*** THIS IS A SPECIAL ISSUE DEALING WITH RIGHT TO DIE ISSUES ***

"I lay down my life. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my
own accord." - Jesus Christ declaring his right to die (John 10:17-18)

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Near-Death Newsletter............................................ March 15, 2005
www.near-death.com .................................. Vol. 04, No. 03, Ed. 02
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Table of Contents
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(1) The Case for Terri Schiavo
(2) End of Life Issues in the News
(3) Books on End of Life Issues
(4) IANDS in the Spotlight
(5) Odds and Ends

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(1) The Case for Terri Schiavo
==================================================

Terri has been in a vegetative state for 15 years and doctors have determined
that there's "no hope of recovery" for her. She is "awake" but "unconscious"
and she cannot feel pain. Most of Schiavo's cerebral cortex has been
completely destroyed, replaced by spinal fluid. A court-appointed neurologist
assessed that Terri has no electrical activity in her cerebral cortex on an
EEG, and a CT scan showed massive atrophy in that region. It was determined
that her occasional apparent responses are, in reality, random reflex behavior
common to such patients, and that therapy would be fruitless. But her
parents believe that Terri responds to them. Experts say it is just "wishful
thinking." Accordingly, all therapy for her halted in late 1992.

Terri is living somewhere between life and death in a limbo-like "Twilight Zone"
of consciousness condition (probably in a perpetual out-of-body state).
There have been 19 judges in 6 different courts through 7 years of
litigation which have ruled to honor Terri's right to die. There have been
3 relatives of Terri's testify in court that Terri told them she would not want
to be put on life support as her grandmother was against her wishes. The
court has found "clear and convincing evidence" that Terri's wishes is to
be allowed to die.

The enemies of a person's right to live and die on their terms use words
such as "Nazi Germany," "torture," "execution," "legalized murder," and
"barbaric." But experts say that ending Terri's artificial feeding will lead
to a gentle and peaceful death. The decision to end life support is a
common one. Terri's case is not somehow unique. Allowing hopelessly
brain-damaged patients to die from dehydration is commonplace in this
country, doctors say. Most terminal care decisions are not made by
courts or legislators, but quietly by families.

Now the ultimate intrusion has occurred. Congress has intervened in an
attempt to nullify Terri's end-of-life wishes. Terri is being exploited for
political and religious purposes. But the battle is over a person's right to die
on their own terms and the sanctity of the marriage bond between two people.
And unimaginable smear tactics are being used against Terri's husband
by uninformed people who want to restrict the freedoms inherent in the
human processes of birth, sex, and death. Yet, Terri's husband is vowing
to carry out his wife's wishes. The "sanctity of marriage" decisions is now
at stake. The respect of decisions made between husbands and wives
are on the line.

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(2) End of Life Issues in the News
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Husband Wins Long Battle To Let Wife Die
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
--------------
(March 20, 2005) --------- MIAMI, FLORIDA --------------- (Sunday Times)
A feeding tube has been removed from a brain-damaged Florida woman
at the centre of a right-to-die battle fought for years in the courts, her
husband's lawyer said. A last-ditch bid by US Congress to keep the woman
alive was "nothing short of thuggery", lawyer George Felos said. The
court-ordered removal of the tube follows a protracted legal dispute
between Terri Schiavo's husband and legal guardian Michael Schiavo,
and her parents Robert and Mary Schindler. The tube has kept Mrs
Schiavo alive since a heart attack starved her brain of oxygen in 1990,
leaving her in what the courts declared was a permanent vegetative state.
Mrs Schiavo was 26 when she became ill, without a will or written directive
about what end-of-life care she might want. Her husband said she would
not want to be kept alive. Her parents argued that she responded to them
and could be helped with therapy. Court-appointed doctors said Mrs Schiavo,
now 41, was in a persistent vegetative state and would not recover.
http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,12596639%255E950,00.\
html
*** Related articles:
Doctors Remove Feeding Tube To Allow Brain-Damaged Woman To Die
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/19/wschia19.xml&sSh\
eet=/news/2005/03/19/ixworld.html
Legal Battle Still Rages over Brain Dead Woman
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4282667
Congress Fails To Stop Removal of Comatose Woman's Feeding Tube
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=621560
ABC News Schiavo Case Slideshow
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Schiavo/popup?id=530886
ABC News Streaming Video of Feeding Tube Removed (requires Real Player)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/Video/videoSmil?id=594427
Download Real Player (free): http://www.real.com/player/?src=realplayer

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--------------
Timeline: Terri Schiavo case
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--------------
Feb. 1990: Terri Schiavo suffers a heart attack from possible potassium
imbalance causing brain damage and persistent vegetative state.

