[lbo-talk] Re: terri schiavo

[jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net]

> Weren't we talking about the capacity to suffer while starving to 
> death?  There is another case I know of to be mentioned.  Elizabeth 
> Bouvia is a woman living in CA who has cerebral palsy who got the 
> legal "right to die" by challenging the law. Since1986 the Bouvia 
> court decision gave the individual the right to determine one's 
> medical care i.e., to refuse medical treatment in the state of CA. 
> Bouvia is in pain and on a morphine drip.  She never died as planned, 
> however, because she said it was too painful to starve herself to 
> death, even with the morphine. So I don't buy it that people who have 
> food and water taken from them "don't suffer."
> 
> Marta

Whether you buy it or not it is still true that MOST people do not suffer when they starve to 
death in this type of situation. It may have been quite uncomfortable for Elizabeth Bouvia but 
that doesn't change the fact that for most it is not. I am referring to starving not dehydrating 
which is generally but not always painful. For a conscious person to suddenly have access to 
water denied would not be terribly pleasant.
Since Terri Schiavo no longer has much of a functional mental process I wouldn't expect her to 
experience much discomfort at starving. Part of the discomfort felt by some is related to 
anxiety and expectations and Schiavo wouldn't have that issue. How much pain we experience 
is not purely a physical concern. It is also a learned response so Schiavo's ability to 
experience pain is different from yours or mine.

John Thornton