8mm
Posted on 03/31/2008 5:17:23 PM PDT by wagglebee
Recently, and for the second time in less than a year, presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama stated that his greatest regret as a Senator was not objecting to a vote that was intended to help save my sister from being dehydrated to death.
Senator Obama went so far as to say that this type of “inaction” (failure to speak out against the Senate’s unanimous consent to allow Terri the same due process allowed the most vicious of criminals) can sometimes prove to be just as costly as taking action. One has to wonder what could possibly have been “more costly” than the loss of innocent human life.
At a Democratic rally in Florida in February 2006, Senator Hillary Clinton scolded the Republicans in an effort to single them out for intervening in Terri’s situation, even though the effort to save her passed the Senate with bi-partisan support.
In an August 2006 interview with Esquire Magazine, Senator John McCain said the following: “I understand the frustrations a lot of Republicans feel. We’re not representing their hopes and dreams and aspirations. We worry about Ms. Schiavo before we worry about balancing the budget.”
One of these candidates will be our next President, and the fact that they can make such statements with little to no fanfare from our secular media, or any noticeable outrage from the general public, is a chilling reminder of how far we have drifted as a nation.
It would be interesting to see if there would have been a similar reaction—or lack of one—if, at the time of Senator McCain’s service to his country, a ranking U.S. senator made this comment: “I understand the frustrations a lot of Americans feel. We’re not representing their hopes and dreams and aspirations. We worry about saving POWs like John McCain before we worry about balancing the budget.”
How is that statement any different than what John McCain said about Terri? Terri was an American citizen and was supposed to be protected. But she wasn’t. In fact, we treat animals better than we treated her. Her country failed her, and despite Senator Obama’s remark, that inaction can be “costly” for Terri paid the ultimate cost—her life. Now others like her face the same type of treatment unless our leaders do more to protect them.
There is a lethal bigotry against the disabled in our country and it’s getting worse, in particular against the cognitively disabled—human beings who are being killed every day in our nation. If left unchecked it will likely threaten the lives of everyone who is not able-bodied. This is especially problematic when you have potential leaders who have made it abundantly clear that they are going to do nothing to protect the value and dignity of people like my sister.
I often wonder if our presidential candidates would make such insensitive and callous comments if this were their child or if they had ever known someone like Terri.
Perhaps they could take time to visit my parents and see the agony and torment that remains with them every single day as a result of having to needlessly watch their disabled child slowly killed by dehydration and starvation.
Maybe as president they could explain why my parents were told by the armed police guarding Terri that if either of them tried to give her ice for her bleeding lips they would be arrested immediately.
Maybe my parents could remind all three candidates, who are parents themselves, that a mother and father value nothing in life more than their children and want only to love them unconditionally and protect them in every way possible—a right you can no longer take for granted.
March 31st will mark the third anniversary of my sister’s brutal death. Sadly, it is a day that reminds me of what our nation has become, bringing back horrible images of a hideously inhumane death and how the judge who sentenced Terri to die also, in essence, sentenced my parents to death with her.
Senator Obama said that his biggest regret was allowing Congress to try to help my sister. I wish I could ask Terri about her biggest regret, because as things turned out I’m certain that hers would have been that she was born in an America where life is no longer viewed as precious and worthy of protection.
As I think about the future of our nation I can’t help but remember the words of one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson: “The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government.”
I agree. Many of us felt a little of their agony of helplessness-like standing at the foot of the cross, I would imagine, even if you did not know He was God-unable to undo or prevent the injustice.
If I had been Jeb, I would have sent in the troopers, and then told the feds that if they didn’t like it they could come get me.
The memory of Terri will live with me and countless others for the rest of our lives. I remember Terri and her suffering, but also the faith, courage and dignity that her family showed through those heartbreaking weeks. Evil was there, but there were a lot of important people and good people there too who tried to help her, to save her. My prayers now are all for her parents and brother and sister. Terri doesn’t need prayers anymore because she is happy in Heaven.
I still cannot wrap my head around the fact the entire premise of the court case between terri and her husband was an off the cuff remark terri made to her husband about “not wanting to live like that “while watching a movie....how could it end 10 or so years later by a court ordered starvation..liberalism is truly a mental illness
my biggest regret was not being able to see Terri live... one of the greatest heartbreaks of my life.. I didn’t know her.. but I did what I could to help... the whole thing sickened, frightened and saddened me.. but what do you expect of Obama, the man who said if his daughters became pregnant, he wouldn’t “punish” them by forcing them to have babies.. life is disposable and throwaway to these people.. they would spend thousands on no kill animal shelters but not one dime to save a human being.
Ubama = pro-death
Hildebeast = pro-death
McLaim = pro-death
It’s a three-way tie! Are we supposed to close our eyes in the voting booth and just accept whatever vile creature we accidentally vote for? Or are we allowed to write in a human being?
It's pathetic that this country is so lost that MOST think that we, the people think they have to abide by the pols dictates.
McCain is not running for all the people. Clearly, he’s running cuz it’s his turn in his opinion. It’s not a good year for candidates. Not at all.
That's the report card for the current Congress. Note that Senators Obama and Clinton (we could hardly say they aren't committed on abortion!) also missed several votes. That's because they're running for President. On that report card, only presidential candidates (including Joe Biden) and the injured Tim Johnson missed more than one vote. But take a look at this score card...
http://www.populationconnection.org/Reports_Publications/Reports/dl/455 where McCain voted against all but one item a bunch of population control weirdos wanted, and these NRLC 108th and 109th Congress report cards, where he's in on every vote and he gets an 81% and 75% respectively. In fact, I think he should have gotten a 100% for the 108th, because the two votes where he disagrees with the NRLC are Medicare funding issues. BTW, note the ratings that Obama and Hilllary got on those report cards: 100% from the population control freaks and 0% from the NRLC. Note especially that they voted against Roberts and Alito and McCain voted for them.
McCain sure has his flaws, but on the pro-life issue the choice this year is between good and absolutely abyssmal.
Consider this: If I was on camera with you during the Super Bowl and told you (in front of about 2 billion people) that I wanted you to have all my stuff when I died, it would have absolutely no force in law, because wills fall under the statute of frauds, the technical requirement that certain transactions only be conducted on paper. For example, you can't sell real estate on a handshake deal.
Yet Terri's supposed "living will" was a half-remembered decade old conversation. And the most stunning part is that there are people who don't see why that's scary. This ruling was scary even if Terri Schiavo wanted to die.
You're mistaken. See post 30.
Oops, make that post 31.
Darn it, I are supposed to be more smarterer than that. ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.