July 1993: Terri's husband and parents dispute over Terri's care.
Parents try to have husband removed as Terri's guardian. The case
is later dismissed.

Feb. 2000: Court approves husband's request to remove Terri's
feeding tube.

April 2001: Higher courts refuse to intervene and Terri Schiavo's tube
is removed. But another judge orders the tube reinserted two days later.

Feb. 2002: Mediation attempts between husband and parents fail.
Husband again seeks permission to remove feeding tube.

Nov. 2002: Court finds no evidence that Terri has any hope of
recovery and again orders tube removed.

Oct. 2003: Tube removed for second time. Florida Governor Jeb Bush
signs hastily passed bill allowing him to intervene, then orders tube
reinserted.

Dec. 2003: Independent guardian finds "no reasonable medical hope"
that Terri will improve.

Sept. 2004: Florida Supreme Court strikes down Jeb Bush's "Terri's Law"
as unconstitutional.

Feb. 2005: After declining to give the parents more time to pursue
other legal and medical options, the court gives permission for tube removal.

Mar. 2005: U.S. House passes a bill aimed at keeping Terri alive.
Florida House passes a bill intended to keep Terri alive.
U.S. Senate passes a bill different from U.S. House version.
But feeding tube is removed. Court rules in favor of husband.

*** More detailed timelines:
Timeline from Death with Dignity Organization:
http://www.deathwithdignity.org/press/schiavo.asp
Key Events In The Case of Theresa Marie Schiavo:
http://www.miami.edu/ethics2/schiavo/timeline.htm
Schiavo Case Timeline:
http://www.local10.com/news/4295429/detail.html
Timeline of the Case:
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050318/NEWS01/503180359\
/1006
Legal Timeline:
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBFGD8HK5E.html

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Experts Say Ending Feeding Can Lead to a Gentle Death
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
(March 20, 2005) --------- NEW YORK, NY ----------- (New York Times)
To many people, death by removing a feeding tube brings to mind the
agony of starvation. But medical experts say that the process of dying
that begins when food and fluids cease is relatively straightforward, and
can cause little discomfort ... In fact, declining food and water is a
common way that terminally ill patients end their lives, because it is
less painful than violent suicide and requires no help from doctors.
Terri Schiavo, who is in a persistent vegetative state, is "probably not
experiencing anything at all subjectively," said Dr. Emanuel, and so the
question of discomfort, from a scientific point of view, is not in dispute.
Patients who are terminally ill and conscious and refuse food and
drink at the end of life say that they do not generally experience pangs
of hunger, since their bodies do not need much food. But they can suffer
from dry mouth and other symptoms of dehydration that can be treated
effectively. Once food and water stop, death usually comes in about two
weeks, and is caused by effects of dehydration, not the loss of nutrition,
said Dr. Sean Morrison, a professor of geriatrics and palliative care at
Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. "They generally slip into a
peaceful coma," he said. "It's very quiet, it's very dignified - it's very
gentle."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/national/20death.html?oref=login
*** Related articles:
Experts: Schiavo Would Die Peacefully:
http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/230819-4310-010.html
Schiavo Would Die a Good Death:
http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=82147b17-f762-47a\
d-8446-e9ddb96d0c32
Peaceful Death Predicted:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002212826_schiavoside19.html
Nurses of Hospice Patients Who Refuse Food and Fluids Report Peaceful Deaths:
http://www.swedish.org/17601.cfm
Patients Who Refuse To Eat Die Peacefully:
http://www.nursing2003.com/pt/re/nursing/fulltext.00152193-200310000-00039.htm
Comfort Measures For The Terminally ill. Is Dehydration Painful?:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstra\
ct&list_uids=4056276
What Happens To Patients Without Feeding Tubes:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/03/18/dehydration.death.ap/
Path to a Peaceful Death:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64718-2004May28.html

