The Case of Terri Schiavo

PriestsforLife ^ | March 2005 | Priests for Life

[Ethrane]

She is not dying. She has no terminal illness. She is not in a coma. She is not on life-support equipment. She is not alone, but rather has loving parents and siblings ready to care for her for the rest of her life. She has not requested death.

Yet a battle rages regarding whether Terri Schindler-Schiavo should be starved. She has sustained brain injuries and cannot speak or eat normally. Nevertheless, the only tube attached to her is a small, simple, painless feeding tube that provides her nourishment directly to her digestive system.

Her legal guardian is her husband, who already has another woman -- by whom he also has children. He wants Terri's feeding tube removed. Of course, he could simply allow her to be cared for by her parents and siblings, and get on with his life, but he refuses.

I have had two opportunities to visit Terri, most recently on the first Sunday of February. I have been able to talk to her, to listen to her struggle to speak, to watch her focus her eyes and smile and attempt to kiss her parents. I have prayed with her, blessed her, and assured her that she has many friends around the country and around the world, who love her and want her to enjoy the same protections we all enjoy, even when we're wounded.

News articles have recently characterized Terri's situation by saying that some want to "keep her alive against her husband's wishes." But Terri is not dying. What does "keeping her alive" mean, if not the same thing as keeping you and me alive -- that is, by giving us adequate food, shelter, and care?

Some say that Terri's family should "let her go." But this is not a matter of "letting her go," because she isn't "going" anywhere. If, however, she is deprived of nourishment, then she would slowly die in the same way that any of us would slowly die if we were deprived of nourishment. It is called starvation.

If the courts permit that to happen, then why should that permission apply only in Terri's case? There would be no way to limit it to her case alone. Countless others would follow, and their deaths would be described as "letting them die" instead of "killing them." Where, indeed, does the state get the authority to starve people? Court decisions permitting this lack all authority, as Pope John Paul II teaches in "The Gospel of Life" (section 72). These decisions cannot be obeyed, because they are not binding on the conscience and are in fact acts of violence.

[Ethrane]

As a physician, what bothers me in this case is the ACTIVE role those involved seem to be taking with ENSURING Terri dies.

I would understand if Terri developed a pneumonia say, and those involved (including her husband) decided that they would not pursue treatment or intubation to ensure ventilation adequacy;

I would understand if they withheld medications to stave off a life-threatening condition;

I would ALMOST understand if they removed the feeding tube (if legally it is considered a 'life support' measure) IF they allowed attempts at providing nutrition/hydration orally;

But I cannot understand removing her feeding tube and prohibiting any attempt at oral nutrition.

This is purely because this decision has crossed the line between 'passivity' and 'activity'. It is no different than sentencing her to death which is an 'active' decision imposed by the husband and judge. I have a hard time believing that some physicians are intimately involved in this process.

[EternalVigilance]

URGENT!!!

Call or email immediately!

As of 1:30 pm today...

FLORIDA SENATORS that are stopping Terri from being fed:

www.flsenate.gov

JD Alexander (Majority Whip) 850-487-5044 alexander.jd.web@Flsenate.gov

Nancy Argenziano 850-487-5017 argenziano.nancy.web@flsenate.gov

Michael S. Bennett 850-487-5078 bennett.mike.web@flsenate.gov

Larcenia J. Bullard 850-487-5127 bullard.larcenia.web@flsenate.gov

Walter G. Campbell 850-487-5094 campbell.walter.web@flsenate.gov

Lisa Carlton 850487-5081 850-487-5081 carlton.lisa.web@flsenate.gov

M. Mandy Dawson 850-487-5112 dawson.mandy.web@flsenate.gov

Paula Dockery 850-487-5040 dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov

Dennis L. Jones 850-487-5065 jones.dennis.web@flsenate.gov

James E. King Jr. 850-487-5030 king.james.web@flsenate.gov

Evelyn J. Lynn 850-487-5033 lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov

Burt L. Sanders 850-487-5124 sunders.burt.web@flsenate.gov

[Future Useless Eater]

President Bush, or Governor Bush...



Please get this woman some GLASSES.
She has been VERY nearsighted all her life.
It is NO WONDER she seemed 'spaced out' for 3 out 5 of the original doctors

and do we kill criminals based on 3 out of 5?

---

use your EXECUTIVE POWER to take this woman into protective custody and give her 60 days of THERAPY....

STARTING with SWALLOWING THERAPY. There is nothing 'experimental' about it. She ALREADY CAN swallow.

The therapy will be deemed an Easter miracle, and will prove you to be a saint and humanitarian.

---

Electrical stimulation therapy restores swallowing ability.

[Ethrane]

I know there are a million 'posts' regarding Terri Schiavo, and I hesitated in posting another, but I haven't seen much discussed about the larger issue here....

It seems to me that if Terri fails in all her appeals, that the Federal Government is now sanctioning ACTIVE euthanasia.

