Schiavo's feeding tube has been removed...

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From MSNBC.com:

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - With a furious legal and political battle raging outside her hospice room, doctors removed Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube Friday after a judge rebuffed an unprecedented attempt by Republican lawmakers in Congress to keep the brain-damaged woman alive.

It is expected that it will take one to two weeks for Schiavo, 41, to die, provided no one intercedes and gets the tube reinserted.

The tube has twice been removed in the past, but was re-inserted within days in both cases.

The latest removal came amid a flurry of maneuvering by Schiavo’s parents, state lawmakers and Congress to keep her alive. Committees in the Republican-controlled Congress issued subpoenas for Schiavo, her husband and her caregivers, demanding that they appear at hearings in the coming weeks. The lawmakers argued that the subpoenas kicked in legal protections that prohibit doing harm to a prospective witness.

But the judge presiding over the case refused a request from House attorneys to delay the removal, which he had previously ordered to take place at 1 p.m. EST, and a private physician was called in to remove the feeding tube keeping Schiavo alive.

Request to high court
Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, denied an emergency request from the House committee that issued the subpoenas to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube while the committee files appeals in the lower courts to have its subpoenas recognized.

Meanwhile, Republican congressional leaders said in a statement that they planned to work through the weekend to try to save Terri Schiavo’s life.

"Right now, murder is being committed against a defenseless American citizen in Florida," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas said in an earlier statement. "Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be immediately replaced, and Congress will continue working to explore ways to save her.





Later, QD.

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my dad and i were discussing this, because my grandfather was kept alive by a tube as well.. my uncle was the main caregiver so he had the final decision to keep the tube in.. i looked at my dad and said, "if it were me, pull the tube."

he says, "yeah me too.."

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I agree, also. Later, QD.

[Leisa]

I honestly dont know which side to take... on one hand noone should have to live like that , but on another hand they say that she is able to communicate in her own special way... I know she used to be a beautiful young woman,, thats a shame!

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I agree with your comment, too, Leisa. For her to be able to communicate, if she is conscious of what's going on around her, putting her down would seem like killing her. Not letting her die. Later, QD.

[RISKYB]

she may be brain dead, but she is still human and she may not be as bad off as they think, i think its cruel that someone should have to lay there fo weeks to starve to death slowly and painfully

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she may not be as bad off as they think,

But she may also not be as well off, either.

i think its cruel that someone should have to lay there fo weeks to starve to death slowly and painfully

I agree, but, we also don't know if she is laying there suffering. We don't know if she's been suffering for the last 15 years. Think about this: If she is aware of her surroundings, she may know that she has a HUGE chance of never having a life. Knowing that you would possibly be in the state you are(like her), for the rest of your life, would you want to keep on? No talking, no walking, no nothing except laying down, sitting up, drinking your food and that's it.

I wonder if she knows what is going on. If she knows that the tube is gone and that she has a couple of weeks left. If she does realize, is she happy? Is she relieved knowing that she will no longer suffer(if she is). Even if not in pain, I don't think I'd like to live as a "vegetable" for the rest of my life.

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing to anything here. Just stating from both sides of the debate. I undertsand both causes. Later, QD.

[Leisa]

its one of those situations where, there is not a wrong or right answer

[A.P. Photography]

It really comes down to a quality of life. Ask yourself this, would you want to be nothing more than a vegtable for the rest of your life. Unable to express your feelings, talk to anyone, walk outside, feel the grass under your feet, be able to love, laugh, play with loved ones and family members. Would you want to see the hurt and pain in loved ones faces when they come to your hospital bed. Imagine you are this girl, you can see images and the only images you see is your loved ones coming in standing by your bedside talking to you and crying at the same time wishing that you could respond, and no matter how bad you want to all you can do is lay there and look at them. That is not a life I want or wish upon my family.


And who is to say she is not trying to communicate to someone that she wants to die. Does anyone remember Metalallica "One", pretty close to the same thing.

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It really comes down to a quality of life. Ask yourself this, would you want to be nothing more than a vegtable for the rest of your life. Unable to express your feelings, talk to anyone, walk outside, feel the grass under your feet, be able to love, laugh, play with loved ones and family members. Would you want to see the hurt and pain in loved ones faces when they come to your hospital bed. Imagine you are this girl, you can see images and the only images you see is your loved ones coming in standing by your bedside talking to you and crying at the same time wishing that you could respond, and no matter how bad you want to all you can do is lay there and look at them. That is not a life I want or wish upon my family.


And who is to say she is not trying to communicate to someone that she wants to die. Does anyone remember Metalallica "One", pretty close to the same thing.

i was saying the same thing about my grandfather, knowing him and his attitude towards thing, my dad and i are sure that if he could speak, he would have said, "unplug me and let me die asshole"

[SL65AMG]

yeah i heard today that theyre definitely putting it back in till they can make some sort of decision.