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Decision To End Life Support a Common One
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(March 18, 2005) --------- SCRANTON, PA ---------- (Associated Press)
Hospitals and nursing homes don't track how many Americans die each
year after being "unplugged" from some form of life support, but the
number is likely to be at least in the tens of thousands, doctors said
Friday ... Every day at hospitals and nursing homes, relatives of patients
who have been rendered unresponsive by a stroke or Alzheimer's disease
instruct doctors to detach their loved one from a ventilator or remove a
feeding tube ... "It's so common, many hospitals don't require these kinds
of decisions to be brought before an ethics panel anymore," said Laurie
Zoloth, a professor of medical ethics Northwestern University. American
Medical Association guidelines bar doctors from performing euthanasia
or participating in assisted suicide, but also require physicians to respect
a patient's wishes to forgo care, even if it is life sustaining.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=Wi\
thdrawing%20Life%20Support
*** Related articles:
Families, Doctors Regularly Deal With Tough Choice:
http://www.observer-reporter.com/291565844590636.bsp
Death From Dehydration Common, Placid, Doctors Say:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/11183111.htm
Most Terminal Care Decisions Are Not Made by Courts or Legislators,
but by Families:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Schiavo/story?id=590373&page=1
Doctors Overwhelmingly Support Ethics of Removing Feeding Tube:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/businesswire/2005/03/20/businesswire20050320005032r1\
.html

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The Right To Die On One's Own Terms Is The Whole Point
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(February 25, 2005) ------- TOLEDO, OHIO ------------ (The Toledo Blade)
Legal challenges to both the will of state voters in the Oregon case
and the will of Michael Schiavo to fulfill his wife's end-of-life preferences
in Florida illustrate remarkable abuses of authority. And the courts have
said as much. Prolonging both cases with increasingly tedious litigation
is really more about advancing political and philosophical agendas than
about honoring the clear wishes of the electorate or those of a husband
on behalf of his severely brain-damaged spouse.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050225/COLUMNIST13/502250364\
/-1/NEWS11
*** Related articles:
Whose Life Is It Anyway?:
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan262005/f5.asp
Who Controls Your Life Or Death Choice?:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/11/06/who_\
controls_your_life_or_death_choice/
Should The State Make Life-or-Death Medical Decisions?:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0831/p02s02-usju.html
Do We Have The Right To Die?:
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/suicide11.html
It's My Life, It's My Decision:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/specialnews/death/
It Is My Right To Die As I Choose:
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Jan/16/op/op10p.html
Right To Die Is a Necessary Freedom:
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/Stories/0,1413,296~31504~2759600,00.html
Who Has The Right To Die?:
http://www.ocolly.com/new_ocollycom/show_story.php?a_id=25579
Poll Shows Strong Support For Doctor-Assisted Suicide:
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=10649

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Schiavo's Wishes Recalled In Records
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----------------
(November 8, 2003) ----- ST. PETERSBURG, FL ---- (St. Petersburg Times)
It was a somber family gathering in the days after Michael Schiavo's
grandmother died in 1988. Doctors had tried to revive the woman despite
her written directive that she not be resuscitated. As family talked at a
luncheon after her death, someone recalled Terri Schiavo speaking her
mind. "Terri made mention at that conversation that, "If I ever go like
that, just let me go. Don't leave me there. I don't want to be kept alive
on a machine,"' Scott Schiavo, Michael Schiavo's brother, told lawyers
years afterward. As lawyers and the public debate Mrs. Schiavo's life,
a look back at hundreds of pages of court transcripts reveals testimony
largely forgotten in the national debate about her right to die. That
testimony helped a judge decide in 2000 that Mrs. Schiavo, left severely
brain damaged after collapsing in 1990, would not want to be kept alive
by artificial means.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/08/Tampabay/Schiavo_s_wishes_reca.shtml
*** Related articles:
Man Insists On Wife's Right To Die:
http://www.ac-ranger.com/news/2005/03/11/Issues/Man-Insists.On.Wifes.Right.To.Di\
e-892891.shtml
Michael Schiavo Vows To Carry Out Wife's Wishes:
http://28news.com/stories/2003/10/031023schiavo2.shtml
"Clear And Convincing Evidence" of Schiavo's Wishes Challenged:
http://www.insightmag.com/news/2005/03/07/National/clear.And.Convincing.Evidence\
.Of.Schiavos.Wishes.Challenged-887473.shtml
Keeping Woman Alive Disregards Her Personal Rights:
http://www.thebatt.com/news/2003/10/14/Opinion/Keeping.Woman.Alive.Disregards.He\
r.Personal.Rights-527592.shtml
Family Fights Over Woman's Right to Die:
http://www.thehilltoponline.com/news/2003/10/31/NationWorld/Family.Fights.Over.W\
omans.Right.To.Die-545195.shtml
Our Lawmakers May Not Be Acting In Terri's Interest:
http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGBJKTMT56E.html

