We should treasure life, not discuss whether to end it
Letters to the Editor
Published February 25, 2005
Re: The Terri Schiavo case.
Human life in this country far too often gets no respect. Whether it's the "choice" many women make to end the short life of their unborn child, or the "off with their heads" mentality to end the life of a criminal by execution, or the "it's just a bunch of cells" attitude when piercing an embryo for stem cell research that ends its microscopic life, we seem to forget that life is a rare and special gift that we should always treasure.
And now, people are discussing whether to end or continue the life of Terri Schiavo. Disgraceful. There should be no discussion. And, yet, there is and it has risen to the level of heated debate. We sometimes seem to act like the emperors of ancient Rome giving a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" to a human's life.
Terri is alive. The feeding tube is keeping her alive much the same way we are kept alive by our food and drink. The tube was inserted because she is alive and could no longer feed herself. Wednesday, the court ruled that the tube could not be removed for at least a couple of days. As far as I'm concerned, that's just a stay of execution for Terri because - make no mistake - removing the tube will kill her.
Is it so hard to understand that life - everyone's life - is sacred? Many people, commenting on this tragic story, say "That is no way to live." Well, no longer receiving food and drink and being unable to beg us not to stop is no way to die.
-- Jack Bray, Dunedin
Trapped in a dysfunctional body
Re: Terry Schiavo.
I am getting more and more annoyed to read about the twists and turns that are carried out on the back of that poor woman. One can only hope that she is not conscious enough to feel what it is like to live in a totally dysfunctional body, kept alive by merciless parents who can't let go, and seem to enjoy the media frenzy; by a few religious fanatics; some business-hungry lawyers; and a governor who tried to make some political points (and with nothing else to do?). It also smells more and more like there is a good amount of money involved, too. It is really disgusting!
I, for my part, made it clear that I do not want to be kept alive for more than a couple of days under such conditions. Everybody I know has the same opinion.
Hopefully, the courts are more realistic and will render a fast and final decision.
-- G. Budian, Tierra Verde
With breath there is hope
Terri Schiavo's parents want to take care of her.
Even if she is in a persistent vegetative state, what is the big deal with her parents caring for their daughter?
The removal of the feeding tube and the withholding of medical treatment are euthanasia. Why was Dr. Kevorkian put in prison for the same type of activity?
I say her parents love her the most. She is not dead. Where there is breath there is hope. Let her live.
-- Karen Catlin, Clearwater
Why let her go on?
I thought judges were supposed to be educated and intelligent - not the one who made the decision on Terri Schiavo! How in God's name can he leave this vegetable going and going?
The pictures they show on TV are so old - I'd like to see what she looks like now.
-- Mary Voiles, New Port Richey
Don't kill an innocent woman
I am a follower of Jesus Christ and a Floridian, and it hurts me to watch as we quietly allow Michael Schiavo, who declines to uphold the phrase "in sickness and in health" from his marriage vows, and Judge George Greer, who in the past has ordered the death of Terri Schiavo by withholding nourishment, to decide her fate.
She is guilty of no crime other than not being a financial asset to her husband. He is not a fit guardian for her. Her parents are.
For the people who insist, "I wouldn't want to live like that": This is not about you.
How can anyone be drastically opposed to abortion or capital punishment and be in favor of killing an innocent woman who is breathing on her own?
When did God add all these exceptions to the commandment "Thou shalt not kill?"
-- Marylou Hess, Gulfport
Time to end Terri's suffering
Re: Schiavo case nears decision - maybe, Feb. 23.
Why are so many of these "right to live" people so gung-ho about telling everyone else how to live?
Look, guys, it's very simple: If you personally choose to live out your days in the "persistent vegetative state," with no way to communicate, no dignity, relying on strangers for your most basic needs, by all means, do so. You should have that right, if you so choose.
But to force a stranger into those same actions, just because you believe she should live the life you would choose, is beyond ridiculous - it's cruel and inhumane.
You right-to-lifers may need to re-evaluate why you are so involved in such a private matter. Are you really in this fight for Terri, or just to further your misguided political causes?
Terri has not improved in the 15 years since she suffered brain damage. She will not miraculously get better with last-minute therapy. She will never walk, talk, eat, or have any kind of a normal life ever again.
Michael Schiavo is not trying to expedite Terri's death. He is trying to, at last, give dignity to his wife by making sure she no longer suffers.
-- Kathy Hainisch, St. Petersburg
Starvation: a horror or not?
Today, there are in our world millions of people starving to death, or within days of starving. We are horrified, as we should be, and work actively to try to stop the tragedy.
Today, in a nursing facility in Largo, a helpless woman waits to have her feeding tube removed so that she can, actively, be starved to death, with the approval of our judicial system.
Why is one a horror to be stopped and the other not?
-- Mary C. Meza, St. Petersburg
Let her go to a better place
Re: Terri Schiavo.
I can readily sympathize with both sides of this issue. However, I have heard clergy say at funerals that the person who died is "now in a better place." Why won't the parents let their daughter go to that "better place"?
I wonder how Terri would feel knowing that her picture is on TV and newspapers seen around the country and maybe in other countries every day.
God Bless her, her husband, and her parents.
May God's will be done.
-- J.C. Skoglund, Clearwater [Last modified February 25, 2005, 00:51:16]
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/25/Opinion/We_should_treasure_li.shtmlLet Schiavo case come to a close
A Times Editorial
Published February 25, 2005
The Terri Schiavo case is a family tragedy that has turned into an unseemly public circus, and as another deadline looms today Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature should stay out of it. They intervened the last time her feeding tube was removed with a law that was obviously unconstitutional, and they have no business acting as obstructionists again in a controversy that needs to come to a conclusion.
As difficult as it may be for politicians to resist the campaign of e-mails and phone calls coordinated by Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, the courts are the proper venue to thrash out the disagreements between Schiavo's husband, Michael, and her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler. There is no room for the governor, the Legislature or the Department of Children and Families. Government restraint, a respect for the separation of powers and the rule of law should take precedence over the lobbying.
In an unseemly ploy that appears politically motivated, DCF attempted to intervene in the hearing Wednesday before Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer. The agency was trying to raise allegations of Schiavo's abuse at the hands of her husband, apparently as a way to remove him as her guardian. Greer, to his credit, refused to allow DCF into the case.
Bush has promised to "do what I can" to prevent the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, although he says he will respect the law in the process. That is at least better than what happened in 2003, when Bush and the Legislature quickly passed "Terri's Law" to have her feeding tube reinserted. The law was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court last year.
The various schemes being talked about to remove Michael Schiavo as his wife's guardian should not be seriously entertained. The courts have been extremely careful with this case, and Michael Schiavo has won at every turn. The judicial branch is the proper place to resolve the dispute, which needs to come to an end.
[Last modified February 25, 2005, 00:51:16]
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/25/Opinion/Let_Schiavo_case_come.shtml