I do not understand why Terri Schiavo had a feeding tube if they considered her to be progressivley brain dead
2007-11-17 14:38:09 · 7 answers · asked by LOULOUP 1 in News & Events ➔ Media & Journalism
She was in all sense completely brain dead. Her frontal lobe was completely dead and non-functioning. The only reason she would laugh or smile is because its just a reflex. This is why I have a living will, I don't want the state to keep me alive like her, it was pathetic her parents wouldn't let her die and then forced her corpse to continue exsisting..
2007-11-17 15:25:19 · answer #1 · answered by Paul B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The portion of the brain that sustains life, the brainstem, was still functioning, therefore she still needed to be fed. The whole controversy was not whether she was alive. It was over whether or not to remove the feeding tube in order to allow nature to take its course as well as the concept of "quality of life". Her family was hoping that someday she would wake up from the state she was in & wanted the tube to remain. Her husband believed that Terri would not want to live that way, and wanted the feeding tube to be removed as an act of euthanasia, also known as mercy killing.
I can say for myself that I would not want to live in the condition that Terri was in. As far as I'm concerned, that isn't really living, but merely existing.
2007-11-17 14:51:57 · answer #2 · answered by Emily & her mommy love Da Bears! 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Terri was not brain dead, and the feeding tube was inserted due to her difficulty swallowing. She had had some ability to swallow, and was being fed partly by mouth, when her husband ordered that she not be given food by mouth anymore. If she had been started on oral feeding again, she probably would have regained at least some ability to eat this way.
The court order that removed her feeding tube also forbade anybody to give her water or nourishment by mouth. The reason is, that it was an order for euthanasia; its purpose was to cause her death, not to stop artificial life support.
I have seen videos of Terri laughing at a funny story told by her father, among other things. It was obvious that she had some understanding. The idea of killing her, especially when her family was eager to care for her, is unconscionable.
2007-11-17 15:36:18 · answer #3 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 4⤋
She wasn't brain dead at all. She smiled, she laughed, she had movement with her eyes as well. The feeding tube was inserted to help her eat. Guess it was hard for her to swallow.
I really believe that Terri Schiavo was the victim and she was murdered by a man who didn't want her alive because if she ever had recovered, she would have told the truth of what really happened to her and throughout her marriage. Her husband tried to murder her because he was the one who found her and didn't resuscitate her when he knew how. Sad case and this should have never happened. Also, our court system is all screwed up. Thanks to them as well.
2007-11-17 14:51:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
This was a very complex case that does not lend itself to a pithy Yahoo! Answers paragraph. But the family claims that she was somewhat responsive. Also, they hoped that she, like others, would revive from her coma.
2007-11-17 14:44:20 · answer #5 · answered by shaken & stirred 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because her family could not give up on her.
2007-11-17 14:42:21 · answer #6 · answered by messinger1965 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
media made you think she was 100% a vegitable, but she wasnt. It is cruel and inhumane to starve someone who isnt legally dead, which by definitition is someone whose respiratory and cardiac functions have ceased working.
What her husband did was murder in my opinion... She deserved to be fed. They just starved her to death.
2007-11-17 14:41:42 · answer #7 · answered by Van is due 5/8/08! 5 · 4⤊ 3⤋