Because I've been thinking about the Terri Schiavo case. . .

[xiphias]

If I'm ever in a situation more or less like that one . . . do whatever brings the most comfort to the people around me.

If it brings people comfort to have me able to vaguely track a ball across the room, or something like that, keep me in that state. If that's painful, and it would be more comforting to have me properly dead and finished, do that.

In a dispute between my spouse and my parents or my sister, my spouse gets final say. She's the one who lives with me, she's the one who holds me when I wake up out of a sound sleep equally terrified of death and of losing my mind. Those are my nightmares.

So, let's face it. It would be a choice between which nightmare I would face. And, well, it doesn't really matter. They're both nightmares. So -- given that I'd hate both choices, let the choice be made on what would help others more.

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[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

I can't say why they've turned to the religious right for support, but I believe that they are hopeful, maybe beyond reason, that their darling daughter will one day come back to them as a whole, happy, and healthy being.

That is my guess as to what motivates them. In some ways I cannot fault them their belief; acceptance of death is rarely easy and when you see your girl moving and acting alive it must be hard to accept that what is animating her is brainstem reflex and not cognitive thought.

I have only sympathy for the husband, the family, and Terri.