Terri Schiavo - When America Decides to Murder Her

You see, one of the definitions of someone who is PVS (Persistent Vegetative State) is that they cannot swallow. An "almost completely destroyed cortex" would prevent someone from being able to swallow the saliva that they produce. Doctors will testify that the average human can produce up to two liters of saliva a day.

From the complete report of Dr. William Hammesfahr, a world-reknowned neurologist, dated September 12, 2002:

The patient can clearly swallow, and is able to swallow approximately 2 liters of water per day (the daily amount of saliva generated). Water is one of the most difficult things for people to swallow. It is unlikely that she currently needs the feeding tube.

From the Dr.'s report:

Impression:

The patient is not in coma.

She is alert and responsive to her environment. She responds to specific people best.

She tries to please others by doing activities for which she gets verbal praise.

She responds negatively to poor tone of voice.

She responds to music.

She differentiates sounds from voices.

She differentiates specific people's voices from others.

She differentiates music from stray sound.

She attempts to verbalize.

She has voluntary control over multiple extremities

She can swallow.

She is partially blind

She is probably aphasic and has a degree of receptive aphasia.

She can feel pain.

And compare a world reknowned neurologist's report in the above to an irresponsible AP report comparing Schiavo (a human being) and Kismet (a robot):

To understand the emotional reaction to the tapes of Terri Schiavo, one need only spend a few minutes with Kismet.

People who spend time with the robot at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology lab walk away feeling like they've made a new friend. Kismet is nothing but a mechanical head made out of metal and plastic, but it has been cleverly programmed by scientists to mimic human social interactions.

Sit down across from Kismet and it gives you a pleasant smile. Step too close and it jumps back with a startled expression on its face. Introduce yourself and it waits patiently for you to finish talking, then replies with a few syllables of speech that sounds like a higher-pitched version of the language spoken by the teachers in 'Charlie Brown' cartoons.

Kismet is no more conscious than a dishwasher or a microwave oven. But its vaguely human behavior has a powerful effect on brains that are predisposed to attach meaning to gesture, facial expression and vocal tone.

"This ... system that we have is so automatic and so powerful, sometimes it ends up being triggered by things that aren't people and don't have minds at all," said Martha J. Farah, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. "It's very hard to suppress the impression that there's somebody there."

People in persistent vegetative states are no more aware than Kismet, but they retain a handful of primitive reflexes that are naturally misinterpreted as conscious behavior.

What this AP reporter (a complete idiot) is saying is that Terri is not in a PVS . But according to several doctors' report who saw Terri do not describe her as in a PVS. In the spring of 2000, three physicians, including Dr. Jay Carpenter, who is a former Chief of Medicine at Morton Plant Hospital, filed affidavits after observing Ms. Schiavo. All three physicians stated that it is visually apparent that Ms Schiavo is able to swallow and, in fact, does swallow her own saliva.

Yep, Terri is definitely in a PVS. Not.

When America decides to poll innocent people's lives and go at any length possible to dehumanize an innocent but helpless human being, then America is no longer a nation that cares for the innocent.

Congratulations America, you just murdered an innocent human being.