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Legacy of Terri Schindler Schiavo
By Lynda Appell
One legacy for me is I still receive the Terri Shiavo newsletter in my email. the initial reason for receiving it was I was on the side of her parents, the Schindlers. I was and still is a disability advocate and webmaster.
I continue receiving the publication because I fear that if I opt out I'll get spam. Plus it does contain writings on severely disabled people who are somehow functioning. One of the web sites on my site was for the group "Not Dead Yet" Their belief is that being severely disabled is not justification for in their view so called mercy killings. They strongly protested the movie "Million Dollar Baby" directed and starring Clint Eastwood. The character portrayed by Hillary Swank, a boxer, is paralyzed, with gangrene legs. She begs her trainer played by Clint Eastwood to kill her. He doesn't want to do it. The NDY people and others in the disability rights movement called Mr. Eastwood "Million Dollar Bigot." One could say it was only a picture. It was one person's decision. However there's the notion that if you're barely capable of functioning you're useless. The specific writing that caused me to side with her mother and father was this. A woman wrote after she recovered from being seriously injured. She recalled being unable to move but she could still think. She worried the health care would mistake her for being a vegetable. I wondered, back then, if this could be the case of Terri Schiavo. I made out a living will based on the following notion: That if Ms. Schiavo detailed in a legal document what she would want if she were in a situation where she couldn't communicate her thoughts in a life or death situation. The question is to me, is should Terri Shiavo gone on living with her feeding tube or was it the right thing to do to pull it out? My thinking is this leads to this inquiry. Was she severely mentally disabled or was she in a persistent vegetative state? There are poor unfortunate souls who are severely retarded subsisting in institutions. I wonder if her mother and father ever considered putting her in such a place? Would they think that was the best type of institution for her? I recall a few years ago going to an allergist to see what was causing my hives. For the record it was a medication I was on. In conversation, he stated he thought her husband, Michael Shiavo wanted her dead so he could marry his then girl friend. No idea if this was true. To me it points out one of the many controversies. It shows that even physicians are not immune to the Terri Shiavo issue. Michael Shiavo is from the Mayfair section of Northeast Philadelphia, PA. This is the neighborhood my sister Roslyn and I grew up until she was thirteen, I, twelve. It was when we lived there an ethnic, mostly German, Irish working class part of Philadelphia, PA. The medical doctors who examined her claimed she was brain dead. They based their conclusion on closely examining her. The noises that came out of her mouth and her actions they say were nothing more than involuntary movements. Of course the other side say they werecommunications. In my opinion, only when one knows how the brain operates in a persistent vegetative state can one tell, if she was communicating or merely a knee jerk reaction. I am not referring to politics. However speaking of politics it was mainly the political conservatives who wanted her to live. It was the liberals who based on scientific, medical findings hated the media circus of Terri Shiavo. They claimed that she was brain dead and nothing more could be done. I tend to side with the liberals. I don't recall reading anything on the pro feeding tube side that would convince me otherwise. She was a media circus who was a victim of perhaps good intentions. One last thing I doubt the situation will ever be resolved. Neither side will budge from their positions. To me the legacy was a keen interest in living wills, the meaning of life, and quality of life. By this I mean what is the borderline between being severely disabled and being totally incapable of a meaningful life. I say if there's any realistic chance in life than go for it.
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This intel was contributed by mugwort
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May, 2012
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