Posted on 06/16/2005 6:53:51 AM PDT by rhema
. . .People of goodwill may disagree about Terri Schiavo's case. Yet as our society strays from its traditional belief in the essential dignity of every human life, we all must grapple with the implications of the notion that some lives are "not worth living."
Today, assisted suicide is lawful in Oregon. In the Netherlands, according to the New York Times, prosecutors no longer pursue cases against doctors who kill severely impaired babies after birth. The temptation to deal with the defective and incompetent by eliminating them is likely to grow as our society ages. Today, approximately 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. In coming decades, projections suggest that about 40 percent of us will spend roughly 10 years in an infirm, demented condition. The way we deal with this situation will say much about us as a society.
Currently, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is staging an exhibit . . . called "Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race." It examines the idea of "lebensunwertes Leben" -- lives not worthy of life --which the Nazis used to justify their elimination of thousands deemed unfit to live: the retarded, the defective and the seriously ill.
Some German intellectuals championed this idea well before the Nazi era began. A 1920 book, for example, decried "the meticulous care shown to existences which are not just absolutely worthless" -- the disabled and deformed -- "but even of negative value." It called for applying the "healing remedy" of premature death, in order to "eliminat[e] those who were born unfit for life or who later became so."
Today, we must ensure that we ourselves are not tempted to start down this slippery slope --moved by free choice rather than totalitarian edict, and seduced by a shallow notion of "death with dignity."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
What you want is irrelevant in the eyes of God. If she breaks your marriage vows by committing adultery, even if you are 100% brain dead, it is still a sin.
Another repost because no one will respond:
Suppose I were in a PVS. I've told my wife I want the tube pulled.
Scenario A: She pulls the tube, five years later she meets someone new and starts a new family.
Scenario B: The courts don't let her pull the tube. My body stays alive for decades. Now when she meets someone new five years later it is called adultery. But I don't want my wife to put her life on hold for decades while she fights a legal battle.
You have evidence that shows Michael never abused Terri? By all means, share it with us.
I don't think anything in my post recommended so drastic an action.
You have a serious reading comprehension problem, or you are deliberately lying. Which is it?
In other words, prove a negative.
If you start a new family, you are no longer a husband to your disabled wife.
We'll leave alone the fact that this situation would mean you are living in sin with a concubine and possibly having illegitimate children.
Last I knew, this was America. Innocent until proven guilty.
Another repost because no one will respond:
Suppose I were in a PVS. I've told my wife I want the tube pulled.
Scenario A: She pulls the tube, five years later she meets someone new and starts a new family.
Scenario B: The courts don't let her pull the tube. My body stays alive for decades. Now when she meets someone new five years later it is called adultery. But I don't want my wife to put her life on hold for decades while she fights a legal battle.
And your question is?
You claimed to have evidence that shows Michael never abused Terri. I'm still waiting to see it.
Well, personally, I've already done six impossible things today - what's one more? ;)
"I'm going to start eating more saturated fat, get it over with quicker..."
LOL. I'm with you, Lizard. Going to the fridge now.
First of all, witholding proper medical care is abuse, such as when he refused to let her be treated for the infection she had. Also, the fight for Terri was not predicated on spousal abuse. It was predicated on the fact that she was not on life support. Oxygen and machines to keep the heart beating are life support...food and water are not. When we change that definition, yes, society is in deep trouble as we will have given credence to the culture of death.
The autopsy shows no evidence of abuse. This is America, where you are innocent until proven guilty. If you can prove Michael is guilty then I'll switch sides.
Oh, I see (pardon the pun), the autopsy should have lied and not stated that she was blind. Yeah, right.
so people shouldn't be allowed to make out living wills stipulating that they would want feeding tubes removed if they were in a PVS?
Perhaps this has been answered. . .but you are mixing your issues here. Terri had no written Will. . .the 'State' will respedt your wife's decision - if she puts it in writing ie 'get a Will'. Sign a 'Living Will, as well. . .
"Terri's friends, after the fact, claimed that she was seeking a divorce. Even though Michael was on good terms with Terri's family for years after the accident. This is much like the evidence of the "abuse"."
You are exactly right.
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