[xzins]

But I cannot understand removing her feeding tube and prohibiting any attempt at oral nutrition.

Yes. This is murder.

If an attempt to feed her orally is denied, then I see it as evidence of a conspiracy to actively prevent normal life.

[NewCenturions]

Thank God there are still physicians who feel as you do.

[bjs1779]

Fox News has the video up on the RN Carla Iyer's interview this morning. Click on the VIDEO tap on top then POLITICS. I don't know if there is a way to link it directly or I would.

http://www.foxnews.com

[Barney Gumble]

Excellent article!

I can't comprehend how some people side with the husband, saying he's acting in her best interests when he's living with another woman. This case should go before Judge Judy. Any reasonable person should side with the parents.

Oh and that ABC poll where "63%" of Americans said that they favored removing the tube.... ABC was poll pushing by saying that Terri was on life support and not conscious. I think of all those who knows the basic facts of the case, 95% would side with the Schindlers.

[Ethrane]

Watching passively as a patient who is terminally ill or beyond medical treatment without introducing 'heroic' measures to prolong life is one thing.

Withholding food and hydration from a non-terminal patient is quite another....you cannot call it anything other than euthanasia or assisted-suicide.

[TheCrusader]

"I have a hard time believing that some physicians are intimately involved in this process."

They've been intimately involved in the slaughter of forty five million American babies, so what's so surprising about this?

[nmh]

First They Came for the Jews
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.


Pastor Martin Niemöller

[Jeffery T.]

In this Terri Schiavo case, I dont side with Terri; I dont side with Michael. I have to side with the law. We must remember that as laws are man-made they are imperfect, and as such, laws will not seem or be just although we try mightily to make them as just as possible for such a diverse population and for the multifunctional role they must play in society. One law that seems just in one situation might seem unjustified and irrational in another situation. This is what we must confront everyday as a nation of laws. In order to keep the eyes of justice blind, we need objective laws to center society and to keep some semblance of balance and cohesion in our daily lives. The Supreme Court and the courts of Florida have ruled that the feeding tube must be taken out and thus killing Terri. This is a strong fact to accept, almost inhuman. I wish there was a way to save Terri's life, but the courts have ruled and will continue to rule in the favor of her husband, Michael--no matter what personal defects he may have. The law isnt perfect; it's not meant to be. It is meant to be as just as possible considering who are the originators of many of the laws in this country. We must obey the laws until a more enlightened age changes then for the better. But as things stand, the Supreme Court and the courts of Florida have ruled, and it is this ruling (law) that must be followed irregardless of our emotional state at this time. It's mean; it's cruel; it hurts; IT'S THE LAW.

[Truth666]

She is not dying. She has no terminal illness. She is not in a coma. She is not on life-support equipment. She is not alone, but rather has loving parents and siblings ready to care for her for the rest of her life. She has not requested death.

She has sustained brain injuries and cannot speak or eat normally. Nevertheless, the only tube attached to her is a small, simple, painless feeding tube that provides her nourishment directly to her digestive system.

[Larightgirl]

When someone values "the law" (or anything) above HUMAN LIFE...there's something wrong with their thought process. Without life...nothing else really matters.

[Ethrane]

"In this Terri Schiavo case, I dont side with Terri; I dont side with Michael. I have to side with the law. We must remember that as laws are man-made they are imperfect, and as such, laws will not seem or be just although we try mightily to make them as just as possible for such a diverse population and for the multifunctional role they must play in society."

The law in this case ordered the removal of the gastrostomy tube, which if according to FL law is considered 'life support' I can understand.

What I cannot understand is the order from the law to prohibit any attempts at oral feeding. Maybe she could survive with oral feedings, maybe not.

But to disallow any attempts at oral nutrition surely subjects her to death and is euthanasia.

[NewCenturions]

Nazi Germany had LAWS too.

[Jeffery T.]

Did Nazi Germany have a representative democracy? Could you vote representatives into and out of power in Nazi Germany? Did Nazi Germany have a Supreme Court and smaller appellate courts? In Nazi German Terri Schiavo's family would never have seen a courtroom; they would have simply killed her without due process. At the very least, Terri Schiavo's family have the opportunity to make their case to a number of courts on both the state and federal level. There is no comparison between Nazi Germany and the American system of government. This is simply a knee-jerk response to a very emotional issue.

[NewCenturions]

Just a response to a clearly urgent life and death issue. Sometimes the laws are wrong. God's laws trump man's flawed laws.

[Jeffery T.]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I dont think Terri can eat orally. I dont know why, but I think that I read somewhere where it stated that she cant be fed orally.

[Jeffery T.]

I agree, but for the time being we are subjected to man's laws. I dont agree with this situation, but we must respect our nation's laws until they can be changed. And we cant have laws based on our knee-jerk, emotional response to an issue. They have to be well-thought out and comprehensive. I dont want Terri to die; I wish that it would not happen, but what the law rules is what must be followed as hard as it is upon me to digest this fact.