state. I wouldn't want to be alive if I weren't even aware of my surroundings, let alone in a permanent state of unconsciousness. That isn't true life from my standpoint. Yes, such may be alive by biological terms, but from a philosophical perspective, the entire human experience that makes life unique isn't there. That is what I am talking about by having a different defination of life.

[count2infinity]

well flea..since you brought up the "if it were me" question about it...time magazine had a poll back when this was still making headlines about the case. Asked Americans what they think should be done w/ Terri...i believe it was something like 59% said let her die and 39% said keep her alive with a 2% saying they're not quite sure...when the tables were turned however, with the question being what if it were you, it jumped to like 79% saying let me die 19% saying keep me alive and the 2% still there saying i'm not sure... so there were a lot of people out there that were saying "Hey, keep Terri alive, but if it ever happens to me, let me die"

[fleaflicker]

Hmm, it's almost surprising that as many people (19%) would want kept alive in that state as responded in the poll. But nonetheless, it's not anybody's responsibility to decide another person's fate unless they are given guardianship either by the law or by that person. Michael Schiavo, being Terri's husband, had guardianship over her as stated by the law. Her parents did not. The government, which tried many times to interfere, did not. And ultimately, Terri's guardian had the final say about what to do with Terri, which was by law his decision and his right, regardless of what he wanted to do with her as far as live or die, since Terri had no living will or anybody else appointed as guardians for her in such a situation.