Thursday, February 17, 2005

Short, to the Point and Spot On!

No, not this post I am working on, rather one that I found at Wittenberg Gate. At first I was amazed that some one could actively push for his wife to be starved to death. Some are saying she is comatose and/or vegitating, being kept alive my machines and advanced medical technology. Food and water constitute advanced technology? There is more to this that the "Right to Die". I actually cannot bring myself to call this a "Right to Die" case because there is no evidence that she ever expressed such a wish. We have only the word of her estranged husband who wants the body immediately cremated with NO AUTOPSY. This sends up a red flag immediately. At least it should. Sadly there are those who are setting up Michael Schiavo for patron sainthood. This martyr is suffering for his wife's right to die. Just look at the words of his lawyer in this excerpt from Hyscience , "Michael Schiavo's attorney says his client won't be deterred by 'threats,' saying he is determined to carry out his wife's wishes."
What some are missing is that there is more at stake here than Terri's life. She is a person of inestimable value in her own right. True she is disabled, but that in no way lessens her value as a person, a child of God. What some are missing is that is Michael Schiavo is allowed to do this it can happen to you. All anybody would have to do is merely claim that that you wanted this. This is why I have been against euthanasia. It starts off as merely withholding extraordinary life support with written evidence that this was the patient's desire. Eventually, however, it reaches this point where food and water are denied on the say-so of a person with questionable motives.
One blogger who is supporting Michael Schiavo (I will not name him as I have no desire to be responsible for giving him traffic in this matter) says we should butt out. One of the comments on that post is from a woman who says she trusts her husband implicitly with that decision. I hope for her sake he is never in a position to use that power to cover up any possible wrongdoing on his part.
Why should we, as bloggers, get involved? Some of the more cynical have suggested that is in order to make ourselves feel good before we move on to our next cause du jour. I had to ask myself, what will God's judgement be on a people who would advocate such either actively or tacitly. We cannot remain silent or we could find ourselves like Martin Niemohler who said, "When they came for the Jews I did not speak because I was not a Jew. When they came for the Catholics I did not speak be cause I was not a Catholic. When they came for the trade-unionists I did not speak because I was not a trade-unionist. When they came foe me there was no one left to speak. I might not be Terri Schiavo or a member of the Schindler family, but I could be in that position one day.

UPDATE:On Feb. 17, Dawn Eden posted, "Tell Them About Terri" Please read it.

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