the Schiavo situation is NOT covered in the Bible

[mopaul]

there was no such thing as prolonging someone's life for 15 years by scientific or medical means in the days of Abraham, or Christ.

therefore, their is NO passage or verse that covers this case, that modern day Christians can refer to as a biblical example.

and if they whoop out that tired old commandment, 'thou shalt not kill', well.....nobody goes by that old bromide anymore anyway, certainly not the christian conservative bush cultists.

[Walt Starr]

1. Nobody is being killed, anyway

They are allowing nature to take its course.

[Warpy]

10. "Let Caesar have that which is Caesar's

and give god that which is god's" comes to mind. It seems we've been denying the fundy god for about 15 years in this case. If fundy god wants her to remain on earth, she'll sit up and ask for a sandwich. Otherwise, fundy god will just call her home.

[pnutchuck]

2. Tell that to the Vatican...

I was just watching BBC and they said that the Vatican doesn't support prolonging a life through artificial respiration, but does support artificial feeding and hydration. They also said that TS was not "brain dead", but "brain damaged" and therefore, should be kept alive. What's the difference?

[Cuban_Liberal]

11. Here is the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' view on care for the dying

http://www.nccbuscc.org/bishops/directives.htm#partfive

[BonjourUSA]

12. For Vatican, When the roman soldier spears the Christ's heart, what's it ?

Barbarity or euthanasia ? If I remember, the catho say that it was an act of humanity

[Warpy]

13. "Brain dead" as an indication of clinical death means

no brain activity at all, not even at the level of the upper spinal cord, the brainstem responsible for things like spontaneous respirations and regulating our heartbeats. Brain death is a flat EEG.

"Brain damaged" means that the brainstem at least is intact. Some people have brainstem strokes and require things like mechanical ventilation but have their higher functions intact. "Brain damage" means there is activity on an EEG. It covers one hell of a lot of territory, though, from total destruction of the cerebral cortex in Schiavo's case to a barely detectable embolic stroke that can present as weakness in an extremity and be conducive to rehab.

Some people get a splinter in a finger, others have their arms amputated. Both could be classified as "upper extremity injury," and provide an illustration of the imprecise nature of weasel words.

[pnutchuck]

14. Thanks, but what I was questioning was the difference between

artificial existance whether it is through a tube or a respirator. The Vatican said that it was ok to be artificially fed, but not assisted to breathe.

[Warpy]

16. The Vatican also says the rhythm method is adequate birth control.

and it took them 400 years to admit Galileo was right.

I honestly don't think one can trust them in matters of medicine, science, or reproductive health.

[pnutchuck]

18. Neither do I, but the BBC pointed out that it could be preemptive

positioning since the Pope could be in the same position soon.

[adwon]

3. Supply side economics isn't either

but Falwell and Robertson have no problem arguing that Jesus was in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy.

[mopaul]

6. conquering the globe isn't either

but then, we can't bother ourselves with such trivialities when these are the end times.

[adwon]

9. Heh, for that matter

The rapture and its associated bullshit really isn't either. It's all based on allegorical references from a variety of books. Wow, the irony of biblical literalists relying on interpretations of the Bible for their apocalypse scenario is almost too much.

[oddmanout]

4. She's already dead

Terri died when her brain stopped receiving oxygen. She has been dead for 15 years now.



:dem:

[Ganja Ninja]

5. Isn't there a verse in the bible that says

"Thou shalt not miss a political opportunity to energize thy base"?

[GiovanniC]

7. Neither is Cloning, Stem Cell Research, Organ Donation, and Other

Modern medical feats.

[TahitiNut]

8. "Do unto others ..."

Sadly, especially in this case, it seems what people would have done unto themselves varies greatly ... except in one respect: honoring the wishes of the one being done unto.

Also sadly, it is not at all unusual for parents to substitute their own wishes for that of their child. Thus we have the evils of "paternalism." (And "maternalism.")

[BonjourUSA]

15. what is it necessary to need any religion for having one's own opinion ?

[VTMechEngr]

17. Its actually NOT thou shall not kill.

In a proper translation of Hebrew, (I.E. not King James) It is "Thou shall not Murder" Letting someone succumb to their wounds is not Murder.

[zbdent]

19. God killed Terri Schiavo - Man, and his influence from Satan, revived her

Remember, the idea of organ transplants was also considered blasphemy.

A few years ago, Howard Stern made an excellent point. After the McCoy (sp?) litter, er, septuplets multiple birth, the mother and father were going on and on about how they could not terminate a single one, because "God gave them all to us".

Howard Stern pointed out - "God did not give you those kids. God said you will not have children. You told God to eff off, and went to Science." Not exactly those words, but yes, he did say that God told her she wouldn't have children.

Terri Schiavo "died" (God killed her) - but was "restored" to the nightmare that his her life now . . . by Man.