They are all hiding under the Law to save their political butts from the wrath of the American Christian Community.
Here is where the majority of the Christian Denominations stand on the type of death Terri was subjected to.
Note to politicians.....don't even think this will go away.
ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON "LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENTS AND VEGETATIVE STATE: SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS" Saturday, 20 March 2004
"....I feel the duty to reaffirm strongly that the intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life. A man, even if seriously ill or disabled in the exercise of his highest functions, is and always will be a man, and he will never become a "vegetable" or an "animal"....
I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory, insofar as and until it is seen to have attained its proper finality, which in the present case consists in providing nourishment to the patient and alleviation of his suffering.
.....As a pledge and support of this, your authentic humanitarian mission to give comfort and support to your suffering brothers and sisters, I remind you of the words of Jesus: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Mt 25: 40).
"....WHEREAS, Western medicine has heretofore followed both the Judeo-Christian tradition and the over 2,500 year-old Hippocratic tradition forbidding physicians to assist in the death of their patients; and
WHEREAS, The Bible teaches that God created all human life in His own image and declares human life to be sacred from conception until natural death (Genesis 1:29:6 and following); and
WHEREAS, The Bible likewise teaches that murder, including self-murder, is immoral (Exodus 20:13); and
WHEREAS, American society seems to be embracing of the "culture of death"...."
Be it therefore RESOLVED, that we the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 11-13, 1996, affirm the biblical and Hippocratic prohibitions against assisted suicide.."
...."Euthanasia is understood to be the view or practice which holds that a person has the right, and even the moral obligation, to end his or her life when it is considered to be - for whatever subjectively accepted reason "not worth living." Euthanasia advocates nearly always include in this assertion the right and duty of others, including medical personnel, to assist the person in fulfilling this purpose. Needless to say, the Orthodox Church rejects such a view, seeing such behavior as a form of suicide on the part of the individual, and a form of murder on a part of others who assist in this practice, both of which are seen as sins. Thus the Orthodox Church, in the words of 1976 Chrismms encyclical of former Archbishop Iakovos, considers "euthanasia and abortion, along with homosexuality...a...moral alienation."....
"....Today there are mounting pressures upon medical professionals, pastors, families, and individuals to hasten the death of those under their care or authority. Such hastening sometimes takes the form of direct action, such as a lethal injection. It may also take a passive form in neglect or withdrawal of the necessary means of preservation of life. Such means include medical treatment, both extraordinary and ordinary. But they also include basic provisions normally understood as care, warmth, cleanliness, food, water, and love.
Christians must distinguish between "treatment" and "care". Where medical treatment which is not gravely burdensome is necessary for an individual to continue to live, the withdrawal of such treatment - except in cases where death is imminent and inevitable and to continue such treatment would pose a grave risk or cause more burden to the patient than it would alleviate - is a violation of the image of God which all men and women bear..."
You forgot to add the statement from the Orthodox Jewish community. I forget their official title. Everyone is watching this.
Earthdweller, what a fine post you've shared with us. Thank you. And I hope that EVERYONE reads it...reads every single WORD of it. The late Great Pope John Paul II's words on the matter of which you quoted are, in my opinion, so VERY exigent and of note, as is the WHOLE of your absolutley impossible-to-eschew post.