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The Time Has Come To Let Terri Schiavo Die
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
(March 18, 2005) ---------NEW YORK, MY --------- (MSNBC News)
The sanctity of marriage: Remember the recent debate about gay
marriage and the sanctity of the bond between husband and wife?
Nearly all of those now trying to push their views forward about what
should be done with Terri Schiavo told us that marriage is a sacred
trust between a man and a woman. Well, if that is what marriage
means then it is very clear who should be making the medical decisions
for Terri — her husband. But, isn't it true that tough questions
have been raised about whether he has her best interests at heart?
They have. But, these charges against Michael Schiavo have been
heard in court again and again and again. And no court has found
them persuasive. Has there really been careful review of this case?
Is Terri really unable to think or feel or sense? Will she never recover?
The flurry of activity in Washington and Tallahassee might make you
think there has not. But that is not so. There have been at least
11 applications to the Florida Court of Appeal in this case resulting
in four published decisions; four applications to the Florida Supreme
Court with one published decision (Bush v. Schiavo); three lawsuits in
federal district court; three applications to the U.S. Supreme Court and
nearly untold motions in the trial court. This has got to be the most
extensively litigated "right-to-die" case in U.S. history. No one
looking at what has gone on in the courts in this case could possibly
deny that all parties have had ample opportunity for objective and
independent review by earnest and prudent judges of the facts and trial
court orders.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7231440/
*** Related articles:
Life-And-Death Choice Is Tough, But It's Spouse's:
http://www.keepmedia.com/ShowItemDetails.do?itemID=590840&extID=10029
Terri Schiavo And The Sanctity Of Marriage:
http://www.mollygolightly.com/
Husband Criticises Congressmen For Denying His Wife The Right To Die:
http://www.sundayherald.com/48478
Husband Must Defend His Guardianship of Terri Schiavo:
http://www.cnsnews.com/Culture/Archive/200311/CUL20031105f.html

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Life Support Can Cease If Patient's Wish Is Clear
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----------------
(March 19, 2005) ------ SAN JOSE, CA ----------- (San Jose Mercury News)
Legal experts say no more than 20 percent of Californians put their
wishes about life-sustaining medical treatment in writing. However, the
Health Care Decisions Law, which went into effect about five years ago,
established directions for how people can record their intentions. The
law provides that a person, while still competent, can direct life support
to be withdrawn under "conditions specified by the person and not limited
to terminal illness, permanent coma or persistent vegetative state.'' Among
other things, a person can designate a legal surrogate to make medical
decisions if he or she is rendered incompetent. So-called ``advance directives''
can be obtained easily from lawyers, doctors, the California Medical
Association and retail outlets that carry legal documents.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_vall\
ey/11179117.htm
*** Related articles:
Schiavo Case Spotlights Living Wills:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150870,00.html
Living Will Laws, Alone, Can't Prevent End-of-Life Disputes:
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031030/5635436s.htm
Schiavo Case Forcing Public To Face End-of-Life Issue:
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~2773143,00.html

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Vegetative State Is Like Awake Coma
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----------------
(March 19, 2005) -------- LOS ANGELES, CA --------- (Los Angeles Times)
A persistent vegetative state is something different, "sort of like being
in an awake coma," said Dr. David A. Goldstein of the Keck School of
Medicine at the University of Southern California. The patients' eyes are
open, they have sleep-wake cycles, and it often appears that they are
interacting with visitors, which makes it very hard on families. The brain
of such patients is functioning only at a very rudimentary level, said Dr.
Kenneth V. Iserson of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center
in Tucson. They cannot feel pain, express themselves or receive communication.
They may even have grimaces or smiles or other facial movements that
look like they are reflecting emotions, but "there really isn't a significant
relationship with the outside world," Goldstein said. And the longer the
state persists, "the less likely they are to come out of it," Keane added.
Schiavo has been in this condition for 15 years, "and it is very, very unlikely
she would wake up," he added. Now that Schiavo's feeding tube has been
removed, changes in her condition will be slow to occur and barely perceptible
at first. In the first couple of days, she may -- or may not -- feel some pangs
of hunger or thirst. "Most patients don't seem to give any outward evidence
that they are in pain," Goldstein said. After a couple of days, her kidneys
will begin to fail, releasing toxins into her blood stream that will anesthetize
her body. Soon after, she will lapse into a coma. Eventually, she will stop
breathing. The whole process could take from one to two weeks total. "This
is not a cruel procedure," Goldstein said. "It is unlikely that [she] will feel
pain in any way that we as sapient people will identify. Many family members
think it is a very comforting procedure, ... because this is not the way we
think
we want to live."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05078/474107.stm
*** Related articles:
Terri Died Long Ago:
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/r/reyes/2005/reyes032105.htm
Doctors: There's "No Hope Of Recovery":
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsveg194182499mar19,0,103377.story?coll=ny\
-health-headlines
Parents' Belief Schiavo Can Respond Is "Wishful Thinking," Expert Says:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0321Schiavo-Brain-ON.html

