George Felos: dehydration and starvation--a great way to die!

By Barbara J. Stock

George Felos, perhaps trying to ease his guilt, (though this is unlikely since one must have a conscience to feel guilt) and improve his image as a heartless ogre, went before cameras and fed the world one of the biggest lies it has ever heard. He related how "peaceful and beautiful" Terri is as she lay dying. I guess if dying of dehydration and starvation is so lovely, perhaps we should all die that way. Perhaps we should give that option to criminals on death row. We certainly should stop being concerned about the children in poor countries dying of starvation. George Felos has told us it's a great way to die!

All of the chaos surrounding Terri's impending death isn't just about Terri or her family. It is about what we as a society are going to be willing to accept in the future.

The court rulings, all in favor of the legal murder of a non-terminal human being, are laying the groundwork for the legal euthanasia of the old and physically and mentally handicapped people of all ages. We have become Nazi Germany/1933. This is a dark and dangerous path that America is moving down and what amazes and frightens me is how willingly some people are being led and what lengths are being taken to justify murder.

Let's clear one thing up right from the start. There cannot be any comparison between Terri Schiavo's case and the case of a person in the final stages of cancer or some other life-ending disease. Terri is not terminally ill; she was never terminally ill. She was illegally admitted to the hospice where she is now being killed. Her admission was illegal under Hospice protocol and Medicare guidelines because she was not terminally ill. With a simple feeding tube, she could live for decades without any health problems at all. If Terri had received the therapy that has been denied to her, she probably could eat food normally. Terri is not brain dead. She has committed no crime. Yet, because her husband convinced a few judges that Terri "would not want to live that way," she has been condemned to death with fewer rights than a mass murderer. In fact, she has no rights at all. Terri never had her own lawyer to represent her.

If Terri was truly brain dead, it would not be murder, but she is not brain dead. Every day in this country families make the painful decision to "pull the plug" on a loved one who has suffered a catastrophic injury. Their now-damaged-beyond-repair bodies are kept alive totally by machines and their brains are not functioning enough to tell them to breathe. Often, an external pacemaker is needed just to keep their hearts beating. It's only a matter of time before their bodies realize the organ-in-charge is dead. In fact, they don't swallow their own saliva, a sign of severe brain damage. These people require almost constant suctioning or they drool and aspirate their own secretions.

Has anyone noticed that Terri does not drool?

I have heard people say everyone has the right to refuse medical treatment. This is true. However, the law clearly states that minors and those who cannot speak for themselves are protected and if those in charge of their care refuse treatment for them, the state makes that child or person a ward of the state for treatment.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in blood transfusions. If the child of a Witness member is brought to the emergency room hemorrhaging and the parents refuse a transfusion for that child and that child will die without a blood transfusion, a judge will issue a decree making that child a temporary ward of the state. Every ER in America has a judge on speed dial for just that reason.

Why has Terri not been given the same protection under the law? Because the man appointed to be her guardian has decided he wants her to die. For reasons that simply cannot be explained, the legal system turned Terri's fate over to the two men who stood to benefit from her death. George Felos has benefited financially in the litigation involved in killing Terri. It has been reported that as much as $600,000 of Terri's money has been paid to George Felos and his staff. Judge Greer even allowed Terri's money to be spent by Felos to "deal with the media." Michael Schiavo reportedly spent most of the money that he was awarded on personal expenses, impressing a long string of girlfriends, and in his quest to kill his wife. He certainly didn't spend much of it on Terri. The taxpayers have been paying her bills for the last five years.

Judge Greer waved off all the sworn statements from people claiming that Michael Schiavo had told them he didn't know what to do with Terri because they had never talked about dying. Instead, the mantra has become, "This is what Terri wants." Greer ignored the bone scan riddled with healed fractures and numerous claims of spousal abuse. Greer just didn't care.

With that slogan in hand, those who support euthanasia had a poster child. "Terri wants to die" was what everyone heard. A lie repeated often enough will eventually be believed. In truth, no one knows what Terri wants. When she was finally asked what she wanted, the same judge that condemned her to death decided that her response was not "credible." He took nearly an entire day to issue a rejection he probably knew he would issue after five minutes. Did he hope she would die and save him the trouble? Why did Judge Greer never go sit by Terri's bed and observe the woman now dying because of his order?

People must understand the goal of those who support the euthanasia of human beings. They are not talking about the terminally ill. Those people have been allowed to leave this earthy plain without intervention for a long time. The "Right to Die" supporters want the legal right to "humanely kill" anyone disabled or infirm that is deemed a burden or that is "suffering" because of their condition. If Grandma is a little senile and no one has time to take care of her, just go to court, say that Grandma didn't want to live this way, and legally dispose of her. It will all be neat, tidy, clean, and legal. No muss, no fuss. Will Grandma be starved to death like Terri? Of course not, since in a year or two, that also will be deemed cruel. No, it will just be a quick lethal injection and a then off to the crematorium for Grandma. The slogan of "Right to Die" should be "Right to Murder." That would be the correct description.

Anyone who thinks this is outrageous and will never happen here needs to study history. In the early days of Nazi Germany, people were convinced that their handicapped children, elderly family members, and severely injured loved ones "would not want to live that way." These unfortunate souls should be humanely put to sleep so that they could be "reborn" in healthy bodies. People lined up, willingly, to have their own family members killed. So don't think it can't happen here: It is happening right now — in Florida. Terri is just the first step. After this, it will be much easier to dispose of the unwanted. There is now legal precedent.

The massive and false "this is what Terri's wants" and "starvation is a beautiful way to die" is in full swing and it is being believed. The reports were a lie that she can't feel pain because of her massive brain injury. Terri is now being given morphine to "ease her pain."

You should be afraid, very afraid. The day will come when euthanasia will no longer be voluntary, but it will be the law. When you are no longer a viable contributor to society, you will be judged a burden and that will be a death sentence. When your family decides they don't want to be bothered with you anymore, it's the end of the line. What and who — are we becoming?

© Barbara J. Stock