also posting this in the final-arrangements thread in Chit Chat:

The Five Wishes: Living Will by Aging With Dignity.

http://www.agingwithdignity.org/5wishes.pdf

My oldest sister (the 'old maid' sister) and I are filling these out.

How can anyone say it's a religious thing???

I don't get it.

I can strap some electrical wires to a dead man's body and make it move.

We can put anyone on a ventilator, machines, etc. and have them "live".

This is not living.

This is not nature.

This is defying any sense of what G-d is and the finite nature of our lives.

-Rudey

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/PollV...=599622&page=1

ABC pole shows that the majority of Americans do not want the Government to step in and think the feeding tube should be removed (even the Evangelists and the Conservative Republicans!). The article about the results is pretty interesting.

Pretty much everyone I've talked to agrees that she should be allowed to die, so I'm not surprised by those results. I think it's sick because this really has become a political game... I doubt that most of those politicians care about Terri.

eh, I've never been one to take polls as any indication of this country's political opinion. Still, it's at the very least good for showing that people are aware of the case even though they may not have all the facts.

That bill that was signed by Bush is very strange from what I've heard. The federal court doesn't get to review any evidence or proof used in the state court proceedings and is basically doing a fresh look at the case. Kind of makes the idea of judicial review an oxymoron.

I'm no expert on this case, nor will I care once it's over. But I do think damage has been done to our system of government.

I totally agree. This is a huge infringement on state's rights. The federal government shouldn't just be able to look at a state's decisions and second guess them. There is no compelling federal purpose or objective. Each state makes their own rules about what constitutes sufficient to remove a person's feeding tube or life support. If the standard should be changed, only the state should be able to do it.

It's a political game to some......
 

I just read that memo and I am completely flabbergasted, dumbfounded, and shocked.:eek:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Mar18.html

Chat transcript with a professor that i've worked for and had classes with. Sort of the law of this for dummies. Was disappointed that he didn't give more in depth answers, then I realized that the chat was for the general public, not the legal community. :) More of a joe-dummy asks professor something.

But Professor Frolik is cool as shit and knows his stuff... one of the founders of the field of elder law, which deals a lot with these kinds of issues.

Implications in marriage law
 

I know proponents claim it won't, but wouldn't bringing this issue into the Federal Court undercut the "state makes its own rules" regarding marriage? Florida says because he is the man she married, he is the one she trusts to make decisions like this for her.

What effect will this have on setting a precident toward a national marriage statute?

(just thinking outloud)

Re: It's a political game to some......
 

They can't even spell her name correctly. It's Terri, not Teri.

The Federal Judge refuse to order the tube to be reinstated.
Link to the Article

I'd like to say that hopefully this will end this whole ordeal, and the woman's agony will be ended. With the way this is going though, it seems like it will never end.

I guess they're going to appeal it on up..