Terri Schiavo was guilty of no crime, she was not in a persistent vegetative state . She was not in a coma, she was not on life support though she was connected to a feeding tube. She was just brain damaged, impaired!! She had parents who loved her and fought for years for the right to take her home where she would be loved and cared for the rest of her life. but she had a husband who wanted her dead and would not even consider any other option.

Hitler had the same kind of idea in mind, he envisioned a Germany that would become a"superior race" by eliminating all the "dregs of society", the infirm, the elderly, the physically and mentally impaired, not to mention doing away with all who dared to publicly disagree with him and the most horrific plan of all, the total anihillation of the entire Jewish race.

In so much as my personal views are concerned I think that if Terri Shiavo had of signed a Living Will that made her wishes known that she never wanted to be kept alive by any kind of artificial means ,I think her wishes should have been carried out long ago. But there was no such document and all I saw in pictures was a smiling Terri. And there were statements made by those who were with Terri when she was told that her feeding tube was going to be removed she tried so hard to speak the words "I want to live", not clearly of course but clear enough that left no doubt as to what she was saying.

William Hammesfahr, a neurologist petitioned by the Schindlers, testified that Terri showed cognitive function and would benefit from a treatment called vasodilatation He went on to say" "I spent about 10 hours across about three months examining Terri] and the woman is very aware of her surroundings. She's very aware. She's alert. She's not in a coma. She's not in PVS (persistence vegetative state ),"

Hammesfahr told CNN "With proper therapy, she will have a tremendous improvement. I think, personally, that she'll be able to walk, eventually, and she will be able to use at least one of her arms." He went on to say that he thought she could be weaned off the feeding tube because she was indeed able to swallow. she swallowed her own saliva and water.

Portions of a four-hour videotaped examination of Terri by Hammesfahr were shown to the court during the evidentiary hearing. In the video Terri appears to interact with her mother with a reaction of happiness

Anderson later described her behavior in a statement to an appellate court.

"Terri smiles appropriately, she laughs appropriately, she tracks a balloon with her eyes, she tracks a set of flashing lights with her eyes, she opens her eyes wide on command, she squeezes her eyes shut on command, she turns her head and looks in the direction of the speaker.

She follows Dr. Hammesfahr's movements around the room with her eyes, and, perhaps most poignantly, Terri tries as hard as she can to do that which is asked of her," Anderson said. Does this sound like the actions of someone in a persistant vegetative state?

The Schiavos had called in about a dozen doctors, about half of which were neurologists. Practically to a man they agreed that with proper and prolonged treatment their was a chance that Terri could walk again and use at least one arm . They said there was no way of knowing how much improvement she could make in time.

But Judge Greer wasn't impressed at all by this. And there were doctors who testified that while a low potassium level could cause a chemical imbalance in Terri's system in all likelihood it would not have made her collapse the way she did. A bone scan showed that in the past she had suffered numerous broken and chipped bones in her body. And on admittance to the hospital it was noticed there was a stiffness in her neck that could have been caused by strangulation. There are those who believe that Michael Schiavo strangled his wife, causing her to collapse and shutting off oxygen to her brain for five minutes. One couple testified that they had gone to dinner with the Schiavo's earlier in the evening and they got into an argument. They said they asked Terri to go home with them but she chose to go to her own home instead. Several doctors testified that the bone scan results and the stiff neck could very well have been signs of spousal abuse. But Judge Greer didn't buy into that either.

There was much controversy about Terri's case from the beginning but the judge just seemed to accept her husband's version of what happened and that was that. Judge Greer was known to believe in the "right to die" movement.

Her husband had requested twice before that Terri's feeding tube be removed several years ago, and it was, but both times the judge was ordered to reinsert it

For much of the time Terri was in the Hospice Terri's husband would not even allow her parents or siblings visitation rights, nor did he allow them to attend her memorial service, can you imagine the unbearable anguish that caused them?

The lawyer Michael had throughout this whole ordeal was a strong "right to die" lawyer and by all accounts an old hippie who never grew out of it. And of the three doctors they hired to examine Terri two were known to be "right to die" doctors. wouldn't you say the deck was stacked against Terri from the beginning?

So the media has had their field day, and everyone has had their chance to express their opinion about this poor girl's rights or lack of them. She's gone now, her long painful ordeal is over at last, and the questions she left behind may never be answered .

I cannot say with certainty that Michael's attorney George Felos, did anything illegal

Or whether the presiding judge George Greer let his personal opinion effect his ruling

Or whether Michael Schiavo was the selfish uncaring man he appeared to so many to be.

I can only say that their actions throughout this entire ordeal could certainly put a doubt in one's mind as to what their motives were, why were they all so determined to see Terri Schiavo die. And it is interesting to note that George Felos made a hefty contribution to Judge Greer's 2004 re-election campaign.

Through this entire period of following this case so closely I kept thinking every day --"What if that were my daughter, how could I go through what the Schindlers have had to go through?"

They desperately need the prayers of all of us, they have been through so much for fourteen years. Please join me in praying that God will comfort these loving parents as well as Terri's siblings. They are going to need a lot of strength to get through the coming days, months , and even years. truth to tell they will never get over losing their beloved daughter in such a tragic way.The realization that Terri is gone for good is going to be so hard for them to deal with.

And as Christians we should pray for Michael Schiavo and his attorney George Felos and Judge Greer as well , and try to give them the benefit of a doubt as to whether they are guilty of any wrong doing. God, in his infinite wisdom, knows the answer, and they will stand before Him one day to be judged according to their earthly deeds. If they are guilty of any wrong doing concerning Terri Schiavo's death they will hear Jesus say "depart from me, I never knew you." They will pay the ultimate price for their inhumane act of causing an innocent woman to legally be literally starved to death. and that in my opinion can only be called M-U-R-D-E-R!!!

By Mary Jones

Page Design by Mary Jones

April---2005

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