Terry Schiavo countdown

Three days and counting ... Like many others, I have been following the story of Terry Schiavo with grave concerns. While I know what my choices would be, were such a catastrophe to befall me, I can't force my own desires on another person. The only way for any of us to be certain that our wishes are truly followed is to document them in a Living Will or similar legal instrument. Sadly, there is no such document to protect Terri, and so we have her husband's word against her parents for her wishes. Beyond the lack of clear guidance on her desires, however, I find it sickening that Judge Greer is permitting the removal of a feeding tube, to cause Terri to starve to death. By many accounts, this will be a slow, painful death for this helpless woman, and is worse than the treatment that we give to condemned criminals. As Jeff at DigitalBrownPajamas points out, it is lower than our treatment of a terminally ill dog - at least the dog would be put down with an injection. Am I advocating a lethal injection for Terri? Of course not, this is simply an illustration of the imbalance and lack of thought evident in this court decision. If nothing else is done to prevent this travesty, Terri's feeding tube will be removed this Friday, and the starvation will begin. John of Argghhh has some concrete suggestions on how we can help Terri, And the site Blogs for Terri is a terrific compilation of articles and links - update often.