I've decided to close comments on the "Horses" post. It's not that the conversation was all that vitriolic, but I am tired of people posting bloodless, mind-numbing comments about this and that court ruling, using all sorts of euphemisms and abbreviations ("PVS," "ANH") to conceal the fact that they are talking about starving a helpless person to death because she is an inconvenience to someone. I. Do. Not. Care. about what the law has to say at this point. I have no influence upon the goddamn courts, and thanks to the near-religious awe so many people seem to apply to the court system, neither does anyone else who isn't involved in it. Anyone else who posts anything about this or that judge's ruling in this or that case will have his or her comment deleted, whether pro or con. Sorry all those law people out there who read my blog; but my blog, my rules.
Posted by Andrea Harris at October 25, 2003 09:58 PMBravo! :-)
Nice job on all the other issues, too, btw. Why, you remind me of me! LOL
Posted by: The Curmudgeon at October 26, 2003 at 10:37 AMI really hope you don't mind my quoting from your previous earlier comments, and that this doesn't get me banned, seeing as I was, in fact, directly involved in all of this:
"The actions of the Florida legislature have alarmed many elderly people in Florida who are now worried that their living wills and do-not-resuscitate orders may be overridden by the Florida legislature or governor."
Would these be the same elderly people who "mistakenly" voted for Pat Buchanan in 2000 and then complained that they really meant to vote for Al Gore?
In fairness, we've recently been contacted by multiple constituents worried that Florida law with respect to living wills and Do-Not-Resuscitate orders may not be binding on all medical personnel, i.e., that people who, unlike Terri Schiavo, have actually made their wishes clear in writing still might not have those wishes honored. While I've interacted with more than my fair share of loony constituents, that doesn't seem to be the case here: whether they're right or not will take more examination on my part and consultation with others who know this area better than I do, but it does appear to be a close call one way or the other.
Posted by: Dave J at October 26, 2003 at 11:02 AMGrrr.....
(Deep breath) Okay, but just this once.
Anyway, that was just a cheap crack that I couldn't resist making; but seriously, if this makes elderly people take a second look at their living wills, and makes them make sure to dot every t and cross every i, etc., I don't see that this is necessarily a bad thing. There's also the possibility that some elderly people have signed these documents more at the, er, "urging" of their relatives; that's another thing that has to be watched out for.
I'm sorry, there is just not one sweeping, catch-all answer to this problem, and there never will be. That sucks, but people will just have to deal. I didn't make the rules.
Posted by: Andrea Harris at October 26, 2003 at 11:19 AMWhenever I see "ANH" I think of the first Star Wars movie. How come Bush doesn't nominate a Wookiee judge. That'd be cool.
Posted by: David Ross at October 28, 2003 at 07:27 PM