ENDING THE MADNESS (TERRI SCHIAVO CASE)

Now that the Supreme Court of the United States has once again justifiably rejected the pathetic puppy-dog pleas of Bob and Mary Schindler (right) to have the feeding tube of their daughter Terri Schiavo reinserted, they need to just let go and let their daughter slip away from this life into the next. As it stands, Terri is faced with two kinds of unspeakable agony; one, being wilting away from lack of food and water, and the other being indefinitely trapped in a body that has in fact become a prison for her soul.

In the middle of all this, we have a number of players - all of whom are to blame for the situation - who had no right to get involved in what was supposed to be a private family matter. If anything, it was supposed to be a private disagreement between Terri's husband Michael and her parents Bob and Mary Schindler, the latter of who took their tiff national with the news media by releasing a videotape of their daughter in her vegetative state, which I found repulsive to the extreme. While I may have colleagues who have totally opposite views on this issue - which I respect - I must disagree with the extreme measures being taken at this point to keep America's "Cabbage Patch Girl" alive.

For openers, as a rule of law, Bob and Mary Schindler have no right whatsoever to be filing any legal actions on their daughter's behalf - period. Whether it be Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck or any other nationally syndicated talk show host, news pundit or anyone else, Terri's parents do not have any legal standing to act in their daughter's behalf, and that is why they have lost at every level in the court system and it is also why the Supreme Court has refused not only once, but twice to hear their appeals and their desperate, pathetic cries for help.

Before anyone goes and calls me heartless - or worse - keep in mind that if the tables were turned and it was me in that hospice, I would want to be allowed to die rather than be in a persistent vegetative state with severe irreversible brain damage. Wishful thinking on the part of Terri's parents and others will not change that, and there is more than enough blame to go around on this national disgrace.

For openers, Bob and Mary Schindler lead the list for releasing the videotape nationally, thus stripping their daughter of her remaining dignity and turning her into a national freak show the likes of such I was expecting Sally Jessy Raphael to appear at any moment, what with all the do-gooders getting themselves arrested trying to bring Terri water. What type of point were they trying to prove? Then there is Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo (left). While he may have had his appropriate mourning period at losing the Terri he loved and married to this vegetative state, rather than divorcing her and letting her parents take over her care as he should have, he had a woman move in with him and has had two children by this other woman, thus becoming an adulterer and winning him no sympathy in the process. As a result, his credibility is largely shot to pieces on this as well as on other grounds.

Add to the list both houses of the United States Congress - who in their perpetual pursuit of the Congressional circle jerk - held nationally televised debate in an 'emergency session' to make themselves (a); look good, and (b); look as if they were doing something which they knew would go nowhere. All of this was done in a classic case of ego masturbation and free face time on network television in pursuit of a reelection victory in next year's midterms. To make matters worse, President Bush gets in on the act by signing off on this legislation which is a direct repudiation of legislation he signed as Texas Governor that went in the opposite direction. Lastly and finally, Terri Schiavo is herself to blame for her current predicament, for had she obtained medical help for her bulimia, and not continued her binging and purging, the heart attack and subsequent heart stoppage and attendant brain damage would have never occurred.

Terri Schiavo Wedding Photo (AP/Schindler Family)

Terri Schiavo in 2001 (AP/Schindler Family)

Most people looking at this situation fail to realize that in this case the tragedy was entirely preventable. They - especially the Schindlers - also fail to realize that Terri stopped being the Terri Schiavo they knew and loved (left) when she suffered her brain damage and became a shell of what she once was (right). As much as it may hurt to let her go and slip gradually from this life into the next, it needs to occur sooner rather than later. In so doing, the Schindlers will come to see what Michael Schiavo probably already knows - that an end to this current suffering will free her from the pain and torment that has racked her body and what is left of her brain for over 15 years. It will also bring to an end the Schindler family's suffering as well. Nobody wins in this situation. Not Michael Schiavo, not Bob and Mary Schindler and their other children, not the nation as a whole that has had to witness and endure this tragedy, and most importantly, not Terri.

