|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
|
|
Our sister Terri is dead. This is a Hospice Patients Alliance Newsletter March 31, 2005, 1st edition, sent out periodically reporting about news affecting hospice and end-of-life care. Dear friends, Pray for Terri's Family & Our Nation! Our sister Terri is dead. Terri Schindler was murdered today, 9:05 a.m. Eastern time, March 31, 2005 at the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, a hospice known for its active participation in the spread of the euthanasia agenda, in the elimination of the severely disabled, cognitively disabled and other vulnerable citizens. Its leaders, George Felos and Mary Labyak, are well-known for their links to the pro-assisted suicide and euthanasia movement. The practices they promote are directly connected with the former Euthanasia Society of America and the Nazi agenda to kill the severely disabled, those they considered unfit for life or "useless eaters." Terri was among the targeted. Terri Schindler's murder was ordered by the court at the request of Terri's (in name only "husband") and guardian Michael Schiavo by dehydrating her to death. Judge George Greer ordered her death when he ordered that no nutrition or hydration be given to Terri, even though she could take in food or liquids by mouth. Judge Greer forbade further tests to determine Terri's cognitive condition with certainty, and forbade tests to see how well Terri could take in oral food and liquids. Terri Schindler was made to be disabled under suspicious circumstances in 1990 after a huge fight with her husband, Michael Schiavo. Terri's friend asked her if she wanted to stay over at her house that night, Terri decided to stay at home. That was the last conversation Terri's friend had with her. Michael Schiavo was found to be doing nothing to help Terri when Terri's brother, Bobby Schindler, Jr., and the emergency medical services arrived and found Terri face down at the time. Michael used Terri's disability in a malpractice suit to win more than a million dollars supposedly for Terri's care, but Michael heaped years of abuse and neglect upon Terri shortly after taking control of the money. He immediately began to search for a way to kill Terri, trying one method such as withholding treatments for infection, and then others, according to the court records and affidavits. Strikingly, Michael Schiavo never mentioned Terri's wishes to be killed until after he met up with pro assisted-suicide guru, George Felos. Judge Greer refused to hear any testimony or evidence that might have saved Terri, while accepting blindly anything put forward by Michael Schiavo, though Michael's statements were contradicted by his own prior actions and statements and, though the court's own appointed guardian ad litem for Terri, Richard Pearse, found that Michael was unfit to be guardian. Scott Peterson has been sentenced to death for killing his wife. Michael Schiavo has been assisted in killing his wife by the system of justice that should have found him guilty. This is a tragic day for our nation! Book of Nahum 1:2-6 2. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and
is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he
reserveth wrath for his enemies. Terri Schiavo's beliefs? "Where there is life, there is hope." [spoken to her best friend Diane Meyer in regard to Karen Ann Quinlan] Terri's torture and ordeal is over. For us, our nation's torture and ordeal is just beginning. Now we must decide how to deal with the open murder of a nonterminal patient in a nation that once regarded the right to live as "inalienable," something that could not be questioned. If the citizens do not raise their voices in an outcry over this murder and stop the wave of killings that are victimizing our nation's vulnerable, we will have become what we once detested, a nation that implements the values of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Third Reich. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/felder1.html The Terri Schiavo Tragedy During the time of the Holocaust the Nazi SS sadistically punished rebellious prisoners by simply putting them in a cell without food or water. The hapless victim would be driven insane with hunger and thirst and would die a horrific, excruciating death. This would serve as an example to the other victims of the utter hopelessness of their condition. The man-made laws of Nazi Germany enabled the legal murder of millions. Likewise, the distorted logic of the American legal system has allowed a patient to be condemned to death in the cruelest fashion imaginable. As a board certified attending neurologist, I would immediately question the constant refrain during this tragedy that "Terri didn’t feel a thing" during her forced starvation. I would contend that the opposite is much more likely. Terri was brutally trapped in the worst of all worlds. Widespread laminar necrosis of the cerebral cortex is typically found after the anoxic encephalopathy that Terri initially suffered. However, the more primitive areas of Terri’s brain: the hypothalamus, amygdala and brain stem remained intact. As Terri was starved, the primitive factors that regulate food intake such as blood glucose and amino acid concentrations set off the physiologic equivalent of an air raid siren in the feeding center of the hypothalamus