Still going down the same road as ever in this case, the assholes in charge in the Italian government are now dogpiling on the bill that Premier Silvio Berlusconi hurried to introduce recently to force the ever-ailing vegetative state patient Eluana Englaro to be kept alive, despite her final wishes to be let off life-support. Her father even won their court case which finally allowed them to remove the feeding tube – until the asshats barged in with their red tape and other conservative, Vatican-backed bullshit.
If I were this woman's father, I seriously would have long-since crept into the room, kissed her goodbye, wept a bit probably, then personally removed the feeding tube and other life support systems. More likely, I would've carefully injected her with an overdose of Morphine or something: quick, painless, effective. I think the guilt of ending your brain-dead daughter's life will be quickly assuaged by the knowledge you really did help her ease her burden and end this ridiculous debacle. She can finally move on to whatever is after life, if something exists (even though I personally doubt it). Although, perhaps I'm simply too enthused by that similar scene in Million Dollar Baby to realize it's an absurd plan ... but whatever. Something should be done.
And did I mention my outrage at the fact that one of the reasons Premier Berlusconi is using to excuse her being force-kept alive, is that she could even in theory bear a child? How pathetically cruel and/or retarded is that sort of reasoning?
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What follows is my own admittedly warped take on Berlusconi's reasoning...Who looks at a woman in a coma and says, "She'd make a great mother"? Is Berlusconi looking at her and thinking that? If so, how exactly does he believe the impregnation should take place? If he's thinking what I think he might be thinking, he needs to see a psychiatrist.
Other than questioning his obviously-questionable sanity, logic and reasoning skills, I'd guess he thought there was still a slight chance, somehow, that she could ever miraculously come out of her vegetative state and that the 'extensive brain damage' diagnosed by her neurologist would somehow magically disappear. 'Miracle' and 'magic' being the key words in the previous sentence.
Besides, 'she could get pregnant and have a child!' is nothing new in terms of Pro-Life arguments; never mind the fact that she's brain-damaged and will never wake up: her womb still works! I say harvest it.
... Ok, even *I* feel sullied by that bit of sarcasm.
I would have felt sullied if I weren't still trying to cleanse myself after my own comments.
You've compared this to the Teri Schaivo case, and I think the one thing missing here (although I could be wrong) is a legislator like Bill Frist. Frist (who I'm ashamed to say comes from my home state) was a senator and practicing doctor at the same time. You'd think either job would be full-time, but Frist is such a genius he was able to do both. He offered his opinion as a doctor, based on what he admitted was less than an hour of heavily edited videotape, that Teri Schaivo was still conscious. That kind of stupidity should have cost him his medical license. But no, he's still out there doctoring. I guess if anybody's stupid enough to go to him for treatment, though, they get what they deserve.
Christopher:
No, actually, I only learned of the Teri Schaivo case once I'd posted my first one or two posts about this case. I'm that much of an ignorant. :'( But now I've looked into it, the parallels are indeed haunting.
Was that idiotic Bill Frist disciplined at all over his incredible bit of stupidity as you said? Not even a ruler slapped against his hand? That's shameful to the medical world, that is.
Bumdark,
It's shameful, but he was never disciplined. He also made an earlier comment--again, speaking as a doctor, since he was asked for his medical opinion--that HIV could be spread through sweat and tears. The fact is that there's no medical evidence of this, but he never let facts interfere with his beliefs.
... OK, he's scaring me now. He's got a medical license – meaning he's sat through those years of Med School and whatever else – and he still believes in that kind of kookery? May Gawd have pity on his poor victi— er, patients.