It's really not necessary for us to have compassion for Rabbi Sol's feelings, because this discussion isn't about him. As others have said, in this particular case, Rabbi Sol's feelings are pretty vicious and judgmental about the surviving husband, and don't seem to be concerned with the welfare of Terry Schiavo at all. Are those the sorts of feelings we want to be compassionate about? It looks to me like Rabbi Sol wants vengeance. He keeps using the words "starvation" and "murder" when those aren't even the issues in this case. How we are allowed by the State to care for our dying loved ones, is a central issue. Who will be allowed to make those end of life decisions for us, is a central issue.

Whether the husband is a jerk or not, is not relevant. Until the parents intervened in this case, the husband was the "next of kin" with the legal standing to make those decisions on behalf of his wife. Why isn't anyone discussing that very important aspect of this case.

If you were Terry Schiavo, who would you want to make those decisions on your behalf?

I don't think any of us is the "arbiter" of when someone dies. That just seems silly to me. Making decisions about when to stop or start medical procedures that may or may not extend life, whether made for yourself or someone elese, doesn't mean we are playing god. As someone pointed out, when Karen Ann Quinlan was removed from the respirator, she lived for what, more than 10 years with the feeding tube, never regaining consciousness? Nancy Cruzan, on the other hand, lived for about 10 days when her feeding tube was removed.

So this idea that we have the ability to control the time of death seems strange to me, only because I know it isn't a fact. The only way to truly control another person's or one's own time of death is to kill them by some means that will immediately end life.

Ragdall, I apologize. I realize now, after rereading your post, you were playing devil's advocate, and raising the question of euthanasia. I resented that. It is difficult enough having conversations about removing the feeding tube, and who has the right to make that decision when it can't be made by the patient, without throwing in a "well, how about euthanasia/physician assisted suicide then?" That isn't what this case is about, and if you want to discuss that subject, perhaps another thread would be appropriate.

The issue is really about the feeding & hydration issue, and who gets to decide in the event the patient is incapable of making the decisions for themselves. This isn't a case involving a patient's right to physician assisted suicide. Which I am opposed to, by the way. Just like I am opposed to killing Alzheimers patients, as Rabbi Sol suggested was the "next step" down the road from allowing families to decide to remove life support for a loved one in a permanent vegetative state.

For me, the "test" of when a person should be allowed to die, is mainly whether they have any consciousness, and are able to do basic things (breathe on their own, swallow, communicate in some way with their caregivers). I believe beyond that, one must look at each case individually, and the decision be made by the patient themselves via an advanced care directive or verbal instructions to their physicians and caretakers, or for the family to do so. Nobody just callously "pulls the plug" on the life of someone they love. It is an agonizing decision, whether made for one's self, but especially when forced to make it for another.

The decisions that need to be made are regarding palliative care when there is no chance of the person recovering, as with terminal illness or a permanent vegetative state. I know that a person in a coma can spontaneously awaken, because there are cases of it happening. But those are extremely rare. Most people in comas never recover, and never regain consciousness. In fact, in all the cases that have become notorious, the person has never regained consciousness. Karen Ann Quinlan didn't die when the respirator was removed, but her remaining life was a permanent vegetative state. Nancy Cruzan never regained consciousness. Terry Schiavo has never regained consciousness. After many, many years.