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Living in Limbo: Terri Schiavo Today
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
(March 20, 2005) --------- LOS ANGELES, CA -------- (LegalZoom.com)
In May 1998, eight years after his wife lost consciousness, Michael
petitioned Florida's guardianship court. Why? To terminate life-prolonging
procedures. He asked the court to let her die. Terri's brain had deteriorated.
Any hopes for recovery, short of a true miracle, were gone. Michael
believed Terri would choose to die if she could decide for herself. She
wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially. The trial court determined Terri
was in a persistent vegetative state and that Michael was right. Terri's
parents disagreed and challenged the decision, kicking off court proceedings
that continue to this day. On October 15, 2001, after the Florida Supreme
Court denied the last in a string of appeals, Terri's nutrition and hydration
tube were to be removed.
http://www.legalzoom.com/articles/article_content/article9921.html
*** Related article:
The Twilight Zone Of Consciousness:
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,524498,00.html
Between Life And Life:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7244230/site/newsweek/
The Vegetative State: A Fate Worse Than Death:
http://www.near-death.com/experiences/suicide10.html
Persistent Vegetative State Raises Ethical Questions:
http://voice.paly.net/print_story.php?id=1151
A Vegetative State Poses Religious, Ethical Quandaries:
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031027/5622720s.htm

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Brain-Damaged Florida Woman Invited To Testify Before Congress
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
(March 18, 2005) ------- WASHINGTON, DC ------- (Associated Press)
Senate Republicans, embroiled in the life-or-death legal battle over
the severely brain-damaged Terri Schiavo, invited the Florida woman
to testify to Congress in a procedural move intended to keep her on
life support. The Senate Health Committee has requested that Terri
and her husband Michael appear at an official committee hearing on
March 28. A statement from the office of House Majority Leader Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., on Friday said the purpose of the hearing was to review
health care policies and practices relevant to the care of non-ambulatory
people. Frist's statement noted that it is a federal crime to harm or
obstruct a person called to testify before Congress, thus stopping any
action that could threaten the health of the woman.
http://wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=38081
*** Related articles:
Senators Ask Feeding Tube Be Reinserted:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=595113
Keeping Politicians Out of Your Final Days:
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/11/01/Columns/Keeping_politicians_o.shtml
The Ultimate Intrusion:
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/03/17/Opinion/The_ultimate_intrusion.shtml
Politicians Rush To Write Laws To Run Your Life:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-locmiket18031805mar18,0,1691\
69.column?coll=orl-home-headlines
Congress To Intervene In Schiavo's Case:
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGB2MELDG6E.html
Politics At The Forefront In Brain-Damaged Woman Case:
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/11161877.htm
Bush Signs Bill to Prolong Life of Brain-Damaged Woman:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-03-21-voa12.cfm

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Bill Could Nullify End-of-Life Wishes
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----------------
(March 16, 2005) ---- TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA ---- (Tallahassee Democrat)
The law would mean that if patients do not have a living will (about
85 percent of us), family members would find it almost impossible to
follow their loved ones' wishes that they avoid invasive tube feeding ... It
is worth noting that most people, when asked whether they would want
to be kept alive by a feeding tube if they became permanently unconscious
like Terri Schiavo, answer "no" ... It would simply extend the suffering
experienced by her family to countless others by tying the hands of
those trying to respect their loved ones' wishes.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/11143294.htm
*** Related articles:
Can Bush Legally Force Terry To Be Fed?:
http://civilliberty.about.com/b/a/037375.htm
Florida Bill Would Dictate Health Care Decisions:
http://www.endoflifechoices.org/learn/who/news.jsp?reqID=100827
Majority of Doctors Support Ethics of Physician Assisted Suicide:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050303/35492_1.html
Time To Let Terri Go:
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/07/Opinion/Time_to_let_Terri_go.shtml
Rushing To "Save" Terri Schiavo May Not Be Helping Her At All:
http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGBJ1RK6E6E.html
A Compassionate Government Would Embrace Death With Dignity:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002193767_floyd02.html
Suicide Law Has Legal Foundation:
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~2730887,00.html
Terminally ill Have Right To Die On Own Terms:
http://www.tomharpur.com/articles/StarRecent2004/DEC1204.asp
Exploiting Terri:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050203/OPINION02/5020303\
70/-1/OPINION

