Local opinions mirror diversity around U.S.

April 1, 2005

Compiled by Mark Kelsey/Frontiersman managing editor

The recent controversy over Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman who died Thursday morning, 13 days after being taken off her feeding tube, has been much in the news lately.

Despite the legal guardianship rights of Schiavo's husband, who contends his wife told him she would not want to live on life support, her case led to a 12-year battle between him and Schiavo's parents. The right-to-life versus right-to-die debate was subsequently heard in the Florida Legislature, and repeatedly in state and federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Additionally, both Congress and President George W. Bush have weighed in, along with a battery of TV news analysts and talk-radio hosts.

In light of the case's high profile, Frontiersman staff informally polled several people around the Valley this week. Their answers to the question, "How would you deal with a loved one in a persistent vegetative state?" are listed below:

Gary Walker, 44, Wasilla, teacher: "My wife and I both have living wills. So I'd make sure I'd follow her directives, because I wouldn't want to be in a position to have to guess.

Traci Lindstrom, 40, Palmer, borough employee: "I would take them off life support, especially if that's what they wanted."

Lloyd Tims, 54, Knik, retired: "As long as I'm personally the one paying for it, I'd probably like to keep this person that's near to me alive as long as I can. But if the financial burden costs the taxpayer, then I say pull the plug. And I would say that about my loved one. I don't believe that's a fair use of taxpayer money. But private donations are OK."

Linus Mathis, 59, Palmer, minister: "How I would deal with that person is with love. With that situation or with any situation that presents a continual crisis, I would endeavor to walk by the Spirit. I don't believe there is any cut-and-dried situation - my decision one day might differ from the next day's. It should be an individual choice.

"As for starving someone to death, I wouldn't do that to an animal. No one can presume to know what is in someone's head, to presume someone is in this or that mental state when they can't communicate - I don't care how many sheepskins someone has on the wall. It would be a moment-by-moment, day-by-day decision about whether to remove life support."

Sue Mathis, 52, Palmer, housewife: "I have strong Christian beliefs. I would have to walk by the Spirit and allow God to work in my heart to let me know what I needed to do. I would not take it to the court system."

Debbie Shockley, 43, Palmer, certified medical assistant: "I think it should be based on per case. If my loved one didn't want to be on life support, I would find a more humane way to let them die. If it was my loved one, I wouldn't let them starve to death. I wouldn't do it. I think it's wrong.

My husband says (Terri Schiavo) doesn't feel anything. How do we know if she doesn't feel anything? I've seen her smile on TV. I wouldn't let her starve to death. There has to be a more humane way to do this."

John Milward, 62, Palmer, borough employee: "I think everyone should have a living will, and it would definitely solve the problem.

Sandi Whaley, age not given, Mat-Su, sewing instructor: "I would know what the loved one wanted before they went into a persistent vegetative state. I would respect the wishes of that person."

Alice Bicklein, 63, works in Wasilla and lives in Anchorage, office manager: "I don't have a problem with taking someone off life support. I wouldn't want to live like that, and I don't think anyone else would."

Robert Kuenning, 48, Wasilla, minister: "I would help their life be as full and last as long as possible and let God make the choices in their recovery. I would keep all reasonable life support consistently for them. This is an extremely individual choice. Each case is its own decision, but we do need to honor life and let it be as full and as long as God allows."

Helen Reed, 60, Wasilla, retired: "Honestly, I don't think anybody can say what they would do until they are in that position."

Leah Gruver, 38, Butte, stay-at-home mom and volunteer worker: "I could understand it, if you were in pain and you didn't want to have any life-saving measures. If all my husband needed was to be fed, I wouldn't stop his feeding and starve him to death. He has told me if he couldn't take care of himself, he wants all the plugs pulled. If his parents wanted him to stay alive, I'd keep him alive. He'd forgive me someday: I'd rather have (my husband) mad at me than God mad

at me.

I wouldn't want to be handicapped, but if my parents would be heartbroken by my death, I'd stay alive. If anyone in the family wants to keep a person alive, let them.

My husband said, 'What if (Terri Schiavo) is trapped inside her body, wanting to die?' But we don't know. It's impossible to say. It should be left up to God. Wouldn't it be better to err by keeping her alive, just in case she wants to live or her condition improves? Even through I don't believe in euthanasia, this isn't human. We would treat a dog less barbarically. It's barbaric to starve someone who can't say: 'Hey I'm starving!' Even if she wanted to end her life, she wouldn't do it that way.

Pete Christopher, 52, Palmer, Mat-Su Miners general manager: "That's why it is so important to have a living will. I would go with the wishes of the person. If I was in a persistent vegetative state, I would not want to be kept alive."

Julie Berberich, 35, Palmer, no occupation given: "I definitely would not want to live like that. I would not want to wake up from that. I wouldn't want my family going through that year after year after year. I would want them to get on with their lives and remember me how I was,"

Gary "Slim" Sturdzel, 46, truck driver from Fairbanks who passes through Wasilla often: "I would probably pull the plug, if that's what my loved one had told me before. It's definitely a personal issue, and not a political one. The lawyers should stay out of it."

Julia Schirack, 47, Wasilla, business service consultant with MTA: "I guess it would depend on how much of a vegetative state. … You can't even fathom what those people are going through."

Leslie Proehl, 48, Butte, recently retired from military: "I'd keep him alive if I knew there was a chance for a quality of life that he would want. Otherwise, I would let him go. I wouldn't make him hang out for me just so I could look at his face every day."