It is time for her prolonged suffering to end. If we as a nation can learn anything from this, it is to follow the example former President Richard Nixon set when he had the stroke in 1994 that led to his death a week later. Nixon had an advance directive filled out specifying no extraordinary measures were to be taken to either save or prolong his life, and had a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) tag placed on his chart. By making such a decision - in advance - he saved his bickering daughters Julie and Trisha, who have not spoken to each other in years, from what would have been an inevitable national sideshow much like this one. ***

EDITOR'S UPDATE: Since this article went to press, Governor Jeb Bush (R-Florida) has failed in his emergency bid for the state to win custody of Terri, thus effectively bringing the battle to keep Terri alive to an end. The Schindlers are seeking a restraining order in federal court in hopes of keeping their daughter alive a little longer; however, in light of their 0-4 track record in the federal court system, not to mention their complete failure to win any petitions in state court, about all they can do at this point is prepare to say their goodbyes to Terri and let her go.***

The Shepherd of Hermas (Book II, Commandment 4)

ON PUTTING ONE'S WIFE AWAY FOR ADULTERY.

CHAPTER I.

"I charge you," said he, "to guard your chastity, and let no thought enter your heart of another man's wife, or of fornication, or of similar iniquities; for by doing this you commit a great sin. But if you always remember your own wife, you will never sin. For if this thought enter your heart, then you will sin; and if, in like manner, you think other wicked thoughts, you commit sin. For this thought is great sin in a servant of God. But if any one commit this wicked deed, he works death for himself. Attend, therefore, and refrain from this thought; for where purity dwells, there iniquity ought not to enter the heart of a righteous man." I said to him, "Sir, permit me to ask you a few questions." "Say on," said he. And I said to him, "Sir, if any one has a wife who trusts in the Lord, and if he detect her in adultery, does the man sin if he continue to live with her?" And he said to me, "As long as he remains ignorant of her sin, the husband commits no transgression in living with her. But if the husband know that his wife has gone astray, and if the woman does not repent, but persists in her fornication, and yet the husband continues to live with her, he also is guilty of her crime, and a sharer in her adultery." And I said to him, "What then, sir, is the husband to do, if his wife continue in her vicious practices?" And he said, "The husband should put her away, and remain by himself. But if he put his wife away and marry another, he also commits adultery." And I said to him, "What if the woman put away should repent, and wish to return to her husband: shall she not be taken back by her husband?" And he said to me, "Assuredly. If the husband do not take her back, he sins, and brings a great sin upon himself; for he ought to take back the sinner who has repented. But not frequently. For there is but one repentance to the servants of God. In case, therefore, that the divorced wife may repent, the husband ought not to marry another, when his wife has been put away. In this matter man and woman are to be treated exactly in the same way. Moreover, adultery is committed not only by those who pollute their flesh, but by those who imitate the heathen in their actions." Wherefore if any one persists in such deeds, and repents not, withdraw from him, and cease to live with him. Otherwise you are a sharer in his sin. Therefore has the injunction been laid on you, that you should remain by yourselves, both man and woman, for in such persons repentance can take place. But I do not," said he, "give opportunity for the doing of these deeds, but that he who has sinned may sin no more. But with regard to his previous transgressions, there is One who is able to provide a cure; for it is He, indeed, who has power over all."

CHAPTER II.

I asked him again, and said, "Since the Lord has vouchsafed to dwell always with me, hear with me while I utter a few words; for I understand nothing, and my heart has been hardened by my previous mode of life. Give me understanding, for I am exceedingly dull, and I understand absolutely nothing." And he answered and said unto me, "I am set over repentance, and I give understanding to all who repent. Do you not think," he said, "that it is great wisdom to repent? for repentance is great wisdom. For he who has sinned understands that he acted wickedly in the sight of the Lord, and remembers the actions he has done, and he repents, and no longer acts wickedly, but does good munificently, and humbles and torments his soul because he has sinned. You see, therefore, that repentance is great wisdom." And I said to him, "It is for this reason, sir, that I inquire carefully into all things, especially because I am a sinner; that I may know what works I should do, that I may live: for my sins are many and various." And he said to me, "You shall live if you keep my commandments, and walk in them; and whosoever shall hear and keep these commandments, shall live to God."