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For the sake of being fair and balanced, here are some anti-right-to-die
articles:
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Starving Terri Schiavo To Death Would Be An Abomination
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(March 10, 2005) ------ WASHINGTON, DC ----- (MichNews.com)
Surely Terri Schiavo's God-given and inalienable right to life should
trump Michael Schiavo's judicially created "right" to kill her, by
withholding food and water until she expires, based solely on highly
interested testimony that Terri had expressed an aversion to being
kept alive artificially and notwithstanding the credible testimony of a
friend of Terri with no financial interest in the case that Terri disapproved
of cruel Karen Ann Quinlan jokes and euthanasia. But, Judge Greer
won't admit it. So it's up to the Bush administrations in Washington,
D.C. and Tallahassee, Florida and the Florida Legislature to act.
http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_7194.shtml
*** Related Articles:
Terry Schiavo - This isn't Nazi Germany:
http://talk.myoc.com/showthread.php?t=13940
The Torture and Execution of Terri Schiavo:
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/m-n/manion/2005/manion032005.htm
The Cruel And Unusual Mercy Killing of Terri Schiavo:
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3981
Vatican Calls for Keeping Schiavo Alive:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4881515,00.html
Legalized Murder Looms in Florida:
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17185
"Please Save My Little Girl":
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/leasesave20.htm
Pro-Life Leaders Working Together to Save Terri Schiavo:
http://www.operationrescue.org/schiavo/
Christian Medical Expert Disputes Secular Views in Schiavo Case:
http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0,1703,A%253D155295%2526M%253D50011\
,00.html
US Congress Leaders Invoke Emergency Powers To Save Brain-Damaged
Woman:
http://www.gymuser.co.uk/news/2005/march/story-60266.htm
GOP Asks Brain-Damaged Woman to Testify:
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/1111160771
Businessman Offers $1 Million to Keep Terri Schiavo Alive:
http://www.earnedmedia.org/ga0310.htm

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How To Prepare For The End Of Your Life
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(March 20, 2005) ----- SACRAMENTO, CA ---- (Near-Death Newsletter)
The following is a list of resources to help you prepare for your end of life.
*** Learn more about end-of-life issues:
Death With Dignity FAQs:
http://www.togopeacefully.com/
Yahoo! News Full Coverage: Euthanasia:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=US&cat=Assisted_Suicide
Google Directory on End-of-Life:
http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/End-of-Life/
Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide (all sides):
http://www.religioustolerance.org/euthanas.htm
Stanford University's Voluntary Euthanasia Site:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/
About.com's Euthanasia Laws and Debate:
http://dying.about.com/od/euthanasi1/
Hospice and Palliative Care Info:
http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3254
The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity:
http://www.cbhd.org/
*** Learn about estate and funeral planning:
Estate planning:

http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/Articles/a2003-12-04-endoflife-guide.html
Healthcare planning:
http://www.abanet.org/aging/toolkit/home.html
Funeral planning:
http://www.funeralplan.com/funeralplan/
Hospice planning:

http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/Articles/a2003-12-02-endoflife-hospice.html
Palliative care planning:

http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/Articles/a2003-12-02-endoflife-palliativecare\
.html
*** Prepare your end of life documents:
Last will and testament:

http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/Articles/a2003-12-04-endoflife-will.html
Financial power of attorney:

http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/Articles/a2003-12-02-endoflife-financialpower\
.html
Health care power of attorney:

http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/Articles/a2003-12-02-endoflife-finalwishes.ht\
ml
Living will:
http://www.agingwithdignity.org/
Ethical will:
http://www.cbhd.org/
Do-not-resuscitate order:
http://www.uslegalforms.com/sample/US/US-PRM-12.htm
Organ donation:
http://dying.about.com/od/organdonation/ss/htorgandonor.htm?nl=1
Medic Alert's documents service:
http://www.medicalert.org/Main/AdvanceDirectives.aspx
*** Mega-resources for end-of-life:
Award-winning end-of-life portal:
http://www.growthhouse.org/
AARP's end-of-life resources:

