Posted on 03/25/2005 5:21:18 AM PST by mhking
My position on the Schiavo matter has vascilated back and forth over the past few days as I've agonized over the matter.
Should she be given a chance at life? If so, what kind of life are we talking about? Is there a chance at rehabilitation? Is Michael Schiavo an evil S.O.B., or is he simply a heart-broken man?
Conversely, is she truly in a vegetative state? A virtual zombie with eyes open, and nothing inside? Are her parents and family in denial about her pain and suffering? Are the evangelicals coming to her aid getting so worked up that they are looking past the true nature of this situation?
Difficult questions these. Who wins? Who loses?
There is no winner here. This situation is heartbreaking at the core. A vibrant woman struck down in the prime of her life. A myriad of doctors, most of whom have indicated that much of her brain tissue has deteriorated and possibly even liquified inside her skull. CAT scans that support that diagnosis.
Conversely, we see her eyes focusing on a balloon, we see her apparently responding to people entering her limited field of vision.
What do we believe?
After 22 different judges have agonized over this, they all have come to the same decision: that her husband has the right to make that agonizing decision.
Talk show host Neil Boortz has taken the stance that Terri Schiavo has earned her place in heaven, and that we, as a people, should let her go home.
Do you believe in God’s promise of everlasting life? Do you believe that the reward for a life well spent on this earth is a life with God in heaven after you die? If you do, then a few more questions if you will.Jesus awaits Terri Schiavo at the gates of heaven with open arms. He will grant her eternal rest. He loves all, no matter which side of this sad story the people are on.Do you believe that the human soul can make the transition to everlasting life while the human body that carried that soul through life clings to life on this earth? If you do, then you must surely believe that Terri Schiavo has earned and is already enjoying her reward in heaven. That being the case, why is it so important to you that the now-unneeded body of Terri Schiavo is kept alive?
But perhaps you believe, as I do, that the human soul is so connected to and integrated with its earthly body that any transition will not be made until that body ceases functioning -- until death occurs.. That being the case, why do you so ardently desire that the soul of Terri Schiavo spend five, ten, perhaps 30 years or more trapped in a useless and non-functioning body, unable to move on to whatever reward awaits her? Isn’t 15 years enough?
Where do your concerns truly lie, with the eternal soul of Terri Schiavo, or with her earthly body?
Let her go home. We can only commend her spirit among the angels for the journey.
Sadly, those who damn the judges and politicians and those of us who wish her spirit to move on are going to fracture the fragile fabric of the conservative wing of the GOP. In their zeal to ignore the rule of law and the Constitutional process, they are sliding down the slippery slope of anarchy toward mob rule.
This is a land of laws, not men. And the political problems that are surfacing -- on both sides -- point toward the deterioration of our constitutional republic. Are you ready for that? Are you ready for that will mean in the future?
I weep for Terri Schiavo today. But I fear for more tears in our future, thanks to those who would wad up the Constitutional protections and freedoms wrought by the notion of ignoring the rule of law, simply because those in power didn't get their way.
Our Lord and Savior accepts all who repent and ask forgiveness in His name.
"Michael S. has ordered this. Said he didn't want anything near her mouth."
How can you honestly state this with such certainty?
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-318schiavo,0,2720746.story
Roman Catholic Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski and another Catholic priest gave Terri Schiavo last rites, putting a few drops of communion wine in her feeding tube hours before it was removed
It doesn't matter. God looks upon the heart; ritual is more for the comfort of those left behind.
"She was a physically healthy woman."
Well I do declare. Pray tell just how healty is she?
I said PHYSICALLY healthy. I do not dispute that she is mentally challenged. By physically healthy, I mean she is obviously free from disease or illness. Just because she doesn't read Shakespeare or perfrom ballet for you doesn't mean that she doesn't otherwise have a healthy body.
Michael Schiavo is not saint. He is trying to get rid of his "wife" so he can continue on with his girlfriend and the children he fathered with her while Terri was in a hospital bed.
If he cared about his "wife" he would simply divorce her and let her parents take care of her, something they have begged him for. But he refuses.
Michael Schiavo insists on starving her to death and even subjecting her parents to strip searches to make sure that they are not sneaking water or food to Terri. They have gone years at a time without being able to see Terri because Michael has prevented them from doing so.
As far as the Christian aspect is concerned, Jesus said to get the spec out of our eyes IN ORDER THAT that we could see clearly when we judged others.
Good looking family, btw.
Regards,
: )
??? Her muscles are atropied, she is bedridden, she can't hold her head up on her own. She can't go the bathroom on her own.
I find this thread troubling. Seems to me we have a whole lot of people auditioning for the role of God.
The second thing is concerning the law. The law be damned. Any law violating the natural law that protects life is not a valid law and is worse because it offends God.
This whole Terri mess is simply the "Death Culture" getting its way. Wake up America!!
Terri is in this state because she WAS DENIED therapy. What about that is so hard to understand? All someone needed to do was exercise her muscles daily. It's not hard. I've done it for my nephew many many times. Stretch and move them so they do not atrophy. Obviously, this was not done. She has been neglected. That is no reason to kill her.
Bump.
That tends to happen when you are denied rehabilitation.
Does anorexia count?
"Let" her go home? You mean, stop fighting for her at this point? Her parents love her. Let them fight for her as long as they can.
...yet all her basic functions are there to keep her alive. Leave her alone w/a way to get nutrition and she'll basically keep "running". She has no debilitating disease or injury or condition that will by itself kill her.
No. Of course, she's not *capable* of carrying out anorexia/bulimia now or for years - because it's a *self-inflicted* "disease" or rather, condition.
Bulimia/Anorexia are not contagious - and they'd go away if you stopped doing it to yourself!
"I think she will be far better off in the Loving Arms of Jesus."
So will we all, but it beggars reason to think that Our Lord is pleased at this barbaric murder.
"It's her parents who will suffer greatly from losing her shell to hug and tend."
It's not a "shell." She is not in a PVS. She is aware, responsive, and communicative. Or was, until she was deprived of sustenance by evil men.
Terri did not suffer from anorexia. It is reported, and disputed, that she was bulemic and that is how she ended up as she is.
I don't see how opinions, prayers, and good wishes have stopped her dying process, which has started on March 18 - a week ago- and it hasn't been interrupted at all.
She's dying of starvation and dehydration as her husband wants, so she is going home whether she wanted or not.
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