screaming "feed me." However, the cortical area of her brain which would have allowed for a cognitive comprehension of this dilemma was dysfunctional. Likewise, a massive transmission of pain signals flooded into her hindbrain and thalamus without a subsequent cognitive interpretation. In order to begin to disprove my conviction that Terri suffered during her forced starvation her doctors would have had to perform an (1) EEG (electroencephalogram) showing cortical brainwave activity (2) PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan to show a reduction in cerebral metabolism (3) SSEP (Somatosensory Evoked Potential) to show brainstem neurophysiologic functioning and (4) MRI scan of her brain to show anatomical disruption. I understand that either these tests had not been performed in years or were never done in the first place. Although Terri was judicially condemned to death, she met almost none of the standard Harvard criteria for brain death. Around the time that I first started practicing as a neurologist I was called by my hospital’s emergency room doctor to see a comatose patient. He was apologetic in asking me to come in to see a patient with the absolute worst type of malignant brain tumor, a Glioblastoma multiforme. When I arrived in the ER I was met by the patient’s former wife, who between loud sobs, pleaded with me to "save" her ex-husband. At that point, I wouldn’t have given this 63-year-old profoundly comatose patient a thousand to one odds for remaining alive another hour, let alone having any future life. Reluctantly, I went through the motions of putting the patient in the ICU and putting him on steroids in a cookbook fashion. Miraculously, the man slowly improved, left the hospital and lived another eight years, during which time he joined a number of local clubs. Likewise, even when considering Terri’s purported diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state (in my opinion, not properly supported by the above elucidated tests) "The occurrence of rare instances of very late recovery in adults must be acknowledged." (Adam and Victor’s Principles of Neurology, Seventh Edition, p. 370). Even more disturbing, in this standard teaching textbook of neurology, is the statement on the same page, "At no time after the onset of coma was it possible to distinguish patients who would remain in a vegetative state from those who would die." Killing Terri destroyed the hope for any possible future potential therapeutic modality such as stem cells, hyperbaric oxygenation or neurotransmitter treatment. There have been at least four confirmed cases of patients with persistent vegetative state who have recovered some neurologic functioning. Dr. Ronald Cranford, the neurologist who diagnosed Ms. Schiavo’s condition, was the attending physician in one of those cases. Dr. Cranford later admitted, "Yes, I made a mistake and to this day no one can explain these cases." Isn’t it obvious that this could be yet another "mistake"? The most basic principal in medicine, based on the Hippocratic Oath is to "do no harm." I would tend to believe that actively killing one’s patient violates this most basic principal. The forced death of Terri by our judicial system sets a horrific precedent. Should we now begin starving anyone with a neurodegenerative condition? That would include patients with Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, ALS, Tay-Sachs Disease, Canavan’s Disease, and the list goes on and on. Ultimately, a society must be judged by the manner in which it treats its most vulnerable members. Like the one and one-half million children slaughtered by the Nazis, Terri Schiavo was totally helpless and vulnerable. The tragedy of her needlessly imposed death greatly lessens us all. Mitchell S. Felder, M.D. is a board-certified attending neurologist at UPMC Horizon in Pennsylvania. http://www.nationalreview.com/lowry/lowry200503290756.asp National Review March 29, 2005 George Orwell & Terri Schiavo, Euphemisms about life and death Denial is not just a river in Egypt, goes the saying. Indeed, it is something very important to supporters of ending Terri Schiavo’s life, judging by their head-spinning evasions. A woman who might (or might not) be in a persistent vegetative state, but who is otherwise not ill and can continue to live for years despite her profound disability, is dying because we are refusing to give her sustenance. We are affirmatively ending her life, perhaps against her will, because there is no way now to know her will. Supporters of this act feel compelled to try to pretty it up. They say that Terri is being “allowed to die.” No. She is being made to die. All across America, in hospitals, mental wards, and institutions for the severely disabled, there are people who, if we withdrew our care for them, would die. We wouldn’t call this “allowing” them to die. We would call it scandalous neglect. George Felos, the lawyer for Terri’s husband, Michael, explains his position in the case thusly: “I firmly believe in the right of individuals to make their own medical-treatment choices.” But Terri is not making her medical choices. Choices are being made for her, perhaps (if you believe Michael Schiavo) on the basis of things she said a decade ago, perhaps (if you don’t) in the absence of any stated preference. After visiting her bedside