http://www.aarp.org/life/endoflife/Articles/a2003-12-04-endoflife-webresources.h\
tml
PBS.org's "On Our Own Terms":
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/onourownterms/resources/eol_sites.html
Eldercare mega-links:
http://elderresources.blogspot.com/
Healthcare mega-links:
http://healthcareresources.blogspot.com/
Financial sources mega-links:
http://financialsources.blogspot.com/
*** Dealing with a terminal situation:
A guide to first steps:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/onourownterms/articles/first.html
Help with self-deliverance:
http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/criteria.htm
*** Join End-of-Life organizations:
End-Of-Life Choices:
http://www.endoflifechoices.org/index.jsp
Compassion In Dying:
http://www.compassionindying.org/index1.php
Death With Dignity:
http://www.deathwithdignity.org/
Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization:
http://www.finalexit.org/
Google Directory of Right-to-Die organizations:
http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/End-of-Life/Euthanasia/Pro-Euthan\
asia/Organizations/
*** Get involved with End-of-Life legislation:
End-Of-Life Choices action page:
http://capwiz.com/endoflifechoices/home/
Death With Dignity action page:
http://deathwithdignity.org/getinvolved/
Partnership For Caring action page:
http://www.partnershipforcaring.org/TakeAction/action_content.html
Compassion In Dying action page:
http://www.compassionindying.org/giving.php
Final Exit Network action page:
http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
Archive of NDEs in the News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
Read all the major news articles concerning the NDE and related
phenomenon from 1995 to current. This is a permanent archive to
ensure that these news articles will always be available on the internet.
http://neardeath.home.comcast.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
-------
Free Email Alerts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
-------

*** Sign up to receive free news email alerts from GOOGLE News
concerning the "near-death experience." http://www.google.com/alerts?q=&hl=en

*** Sign up to receive free news email alerts from YAHOO News
concerning the "near-death experience." http://alerts.yahoo.com/

==================================================
(3) Books on End of Life Issues
==================================================

*** The NDE Online Store includes NDE books, videos, movies,
documentaries, magazines, and other media.
http://associatesshop.filzhut.de/shop/index.php?ID=62ed2010a2e86954f2f1f2020e105\
6af

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted
Suicide for the Dying
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----------------
by Derek Humphry ............................................(Availability: Now)
This is the "Bible" of the right-to-die movement by a man who helped
his terminally ill wife fulfill her wishes to die with dignity. Derek Humphry
later began the modern right-to-die movement by starting the Hemlock
Society. "Final Exit" is the most famous textbook on dying with dignity.
It is the ultimate "how-to" textbook selling worldwide since 1991. It provides
guidance for the terminally or hopelessly ill competent adult who wishes
to avoid further unrelieved pain and distress.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0960603034/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20
*** Final Exit: The Video (VHS)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0963728024/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

