I think of myself as a compassionate person, and I truly sympathize with the plight of the Schindler family. But the brutal truth of the matter is that the legal battle surrounding Terri Schiavo has nothing to do with compassion. When all of the emotional baggage heaped upon this case is removed, it all comes down to one core issue: who has the right to make life-and-death decision on the part of someone who is permanently incapacitated?
One judge after another was asked to make this determination, and every one of them came back with the same answer. In each case, the opinions of Terri Schiavo regarding the prolonging of her own life while in a vegetative state, as testified to by her husband and other witnesses, were accepted in lieu of a living will. Despite all of the Schindler family’s efforts to have these statements on her behalf nullified, none of the judges involved found sufficient legal grounds to do so.
In other words, as far as the law was concerned, Terri Schiavo did not wish to have her life artificially prolonged while in a vegetative state. End of story. Or so it ought to have been.
Again, I feel deeply for the Schindler family, and were I in their shoes (God forbid) I honestly can’t say how I’d react. They certainly have the right to disagree with the opinions handed down, and had the right to appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court. The situation was very sad for all involved, and I can’t claim with any justification to understand the pain they must have felt. But in enlisting the help of the Religious Right they made a deal with the devil. They willfully participated in transforming what should have remained a simple (albeit painful) legal dispute between family members, and brought about one of the most disgusting media and political circuses in recent years.
It would appear this thread is premature. We have not all calmed down.
Also I would like to express my regret at snapping at the newbie. I have been under a bit of stress and ought to have refrained from replying to his post. An apology is never enough, but it is all we can do sometimes.
I doubt there will ever be any “calming down” on this issue. I expect more to come, the autopsy, the book being written by Furman, and others who are investigating the issues.
You think people will cast their votes based on Terri Schiavo next year?
And you think those votes will tell us that recent polls showing that an overwhelming majority of Americans agreed with the courts on this issue, are wrong?
This is GD, lekatt. You can’t just make bold declarations like that. Back them up. Tell us why you believe that.
Again, my point stands: the Schindlers showed absolutely no compassion toward Terri at all. They whored themselves out to the Religious Right in hopes that their intercession would change the law. Now, they were no doubt truly upset at the thought of their daughter dying, and I can never claim to know precisely what that’s like, but in claiming that they would amputate her limbs in order to keep her torso “alive” they demonstrated that the only concern of theirs was that she outlive them.
Bullshit. If you actually think that the American electorate (which was pretty appalled at the spectacle that Terri’s death was made, but then, you already know that, after all, it’s only been pointed out to you numerous times. Hell, I’ll go out on a limb and guess that you read the news reports that came out at the time) is going to suddenly rise up and support your POV, then you are purposefully deluding yourself. Kinda sad, actually.
Yeah, your misplaced faith in the autopsy results. Again, why would the autopsy results have anything to do with whether or not Ms Schiavo agreed to the course of action that was followed? And who are these investigators? And what do you think they will find? Don’t you think that this issue has been gone over enough? I kinda doubt that anything new will be found now, after the sad debacle that the Schindlers and Congress made of Terri’s death and everything that even tangentially had to do with her life with her husband. Are you going to continue to hold tightly to your misplaced beliefs that Michael beat the crap out of her if it’s proven that he didn’t? Because I’ll bet that you will. Once more, sad.
When something is an ethical or moral question, the ability of spinmasters and pollsters to get some hack elected do NOT make something right. Furthermore, the far right religious reactionaries (and I use “religious” very loosely) and the leeches who feed off their plate have no right to force their selfish, bigoted, intolerant, psychotic and WRONG views on the rest of the country. Terry Schiavo had made her wishes known. This was born out in all the court reviews which her parents brought, and the fact that they testified they were willfully defying her wishes was bad enough. To see false “prophets” and political vultures try to cash in on her was appalling and sickening.
Keep to your narrow and unproveable views, and this thread will get into the BBQ Pit real fast.
I think you are immature to be lecturing other people about bad language. I see no place where he insulted people he didn’t know, except for the politicians who on one hand fight for Schiavo’s lack of a life and on the other hand wage war. Unless you are talking about the comment “little brown people”, in which case rather than insulting those nations he was pointing out that we make war on those nations. I really don’t think there’s any harm in it.
Anyway, what difference does it make if “not everyone on the board is white”? I’m brown, and I took no offense at that comment.
And your last comment is about as patronizing as they get. Taking a leaf from your own book, if you are unable to avoid junior modding, then become a mod but don’t sit there and tell us when or where we can curse. As far as I knew it was perfectly fine to curse in GD as long as it’s not against another poster.
As for the ironic comment, yeah, I’ve got no real idea what constitutes irony, either. Most of the world doesn’t, IMO.
My grandma had to decide when my grandfather was ill. He had expressed to her long before going into the hospital what he did and did not want. When the doctors informed her that there was no chance of my grandfather coming out of the hospital alive, she wavered a little bit by keeping the tube in a few days, which was understandable. She then realized that the most loving thing she could do was follow through with the wishes of her husband. She had them remove the tube.
I think that is the point to be made here; getting married is a binding legal, moral, spiritual, and for some, religious contract. The day Terry got married she no longer “belonged” to mommy and daddy. She became one with her husband. None of us will ever know the bond they shared, or what wishes she actually expressed to her husband about feeding tubes, etc., but on the day they married she put her life in his hands. If he said she wanted to be “unplugged”, then she should be unplugged. If her parents had a problem with that decision then it is between them and the husband. Not the congress, the president, and every other tom, dick, and hairy dick who wants to get involved.
Your family can make the decisions for you, and my family can make the decisions for me. Don’t be so concerned about other peoples business, cause it just turns into a big mess.
Turning this into a public issue was, and is disgusting.
I think this post is a good example of what the problem really is, liberals fighting a supposed enemy of dark religious rightists. Shadow boxing or windmill jousting is a better call for what is going on. Terri means nothing, truth means nothing, only the vanquishing of the horrible religious enemy.
I am neither religious nor securlar, I would have nothing to do with either side. My interest is in truth and integrity. I would like the right thing done, not interested in your personal prejudices or “made up” enemies. We humans are all one, don’t ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
As for the Pit. Just jump in there and thrash around some. You won’t find me there.
Have a nice day.