Death Spin

The Old Media are reiterating the spin that the Associated Press and Reuters have put on the results of Terri Schiavo's autopsy. Headlines proclaim husband Michael Schiavo was vindicated. What a load!

Read the autopsy results here.

Pinellas-Pasco County medical examiner Dr. Jon Thogmartin did his best to emphasize the extent of Terri's brain damage in his press conference, using words that played into the Right to Kill gang's agenda. He said, "This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons." Thogmartin added that Terri was blind, because the "vision centers of her brain were dead." He did his best to dispute any claims that the Schindlers made regarding Terri's responsiveness.

What the MSM has not focused on is the fact that PVS is a clinical diagnosis made while the patient is alive. An autopsy cannot conclusively determine PVS.

While they keep talking about her brain size, they don't dwell on the fact that they reported for months, years that she had a heart attack and was bulimic. The autopsy dispels both possibilities as the cause of her collapse. Terri never had a heart attack and she did not have an eating disorder.

From p.35 of Terri Schiavo’s autopsy report:

7. By what mechanism did Terri die?

Postmortem findings,including the state of the body and laboratory testing, show that she died of marked dehydration (a direct complication of the electrolyte disturbances brought about by the lack of hydration).

p. 36

8. What was the cause and manner of death?

Mrs. Schiavo suffered a severe anoxic brain injury. The cause of which cannot be determined with reasonable medical certainty. The manner of death will therefore be certified as undetermined.

It is the policy of this office that no case is ever closed and that all determinations are to be reconsidered upon receipt of credible, new information. In addition to fading memories, the 15-year survival of Mrs. Schiavo after her collapse resulted in the creation of a voluminous number of documents many of which were lost or discarded over the years. Receipt of additional information that clarified outstanding issues may or shall cause an amendment of her cause and manner of death.

These results do not vindicate Michael Schiavo. There are many unanswered questions that cast doubt on what happened the night Terri collapsed. The autopsy provided no results that exonerate Michael Schiavo of wrongdoing. If anything, the results make the idea of foul play even more feasible.

Another thing that bothers me about the media's spin is the "she didn't starve to death" line. According to the autopsy, her body tissue was in a state that would not be consistent with starvation. She was, however, dehydrated to death. Withholding fluid from Terri killed her.

Reuters writes:

"She died of dehydration and did not starve to death after her feeding tube was removed 13 days earlier. The parents had charged she was being starved to death."

Give me a break! The tube that gave Terri nutrition and hydration was pulled and that killed her. Reuters spins it like the Schindlers were wrong. It is a lame attempt to distract from the fact that the removal of the tube caused Terri's death. Had the dehydration not taken her, starvation would have. Everyone knows water is essential for survival and withholding it would result in an individual's demise before actual starvation.

Something else that really bothered me was what George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, had to say. He was out there claiming the findings backed up their contentions made "for years and years" that Terri had no hope of recovery. According to Felos, Michael Schiavo plans to release autopsy photos of her shrunken brain.

Why? Does he think that will make people like him?

He's willing to release autopsy photos of her shrunken brain, but he allowed no photos of her sunken eyes while she slipped closer to death. He insisted that would have violated her privacy and she wouldn't want that, even though Felos claimed he had never seen Terri look so beautiful.

Absolutely no photos of her being killed were shown; yet Michael Schiavo wants to make public pictures of her brain. Isn't that a violation of her privacy? Are we to believe she told him her wishes about that? "Honey, I want my autopsy photos made public." That's just sick and very telling as far as Michael Schiavo's true feelings for Terri.

When Scott McClellan was asked if the autopsy results had changed President Bush's opinion on Terri's case, he replied:

"The President took the position he did for a reason. The President believes we should stand on the side of defending and protecting life. That's why he stood with all those who supported efforts to defend her life. This is a sad case. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with her family and friends."

As far as the autopsy results go, that Terri's brain was half the size of that of a normal woman her age, I think that's irrelevant.

I don't believe we should put an individual to death for being severely brain injured.