CHAPTER III.

And I said to him, "I should like to continue my questions." "Speak on," said he. And I said, "I heard, sir, some teachers maintain that there is no other repentance than that which takes place, when we descended into the water and received remission of our former sins." He said to me, "That was sound doctrine which you heard; for that is really the case. For he who has received remission of his sins ought not to sin any more, but to live in purity. Since, however, you inquire diligently into all things, I will point this also out to you, not as giving occasion for error to those who are to believe, or have lately believed, in the Lord. For those who have now believed, and those who are to believe, have not repentance for their sins; but they have remission of their previous sins. For to those who have been called before these days, the Lord has set repentance. For the Lord, knowing the heart, and foreknowing all things, knew the weakness of men and the manifold wiles of the devil, that he would inflict some evil on the servants of God, and would act wickedly towards them. The Lord, therefore, being merciful, has had mercy on the work of His hand, and has set repentance for them; and He has entrusted to me power over this repentance. And therefore I say to you, that if any one is tempted by the devil, and sins after that great and holy calling. in which the Lord has called His people to everlasting life, he has opportunity to repent but once. But if he should sin frequently after this, and then repent, to such a man his repentance will be of no avail; for with difficulty will he live." And I said, "Sir, I feel that life has come back to me in listening attentively to these commandments; for I know that I shall be saved, if in future I sin no more." And he said, "You will be saved, you and all who keep these commandments."

CHAPTER IV.

And again I asked him, saying, "Sir, since you have been so patient in listening to me, will you show me this also?" "Speak," said he. And I said, "If a wife or husband die, and the widower or widow marry, does he or she commit sin?" "There is no sin in marrying again," said he; "but if they remain unmarried, they gain greater honour and glory with the Lord; but if they marry, they do not sin. Guard, therefore, your chastity and purity, and you will live to God. What commandments I now give you, and what I am to give, keep from henceforth, yea, from the very day when you were entrusted to me, and I will dwell in your house. And your former sins will be forgiven, if you keep my commandments. And all shall be forgiven who keep these my commandments, and walk in this chastity."

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0201204.htm

Ah, another entry in the Schiavo Soul-Mate match service:

FIND Your Terri Schiavo-killer personality profile today!

Nothing can tell you more about prospective soul-mates than their feelings about the most intimate issues. And what could be more intimate than how a person justifies something as vital as pulling a feeding tube?

This profile quiz will allow you to find that special one, someone who feels just like you do about life and death issues. Using the 20 dimensions of rationalization, we
can match you with the person of your wildest death wish.
By identifying which reasons you think Terri Schiavo should be starved to death, you can find your soul-mate today. Take this quiz to match your top-rated death rationalizations to a like-minded Schiavo-starver. Someone out there is just waiting to meet you.

Choose the four top reasons you would starve Mrs. Schiavo, in descending order, and we will
match you to someone whose profile matches yours.
(Justifications below come from actual articles, blogs, and forums on the Internet.)

1. The Agonizing Hard Decision
If there is clearly no hope of this woman recovering, then the best thing to do would be to let her
die (after 10 years, it seems this would be the case), but this is a hard decision to make.

2. The End-the-Suffering plea
End this poor woman's suffering, already! And her husband's suffering! She died in 1990, her body just hasn't gotten the message yet - and neither have her parents.

3. The parents are the problem complaint:
I'm mighty POed at the parents for making this a political issue.

4. The no-brain claim
That a major portion of Terry Schiavo's brain NO LONGER EXISTS. It has been replaced by cerebral spinal fluid.

5. The Hope-She-Dies wish:
Hope they leave the tube out and let her die this time, rather than her parents holding on to the shell their daughter has become.

6. The She-won't-feel-a-thing promise:
She has no brain activity and hasn't had any for a long time. She isn't going to feel what's going on in any sense of the word.

7. The Congress should never be in the business of saving lives announcement:
I know that _I_ wouldn't want to "live" that way, and I certainly wouldn't want Congress deciding, on religious grounds, when I should die.