recently, Felos declared, “In all the years I’ve seen Mrs. Schiavo, I’ve never seen such a look of peace and beauty upon her.” Maybe Felos has forgotten: If she is indeed in a persistent vegetative state, as he maintains, she can’t feel anything, let alone a sense of peace that would make her radiant with beauty. One expert told the New York Times that “no one is denying this woman food and water.” Really? Then why is she dying? Is it merely a coincidence that she might experience kidney failure from dehydration at any time? This expert’s argument is that, since she is in a persistent vegetative state, she has “no knowledge of food.” By this logic it would be morally acceptable to suffocate her with a pillow since she has “no knowledge of air.” She could be dropped out of a 15-story window because she has “no knowledge of gravity.” She could be shot because she has “no knowledge of ballistics.” Then there is the misuse of words that are thrown at Republicans to prove their alleged hypocrisy. For example: Why aren’t conservatives respecting the “sanctity of marriage” here? But Michael Schiavo perhaps understandably, given the wrenching circumstances long ago moved in with another woman, with whom he has two children. This is no longer a case of simon-pure “sanctified” marriage. Or how about “federalism,” supposedly trampled by the GOP Congress? But federalism means a division of the branches of government, all with their designated powers. When state and federal courts willfully strike down or ignore laws passed by democratically elected legislatures, this is not “federalism,” but a perversion of the country’s constitutional scheme. Felos says Terri would want us to “ask ourselves the questions: What’s the purpose of my life? And how can I best fulfill that? And how can I be of service to others?” Those are important questions, but ones liable to produce answers that might confound all our expectations. Terri Schiavo might have believed, before her tragic injury, that her purpose was to be a loving wife and mother. Now, in circumstances that would have horrified her, her purpose might be to give a kind of comfort to her family and to demonstrate to those around her the value of life, even when our capacities are heartbreakingly diminished. Despite the spiritual-sounding mumbo jumbo, Felos and his allies want to foreclose the possibility of this purpose. They believe that some people’s lives are meaningless and expendable. There is something chilling about that, which is why they so often resort to weasel words and gauzy euphemisms. Rich Lowry is author of Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years. "Disabled? Dead!" by Ron Panzer Hospice Patients Alliance March 30, 2005 http://www.hospicepatients.org/disabled-and-dead.html Till next time, http://www.hospicepatients.org/ "What I do you cannot do; SHARE THE MESSAGE AND MUSIC OF LIFE WITH YOUR PLACE OF WORSHIP, YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOCAL RADIO STATIONS ... A POWERFUL TOOL TO HELP SAVE OUR NATION! What better way to show your support for the original hospice mission than to help save those disabled who are wrongly being held in a hospice that supports the killing of the disabled. Help save Terri Schiavo by purchasing the beautiful music CD "LIFE" by Mr. Wayne Galley created just for Terri and other vulnerable individuals. Sales of the CD support the efforts to save the disabled who are targeted for killing within hospice. Those who have already ordered the LIFE CD know how inspiring and uplifting it is! We urge all of you to order the LIFE CD and to spread the word by letting others know about this wonderful musical tribute to Terri and the cause of LIFE! You cannot listen to this music without being deeply moved! Listen to the Demos If you already have the CD, please let everyone know how it affected you. Terri's family and friends encourage you to get the LIFE CD: each purchase benefits Terri's Foundation. You will not be disappointed when you hear the music MR. Galley has written for Terri. The LIFE CD: only $15 plus shipping and handling! Your order directly benefits Terri's Foundation. PLEASE place your order now at: http://www.hospicepatients.org/life-cd.html HPA works to preserve the ORIGINAL hospice mission of CARING for the dying and allowing a natural death in its own timing, NOT hastening death or imposing death! We support the role of hospices to care and relieve suffering, just as Mother Teresa did for so many years! We urge you to share this message with others who are interested. We are against unsolicited email and don't want anyone to receive our mailings who doesn't wish to receive them. To be taken off future mailings send an email with the SUBJECT "UNSUBSCRIBE" to: unsubscribe@hospicepatients.org To subscribe to the newsletter, simple send us an email FROM the email being subscribed, with the subject "SUBSCRIBE" to subscribe@hospicepatients.org To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add patientadvocates@hospicepatients.org to your address book. FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted (C ) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.
|
|
|
|
|
[Home] [NHS Exposed] [Patients] [Health Workers] [NHS in Crisis] [Legal Issues] [Media] [Helpdesk] [Public Views] All copyright remains with original authors unless otherwise stated. |
