Posted on 03/20/2005 2:53:33 PM PST by Iam1ru1-2
Terri Schiavo and the soul of America
By Lisa Fabrizio © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
It is often said by abortion supporters that a fetus is not a baby until it can survive independently outside the mother's womb. This is, of course, a specious argument since this "survival" is not possible without the care and nourishment of others, either pre or post birth.
This is true not only of infants and children, but of the sick, disabled and elderly as well. But if certain right-to-death groups get their way this week, you can add Terri Schiavo's name to the growing list of disposables for whom the simple act of feeding would make her life otherwise viable.
We live in a society where multibillion-dollar projects are cancelled or altered in order to protect certain animal habitats, and one that engages in Herculean labors to spare the lives of confessed serial rapists and killers like Michael Ross. Yet a family who wishes nothing more than to take home and care for their daughter – a woman guilty of nothing except maybe her fatal choice of a husband – may yet lose their battle for her life.
For those not familiar with Terri's case, in 1990 Terri Schindler-Schiavo collapsed in her home and suffered a 10-minute loss of oxygen due to causes unknown. Her husband of six years, Michael Schiavo, although he reportedly knew CPR did not perform it and his wife suffered severe brain damage which left her badly handicapped.
Two years later, when Michael won a malpractice suit against Terri's doctors, he claimed he needed the million dollar-plus settlement to care for her for the rest of her life. This caring ended less than five years later when, in 1998, Michael suddenly remembered that Terri had indicated to him shortly after their marriage that she would reject any life support should it someday become necessary.
Even though Terri never signed any living will-type document, the Florida courts believed Michael's story and granted him guardianship of Terri even though he'd been living for three years with a woman with whom he was to have two children.
In 2001, Judge George Greer, a man who has reported conflicts of interest in this case, ordered Terri's feeding tube disconnected. This action prompted the Schindler family to begin their own round of legal proceedings and, in the course of one, they discovered new evidence. A report of a medical exam done shortly after Terri's collapse seemed to suggest she might have been the victim of violence.
No matter what evidence the Schindler family has presented, Michael Schiavo, Judge Greer and noted euthanasia lawyer George Felos are determined that Terri must die for her own good. This despite numerous reports by nurses and others that she is a vital and responsive young woman of 41 who smiles at and recognizes her family; regardless of the fact that her feeding tube is only inserted at mealtimes and she needs no other life support; even though she is a Catholic whose religion forbids euthanasia.
The lengths to which those who wish her slow death by starvation have gone are truly appalling. They have, at various times refused medication for routine infections which could prove fatal if untreated; withheld dental and gynecological tests and treatments for periods of up to seven years; restricted visits from her family and worse, visits by her parish priest, even refusing to allow him to administer the Host during the Last Rites the last time her tube was removed, claiming it would constitute "sustenance."
That this case, if carried to its most ghastly conclusion, will become a legal precedent is as disturbing a tragedy as the execution of Terri herself. Worse than merely representing a culture of death begun by the abortionists, euthanasia, along with cloning and embryonic research, represents a belief that certain humans should control the making and taking of innocent life. This thinking is precisely that of Hitler's Third Reich, an idea that millions paid the ultimate price to eradicate.
There are thousands of people with brain-impairments of varying degrees alive today around the world and I'm willing to bet that the great majority of their loved ones cherish every day they've been allowed to care for them. Some people cannot understand that what would be an unbearable burden to them is a blessing to others.
One wonderful woman who recently passed away devoted most of her life to the home care of her severely impaired 54-year-old son rather than leave him in an institution. Another family lovingly rotated monthly care of their brother until his death at the age of 81.
Such devotion to and belief in the sanctity of all innocent life is at the core of the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case and those who wish her death this week know it. This is a fight that has been coming for some time that will shape the future of our country in as profound a way as we have ever known and one that should be fought as fiercely as was Hitler.
Those who think that man should be an architect of life and an arbiter of death are using a disabled woman's plight to foist their notion of 21st-century morality on the rest of us. The fate of Terri Schiavo will be a measure of their success or failure. It is tragic that freedom is now on the march all over the world, yet here at home the most basic of all human rights may be lost.
thats one way to save soc. sec.
BTTT
What a twisted view of life you have! Since when does the soul leave the body while the body still lives?
Her brain is filled with cerebral fluid
It's been a long time since I studied biology, but I believe a human does require more than "cerebral fluid" to breathe, to blink, to make sounds, etc.
The arrogance of this death march is appalling. It hurts no one to let this woman's family care for her as they desire.
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And we are on the road to a dictatorship of judges.
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So true - apparently we are.
Don't blame the judges - blame the sheeple
BTTT
Vital as in alive. And don't give me that 'viable' BS. Life is life, period.
As for her other responses, ask yourself why Michael stopped allowing video of Terri five years ago and spare me the opinion that he did it to perserve her dignity.
And if God wanted to 'take' her at any time, no feeding tube on Earth could save her.
Recovering: Excellent post!
Really? Where did you get your medical degree? Do you specialize in head trauma? How many times have you examined her? What is your exact prognosis? Your response will be fascinating.
I have never associated myself with the Democratic Party and proudly say I never will if this is what they fight for. I am appalled at the very thought of letting this woman starve or actually die of dehydration and this is found to be humane? So, if I have a child and want to quit feeding it for any reason or let’s say he’s retarded and just a tad too much to handle or a dog that I don’t want anymore then that is my will and I should have complete control over that decision with no ramification? Terry can breath on her own and shows signs of recognition yet she is allowed to starve to death with our courts help. Why then did we convict Andrea Yates who killed her 5 children by deliberately drowning them in a bathtub? This must be her right…the court says so by this decision. I am pro law enforcement, pro court system and yes, even pro capital punishment in the right circumstances but there is no excuse to let this woman die. This is all very suspect that her husband did not even try to save her at the time of her “accident” and now he is fighting to kill her. Mr. Terry Shindler, please, just get a divorce and get out of her life. Your interviews do not impress anyone. You show no emotion, and you claim you’re outraged; just leave; it’s that simple.
How convenient to forget that the Conservative controlled Supreme Court ruled five times on the Terri Schiavo Case.
They too agree that Terri's soul should be allowed to finally be allowed to return to Heaven.
Why do you Conservative kooks insist on keeping Terri's soul trapped in Limbo???
Compassionate Liberals want to know!
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