Notable Quotes on Terri's Autopsy

The Anchoress: It is a "win" for…personal autonomy, supposedly. If, by personal autonomy, you mean being unable to speak for yourself and at the mercy of a husband who suddenly recalls what you supposedly wanted…maybe…and is more willing to see you die than err on the side of life and maybe let your family take care of you. If that's what you mean by personal autonomy and personal choice, well, then…yes, it's a win.

But it is a win by which we all lose.

There is little new in Terri Schiavo's autopsy report. But the salivating, overt, belly-shaking glee of the Deatheaters, that might be new.

Or…it might be old as hell.

Sue Bob's Diary: Remember all the talk that Terri's cerebral cortex was gone and replaced by a "bag of water" or "mush"? The report, though showing severe damage, does not seem to bear that out.....

and:

Another point. To what extent did the prolonged dehydration contribute to the findings of brain atrophy and weight of the brain? Here is an abstract of a scholarly article on the effects of dehydration on brain volume:

The authors show that dehydration and rehydration can significantly change brain volume: lack of fluid intake for 16 hours decreased brain volume by 0.55% (SD, ±0.69), and after rehydration total cerebral volume increased by 0.72% (SD, ±0.21).

What will weeks of dehyrdation do?

Media Culpa: I hope you're not surprised that the news outlets are treating the recently released post mortem of Terri Schiavo like complete vindication for her husband. Here are some of the headlines Google News shows:

Schiavo autopsy report backs husband (MSNBC)
Terri Schiavo: 'No foul play' (News 24, South Africa)
Schiavo Autopsy Shows No Sign of Trauma (SF Examiner)

The MSM has its self-protective filters up, and not one headline focuses on the findings that contradict Michael Schiavo's story: that Terri did not, as far as science can tell, have an eating disorder and that she did not suffer a heart attack.

I'm all out of outrage, but if I could summon up any, I would wonder about the contradiction between the news reports' categorical declaration that Terri was blind and the fact that her eyes could track a balloon. Perhaps the autopsy means to say that her higher brain could no longer register or process the images that her eyes could deliver, but that level of respectful detail is -- not surprisingly -- missing from MSNBC.