By By RANDI K. PICKLEY / Dowagiac Daily News
NILES - There are many facets to the issue of life support, which is generally thought of as a means of keeping a patient alive with the help of a breathing machine.
However, in the case of Terry Schiavo, whose brain was damaged 15 years ago, she is breathing on her own. But because she is in what some doctors call a "vegetative state," life support for her consists of a feeding tube through which she receives both nutrition and water.
Schiavo's husband feels that she would not want to continue living in this state and sought court approval to remove the feeding tube so that she could be allowed to die a natural death.
The controversy over this issue, brought to national attention recently, concerns not only the right of her husband versus the right of her parents to decide her welfare, but brings to light other issues as well.
Area residents were recently asked their opinions on the courts' latest ruling that allowed Schiavo's feeding tube to be removed.
Darin Haynes of Niles said, "It's a bad thing. It's a shame they're doing that, to see somebody suffer like that. My stepdaughter and I watched it on TV last night."
Jodie VandenHeede of Niles sees a political side to this issue. "I think there's an ulterior motive to it. I think the politicians are laying the groundwork to become a right-to-life issue. What everyone's opinions are about right-to-life is a whole 'nother can of worms and I'm not going to go there," she said.
Nancy McCreedy of Niles also considered the political ramifications. "I think Congress should never have been called in. It already went through the court system and was decided. I heard one representative say on TV that to bring back Congress, how many dollars did we spend when there are hungry children out there? Personally, I wouldn't want a body like the Congress ruling on my private life," she said.