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----------------
Physician-Assisted Dying: The Case For Palliative Care And Patient Choice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
by Timothy E. Quill, M.D. & Margaret P. Battin, Ph.D. ..(Availability: Now)
Medical ethicists Quill and Battin introduce 21 classic and new
arguments for the US legalization of physician-assisted dying. They
argue that pitting "Death with Dignity" laws against palliative care is a
false framing of the debate. Scholars, legal experts, and advocates
examine ethical issues, end-of-life options, the views of patients and
people with disabilities, and the Dutch and Oregon experiences.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0801880696/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
The Complete Bedside Companion:
No Nonsense Advice on Caring for the Seriously Ill
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
by Rodger MacFarlane & Philip Bashe ...............(Availability: Now)
Nursing a parent, spouse, other relative, or friend through the painful
progress of a terminal disease is not a road best traveled alone. This
book offers warmth, encouragement, and the medical, legal, financial,
and emotional advice you need when caring for an ailing loved one.
Drawing on the experiences of dozens of ordinary people who have
cared for relatives and friends ill or dying from cancer, Alzheimer's
disease, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, diabetes, AIDS, and
other serious conditions -- along with the practical wisdom of distinguished
medical, legal, financial, and psychological experts -- this sound,
compassionate guide provides field-tested advice on every aspect of
caring for the sick including: doing battle with insurance companies,
managing symptoms such as nausea or pain, exploring experimental
and alternative therapies, and maintaining cash flow and coping with bills.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684843196/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
by William H. Colby .........................................(Availability: Now)
In 1987, as a young lawyer, Colby took as his first case what appeared
to be a simple probate issue - guardianship rights of the parents of a
young woman who was in a persistent vegetative state after being
severely injured in a car accident. Because the Cruzans wanted to
remove their daughter's feeding tube, the case generated a firestorm
of publicity and protests from right-to-lifers. Drawing on the taped
recollections of Cruzan's father and his own records, Colby chronicles
the stark human drama of a family forced to live its most intimate moments
in the courts and the media. He tracks the case from its beginning in
probate court in a small town in Missouri to the U.S. Supreme Court.
After three years of litigation and seven years spent in a vegetative
state, Cruzan was finally permitted to die. This is a truly riveting look at
the case that sharpened public debate about the medical and legal
issues surrounding brain death and the right to die with dignity.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401901328/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
Dying Right: The Death With Dignity Movement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
by Daniel Hillyard & John Dombrink ...................(Availability: Now)
This book provides an overview of the Death With Dignity movement,
a history of how and why Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide,
and an analysis of the future of physician-assisted suicide. Engaging
the question of how to balance a patient's sense about the right way
to die, a physician's role as a healer, and the state's interest in
preventing killing, Dying Right captures the ethical, legal, moral and
medical complexities involved in this ongoing debate.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415927994/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
Last Wish
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
by Betty Rollin .................................................(Availability:
Now)
TV journalist Betty Rollin chronicles her mother's two-and-a-half year
illness with ovarian cancer, from the diagnosis to her decision to end
her unrelenting pain and nausea through suicide. The details of Rollin's
role in helping to carry out her mother's last wish by providing information,
support, and the means necessary to act upon the decision are widely
known through prepublication media coverage.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446370320/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
Physician's Guide to End-of-Life Care
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
by Lois Snyder & Timothy E. Quill, M.D.................(Availability: Now)
Identifies clinical, ethical, and public policy challenges in end-of-life
care and offers recommendations on how to better address these
problems. Part I focuses on building relationships among doctors, patients,
and families, cultural differences in attitudes towards palliative care,
and what to do when the patient cannot speak for himself. Part II presents
practical approaches to common problems, illustrated with clinical
cases in management of pain, depression, and delirium. Part III deals
with legal, financial, and quality issues. Snyder teaches bioethics at
the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics; Quill teaches in the
Program for Biopsychosocial Studies at the University of Rochester
School of Medicine.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1930513283/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

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----------------
The Good Death: The New American Search to Reshape the End of Life
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------
by Marilyn Webb ..................................... (Availability: Now)
This book is a full-scale examination of one of today's most complex
issues: the profound change in the way Americans think about and
confront death. Drawing on more than six years of firsthand research
and reporting, noted journalist Marilyn Webb builds her account around
intimate portraits of the dying themselves. She explains why some
deaths become shockingly difficult - and needlessly painful - and how
the struggles over end-of-life decisions can pit patient and family against
hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, religious groups, and the law.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553095552/ref=nosim/neardeathexpe-20

==================================================
(4) IANDS in the Spotlight
==================================================

IANDS is the premier research organization in the field of near-death
studies. If you haven't yet joined this wonderful organization, I encourage
you to join online at their membership page. There are many benefits for
being a member. Their quarterly newsletter Vital Signs is alone worth
becoming a member.

Home page: http://www.iands.org
Join IANDS: http://www.iands.org/joincard.html

SEPTEMBER 8 - 10, 2005 - IANDS Annual Conference
"Message and Meaning: Using the Near-Death Experience as a Tool for Living"

Hotel reservations can now be made at:
Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center
2800 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, VA USA 23451
(800) 468-2722 http://www.virginiabeachresort.com/
Mention IANDS to receive a $95 per night rate (instead of the normal $135).

Check out the IANDS Conference page for more info:
http://www.iands.org/conf.html

Get a Free Copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Near-Death Experience."!

Join IANDS and receive a free copy of P.M.H. Atwater's 480-page
"Encylopedia of the NDE." This book has been called "the Ultimate NDE Guide."
Ken Ring, Ph.D. had this to say about this book: "This book by PMH Atwater is
to me the definitive work on near-death experiences, and stands somewhere
between being a Bible for the field and an encyclopedia of it. It is a
tremendous
achievement - and its warm, compulsively readable, engaging, provocative and
fun as well." This offer is good while supplies last. Visit IANDS join page
for more information about becoming a member:
https://www.iands.org/joincard.html

==================================================
(5) Odds and Ends
==================================================

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Copyright (c) 2004 Near-Death Experiences & the Afterlife
==================================================