Alba said:

I read that Terri's father had said she responded to him asking her if she wished to go for a Drive.
If this is the case then.....can't Terri express her opinion regarding her Life in whatever manner she is able to?

The question is a hypothetical one: IF the father's statement is correct.

1. Did he in fact make the statement you say you read?
2. When did the incident supposedly happen?
3. Were there other witnesses, as there were to her expressed "no extraordinary measures" statements at funerals, etc.? How many, and who were they?
4. When and in what context did he report it? To one of the Florida courts that heard the case? To a newsperson?
5. If to a court, were corroborating witnesses called?

His statement, if unsupported by other witnesses, won't necessarily carry a whole lot of weight.

If he reported this in one of the previous court hearings, evidently the judge or other trier of the fact didn't believe him.

If he reported it after the previous state court hearings were all completed, that in itself calls his credibility into question.

The incident you read that he had reported (whenever it is supposed to have happened, or whenever reported) seems to fly in the face of the medical evidence, again calling its credibility into question.

Incidentally, I just re-read your post. You say that he said "she responded". "Responded" could mean anything, and is a matter of perception in any case. "Responding" could be blinking, could be nodding, could be smiling, or even I'm sure he would wish) it could be speaking, "Sure, dad!" A number of medical experts have testified that such things perceived as blinking, smiling, nodding, etc. are often found in vegetative cases, and are typical results merely of reflexes and so on; that they do not necessarily mean that there has been communication or consciousness. If so, such a thing's happening at a time when he said something about going for a ride would be purely coincidence.

Dave Oesterreich