Please, everyone, make it a priority to arrange for your advance directives: a living will, a durable medical power of attorney for health care, or both. Give copies to all of your loved ones and your providers of medical care. Make sure your family members know your wishes and will honor them. What happened to Terry Schiavo in Florida was a travesty of justice, humane behavior, religion or just about any kind of social interaction. No person should have to be kept alive in a less than meaningful condition. Why any otherwise humane person would desire to keep a severely brain damaged relative's shell alive for this long is entirely beyond comprehension. The part that was "Terry" died long ago. And, of course, our president has to turn the whole affair into a circus for his political gain. It's absolutely none of his business. I say, if the parents wanted to keep Terry's body alive for much longer, we should have let them do the 24-hour care and seen how fast they came around to a more reasonable decision.
Eileen Arizona, USA ---
It is absolutely horrible what they did to that poor woman. You know, I think that our priorities are slightly screwed up. If you were to starve a dog or cat to death, you'd probably be thrown in jail. I would really like to know when an animal's life became more important than a human's life. When did "In sickness and health" become "Until it's inconvenient for me and I don't want to deal with you anymore"?