8. The Real-victim-is-Michael cry:
The man has been through most of the grieving process, and he's ready to let her go and get on with his own life. Unfortunately, her family and the right to lifers out there won't let him. I've told my wife, "Honey, I love you. But if you've been hooked to a feeding tube for 15 years, please
don't expect me to put my life on hold until a miracle cure shows up."
9. The It's-selfish-NOT-to-kill philosophy: It would be entirely selfish of me to keep someone alive because I love him so much and couldn't deal with him dying
10. The Prove your life meets my standards of living test: Terri Schiavo, who can never live a life with any awareness. Just because she grunts at a balloon and laughs randomly (based on videos put out by very biased people - who probably don't show you the grunts and laughs she does randomly) does not mean she is living anything close to a life.

11. The Don't confuse me with the facts rant:
Let the woman die already! This is all a gigantic mountain being made out of the smallest mole hill. Let me show you the fact: Terri Schiavo died the second she got into the car crash. Her brain is a fluidy mess with absolutely no function what so ever. If you want to invoke God into all this than here: let her die with Christian dignity. Her parents are in such denial of the fact that their
daughter is dead that now they make her loving husband who is trying to move on a scapegoat. I certainly can't trust anything that people who think their daughter is communicating to them by blinking say. In conclusion: let the woman die like she was supposed to, get Bush's political stunt out of the headlines, and let us all move on with our lives. And this site is right: Sworn enemy-
Terri Schiavo.

12. The caring means killing feint:
Is it still "caring" to condemn her to that appalling mockery of life?

13. The cost-benefit dipped-scale argument:
A brain-dead vegetable draining her family's finances for the next 30 years.

14. The zombie bag o' bones depersonalizaton method:
Michael and the doctors watched his wife deteriorate into a mere simulacrum of humanity....That's right, complete strangers felt the need to create tailor-made legislation to keep Terri's zombie body alive...a brain-dead political prop These pro-life wackos would rather keep this brain dead bag of bones breathing than consider that quality of life is perhaps more sacred than quantity.

15. The kill me if I ever look like a brain-dead vegetable request:
She will not suffer a bit, because she cannot feel or process pain in any way. If I become a brain-dead vegetable like Terri Schiavo, let me die.

16. The Salem witch trial method:
Allowing her to drink water would be the definitive test of swallowing function. She may be able to swallow water and other clear liquids, in which case she will avoid death by dehydration, even if she later succumbs to malnutrition. Or she may be able to swallow pureed food, which will avoid death by malnutrition. Or she may not be able to swallow water without aspiration into the lungs, and so would develop pneumonia, and have a quicker and more peaceful death.

17. The judges-know-best decree:
This case has been heard by over 20 judges, so what do you think will happen even if the judge decides to hear the case?

18. The Ouija board method of ascertaining a death wish:
And it was Terri's wish to be allowed to pass. Who are you or I or the Congress of the United States to deny her that wish? You're still missing the point, it's not about my opinion or your opinion. It's about the opinion of Terri, which has been consistently agreed upon through more than seven years of the judicial system and more than 19 eviewing judges.

19. The Your-life-has-less-meaning-than-mine rationalization:
But I have often asked myself at what point brain damage could render a life so meaningless that prolonging it would seem inappropriate.

20. The Euphoric Starvation Death guarantee:
Medical experts say going without food and water in the last days and weeks of life is as natural as death itself...What my patients have told me over the last 25 years is that when they stop eating and drinking, there’s nothing unpleasant about it –– in fact it can be quite blissful and euphoric,” said Dr. Perry G. Fine, vice president of medical affairs at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in Arlington, Va. “It’s a very smooth, graceful and elegant way to go.”

21. The Repulsive Cabbage-Patch complaint:
A videotape of their daughter I found repulsive to the extreme. While I may have colleagues who
have totally opposite views on this issue - which I respect - I must disagree with the extreme
measures being taken at this point to keep America's "Cabbage Patch Girl" alive.

Choose and order your rationalizations NOW and we will match you to the Death-Diva of your
dreams!

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