[Tracer]

Really, who has the right to say if someone should live or die. If she is breathing and able to communicate in some way....No One has the right to take her life. Its just sad that someone can say enough is enough, pull the cord. To me that's just killing someone. I don't care about the odds against her.....Miracles happen everyday

[Leisa]

I agree

[Red]

I don't really know the background in this story but didn't she tell here husband that she didn't want to be on a tube? I thought I heard that she did that. And last night I heard she's been on it for 15 years.

[Leisa]

Yeah she has been on it for about 15 yrs,... her husband ( or whatever you wanna call that piece of shit he is ) has either a wife or a girlfriend and a couple of kids... UGHHHH!!!

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the only reason ppl keep other ppl alive on tubes is to keep drawing social security.

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How can you say that? Sorry but someone I love and care about, the last thing on my mind is social security.

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How can you say that? Sorry but someone I love and care about, the last thing on my mind is social security.

if you loved and cared about them you would let them die in peace not 15 years of wishing you would die.

[A.P. Photography]

What people fail to realize is that her communication might be a plea to let her die. 15 yrs on a feeding tube with no real turn of events is a long time and I know if it was me, pull the tube. I don't want to have that kind of existence nor do I want my family to have to deal with me being like that. I know it would be hard for the family to have to let their daughter die but after 15 yrs, it is time to let her go.

[Tracer]

The husband does have a girlfriend and kids by her. He can't marry her because by LAW he's still married to Schiavo and the only way he can marry his girlfriend, Schiavo has to die. I guess he forgot the promise he made when he got married to Schiavo......"till death due us apart"

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I guess he forgot the promise he made when he got married to Schiavo.....

I don't think so, seeing as how he hasn't left her side in these last 15 years.

."till death due us apart"

And it's "part", not "apart." Lolol. Later, QD.

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and its do not due

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this is why everyone needs to put in their will whether or not they would like to be kept alive.. unfortunatly a will isnt rock solid either.

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^^ Yeah, nowadays. Later, QD.

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im gonna put in my will that i do not want to kept alive artificially and if that is challenged to donate all my assets to charity.


which is no big deal right now, a pos hyundai, a couple computers, a couple hundred dollars, and a ps2, lmao..

[Tracer]

Sorry for the typing errors no one is perfect.

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^^To Jason STi-- Just picking fun, dude. All in fun. Later, QD.

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QD, its ok.....

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QD, its ok.....

what about me

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Ok...sorry

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Ok...sorry

lol

[Tracer]

This topic was really worth talking about. Thanks QD, for starting this. Maybe by this we can actually open the eyes to the viewers. Really, there's no right or wrong choice.

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This topic was really worth talking about. Thanks QD, for starting this. Maybe by this we can actually open the eyes to the viewers. Really, there's no right or wrong choice.

i agree, we had some heated debate! no name calling, no drama, just pure debate about a strong subject.

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Lolol. Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Good discussion. Later, QD.

[Tracer]

This is what we need more of. No name calling or drama......We are all friends here. I just wish some of the other members on this forum will remember that.

[Leisa]

I feel you ... when my father was dying of congestive heart failure a few yrs back, he had a living will;...that said he did not want to be on life support or any other type of machine... some stupid fucking dr didnt read it and revived him,,,, pissed me off... then a couple of days later, he died...

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i think thats malpractice

[RISKYB]

good point QD, it just seems that we dont know what she want',s feels, or needs, that is fact but letting someone starve just seems inhumane whether you know it or not, theremust be a protocal for this situation and if not there should be

[HyPer50]

I feel really bad about that story, I've been following it for quite some time now and I got mixed feelings on it. On one hand, I feel that she wouldn't want to be living like that, I mean, she's not a complete vegetable, but pretty close. And on the other hand, I dont think starving the poor girl is the way to put her out.. I mean, if you have to do it, I'd say do it the way they do animals, quick/painless. But then again, you never know when she could just start making a huge recovery. I was reading something last month about a woman who was in a coma for 10 years or so, she came to, told the nurse not to say anything to her parents, and waited til mothers day to suprise her mom by calling her. You never know. Although Shiavo's chances at that are extremely slim seeing as how she has so much brain damage... sad story.

[HiPSI]

I feel really bad about that story, I've been following it for quite some time now and I got mixed feelings on it. On one hand, I feel that she wouldn't want to be living like that, I mean, she's not a complete vegetable, but pretty close. And on the other hand, I dont think starving the poor girl is the way to put her out.. I mean, if you have to do it, I'd say do it the way they do animals, quick/painless. But then again, you never know when she could just start making a huge recovery. I was reading something last month about a woman who was in a coma for 10 years or so, she came to, told the nurse not to say anything to her parents, and waited til mothers day to suprise her mom by calling her. You never know. Although Shiavo's chances at that are extremely slim seeing as how she has so much brain damage... sad story.

after this long, it's pretty suffice to say that she's not going to recover to a point where she can function without the need for medical equipment. i think in that type of case that the family should have a say in how the matter is handled. this isn't a coma, unfortunately it's severe brain damage.