More Questions For The "Pull-The-Tube" People
By Dwight Baker (03/25/05)
The Terri Schiavo case has brought out the passion of people on both sides of the issue. On the one hand it’s good to know that people can get so excited about the plight of one person. On the other hand it’s sad that with all the access to information we have today through technology, more people haven’t bothered to find out the facts for themselves and rely, seemingly, on the talking heads on cable news, whether it be CNN or Fox.
Those for pulling the tube are convinced her husband, Michael Schiavo, has been telling the truth the whole time, has been trying to rehabilitate her for 15 years, and is only carrying out his wife’s wishes. The “anti-tube” people have also justified their feelings on the issue by saying, “Well, I wouldn’t want to live that way.” To them I say GREAT! Problem nobody’s asking about you and you can’t assume Terri feels the same way simply based on improvable comments by her husband.
Some are trying to boil this whole thing down to, incredibly, a Republican vs. Democrat issue, red state vs. blue state, conservative vs. liberal and even a religious issue. Mostly this is from the mainstream media trying to milk a terribly unfortunate circumstance for all it’s worth, which I find repulsive. I have no idea what the political leanings of Terri’s family are and I don’t care. I know they’re devout Catholics, hence their battle to save their daughter’s life, but as John Kerry proved during the presidential campaign, Catholic doesn’t necessarily mean Republican or conservative, now, does it?
I doubt I can offer any more that’s been said from the Save Terry side of the issue and don’t wish to be a writer that simply parrots everyone else, so I’ll just leave the rest of my article open to a series of questions for the Pull-The-Tube people. I know I’ll get hateful responses but that’s to be expected. I’ll just read some of them, roll my eyes, and hit the delete button really, really hard.
1. If starving someone to death is a very painless and peaceful way to go, why do they shoot Terri full of morphine when removing or inserting her tube?
2. If starving someone to death is a very painless and peaceful way to go, why do people who starve their pets go to jail? (at least here in Texas they do)
3. If starving someone to death is a very painless and peaceful way to go, why don’t we execute prisoners on death row this way? It would be much quicker than the several years or even decades they spend waiting to die (except here in Texas), would remove the need for the electric chair or the needle, would save taxpayers money, and free up much needed space in our over-crowded prisons.
4. If Terri feels no pain, why does she moan and cry during her menstrual cycle, according to her family, doctors, and nurses?
5. If Terri feels no pain, as most of you suggest, then WHY THE RUSH TO KILL HER?
6. If Terri’s not terminal, and she’s not, WHY KILL HER?
7. If Terri’s condition was brought about by a heart attack, why was her blood free of the enzymes usually released during a heart attack?
8. Why does Dr. William Hammesfahr of Florida, an internationally recognized expert on cases of brain-injured patients who has actually evaluated Terri longer than anyone else since her fall, feel that her brain damage was caused by lack of oxygen, possibly through strangulation?
9. Am I suggesting Terri’s husband strangled her? Yes, as has Dr. Hammesfahr and other doctors.
Other facts in the case lead me to foul play by the husband. If you don’t agree, here are some more questions for you:
10. Why didn’t Michael Schiavo tell the court Terri wouldn’t want to live with a feeding tube when we won his $2 Million malpractice suit? Why did he suddenly “remember” that AFTER he got the money?
11. Why, in that lawsuit did he say he was going to use that money to put himself through nursing school so he could bring Terri home and care for her himself, and then not do that?
12. If Michael is doing what he’s doing simply out of love for her, why is he on his third girlfriend, who is also the mother of his two children? And since that demonstrates he moved on with his life years ago, why not just ditch Terri completely, grant a divorce, and turn custody over to her parents?
13. Why is there an order to cremate Terri’s body as soon as she dies? To cover up evidence, perhaps?
One final question: Do you think Scott Peterson or O.J. are kicking themselves for not thinking of this?
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