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.
The forced starvation of Terri Schiavo hits extremely close to home for me and I've resisted commenting. Forgive any typos as I am doing this through tears and shaking hands.
In the last year, I lost both parents. My mother battled scleroderma since 1987. This was compounded by congestive heart failure(1996) and later, colon cancer (2003). Through it all, mother would state that she couldn't go on. But whenever she saw her grand and great-grandchildren she changed her mind and wanted to spend more time with them. Daddy also had his own battle with prostate cancer. With mother's condition, chemo was not an option due to atrophied blood vessels and other organs--effects of scleroderma.
Jump to 2004, mother is bedridden and my siblings and I had happily reaaranged our lives to make her and dad comfortable. No sacrifice was too great for parents who gave us so much.
Mother was involved in preparations for her burial down to selecting the scripture to put on her obituary. She was so weak, she refused to eat saying she was tired and wanted the pain to stop. We explained the additional agony that starvation to bring to her already frail body. One sister would read bible passages to her while one of us fed Mom. We carried her to the bathroom to bathe her and did our best to make whatever time she had peaceful. On her final day, Daddy, using a cane because chemo weakened his hip joints, somehow found the strength to carry her to the bathroom himself and give her a bath. He fed her and sat with her. She died peacefully in the arms of the man she loved. In my opinion, that's going home to the Lord after a long illness.
Through all of this, Daddy continually said that he didn't want to live in this world without Mom--he'd also stated to anyone who was listening that he didn't want machines keeping him alive. Knowing each other since childhood and topping that with 50 years of marriage, we agreed to honor his wishes. My parents had wills prepared but nothing specific on medical issues.
He had a stroke the day of Mom's funeral and never regained consciousness. My siblings and I had confrontations with relatives on what to do. My siblings and I wanted to honor dad's wish and let him be with mom. Many said we were too emotional to make a decision at that time. We acquiesced agreed to let the doctors do all they could. Over the next 5 1/2 months, we let the relatives chose the neurologists to review dad's condition and 6 doctor's had the same diagnosis--dad had no brain activity and there was no chance that he would regain consciousness. During all of this, Dad had 3 heart attacks. My siblings and I went together and signed the DNR. We spent as much time with him as we were allowed. My last words to my dad were that I loved him and I would do as I'd been taught and let God lead. I told him that if he wants to be with Mom, I would let him go. It wasn't about what I wanted, it was about what Dad wanted.
I type this because Terri Schiavo deserves to be fed, hydrated, shown love and truly cared for. This woman cannot speak for herself and I'm not surprised by the stirring of souls that is taking place.
No matter what side of the issue one falls on, there is no denying that Terri's basic right to dignity in death is being denied. We will never know God's appointed time for Terri to pass through the gates of heaven--since her husband put her on his timetable. There's no honor in starving this woman.
The President and Governor Bush have worked hard on this issue and stated their positions. The Bush men are not like the last administration who do what they want, regardless. The Bush's do what is right without abuse of their powers. Governor Bush had saved her last time, when he could. I believe if he was in the position now to do so, without abuse of power, he would. President GW and Gov. Jeb are good men who always have sided on the side of life. We are fortunate to have them during these times.
Prayers said for Terri and her family. May Terri's life have opened the hearts and mind of people that maybe, her life and being put to death in such a suffering manner, will make laws and make a change that will save people from this fate in the future.
I suggest you put your money where your mouth is. Grab whatever you feel you need and storm the care facility yourself. Prove to all of us just how much you can back your beliefs. If you are correct, God will back you and make you safe.
I expect the contrary!
Or did you just find the hat, cowboy?
Well, to my mind, and to say it as friendly as I know how, your two statements tend to call each other into doubt. Also, her choice in marriage wouldn't seem to have been dictated by RC principles, but maybe she was sadly deceived, as happens too often.
Bottom line: I hope unreservedly she's heard and believed the Gospel that Jesus led His apostles to preach, as we find it in the Bible alone.
Dan
At this point, I have to agree. She has suffered enough, by her injuries and her lack of proper care.
Jesus awaits Terri Schiavo at the gates of heaven with open arms. He will grant her eternal rest.
Well said.
If this article is true then what has been the fuss about all this then? Why just yesterday people were indignant about the evil and injustice that has been done and is still being done to Terri. Now we bow out to let that evil injustice reign? This article just sets up less of a fight for the next Terri Schiavo. And to see the vast majority of posters agree with the authors assessment! I can feel the air being let out of the fight for justice and good. This is a battle that we may lose but we have to come back with a vengeance and force our legislature's to write good laws that reign in bad judges. Don't wimp out on your sense of good and evil and give up now. Keep fighting for good.
I can't think of a better article than this one the liberals would want to read to brighten their day or weekend.
I think she will be far better off in the Loving Arms of Jesus. It's her parents who will suffer greatly from losing her shell to hug and tend.
This one is tough!
I have to agree. They've put Jeb in a can't win position. I'm not desperate, either. Just terribly saddened. I'm coming to terms with the fact that so many idiosyncrasies of the case that should have raised red flags and questioned Michael as a guardian years ago were glossed over and the race to kill her (because they aren't denying her 'life support', they are denying basic food and water) was afoot. At this point, I have to agree, the best outcome for Terri and her long-tortured body (I guess my position on the husband is clear) is going home to heaven.
it seems so many have come to the wrong conclusion about the interference of government and the following of the law in the terri shiavo case.
the courts and government intervention has literally turned things so far out of context that people are fighting for the wrong reasons when they believe they are fighting for the right side.
confused? we all seem to be. let's look at it simply. terri shiavo is a vegetable. unable to feed herself. but able to be feed and kept alive, like so many houseplants by people who wish to do that.
who is it that says the government should prevent such an act as an act against the constitutional rights of terri to be allowed to die. a right to die is not constitutional.
there is no legal declaration from terri denouncing being kept alive by her parents. no written statement, just the word of someone who will benefit from her passing.
who should the law protect? everyone. including the helpless who are subjected to the whims of a majority that seem to project their desires of not living in a state such as this onto someone who has not declared such.
the law and government and the majority should never be allowed to do such, and when it does, we get what occurred in nazi germany, yes, that those who are not worthy deserve to die to end their suffering.
but terri shiavo is said not to be suffering and feels nothing, yet she shouldn't be forced to live in such a state because it is not what she would want. if she doesn't feel anything, what harm is there in letting her parents care for her.
that is the argument against government and the courts intervening. not that terri shiavo's unexpressed wishes are not being carried out, but that the wishes of her parents to care for their daughter is being prevented by a calous court bent on projecting their interpretation of law onto helpless beings.
mhking, you are far from right on this issue and your lack of consistancy in the rights of the individual over the power of the state is surprisingly frightening as to which side you are on.
teeman8r
I do however have argument with people who are not familiar with the facts and demand that this is nothing more than a case of a carrying out a living will.
To those I say you have missed 80% of what is going on here. This is a right to kill case - plain and simple. This case has nothing to do with the millions of us who have held the hand of a dying person, and given them more morphine so they could die peacefully. IT has nothing to do with the millions of people who have "pulled the plug" (for lack of a better phrase) on a loved one when there was absolutely no hope.
I defend a person's right to die- when we know they want to die.
I understand that loving and Godly people have and can made a tough decision to end life for a loved one when there is nothing left to be done. But I bet you in 95 percent of those cases the loved one has made all attempts to communicate to make sure that is what the dying person wanted.
But Terri was never dying, until someone decided to kill her. No one was allowed to ask her what she wanted. No one was allowed to say in court that they would stand up for her.
But there is so much wrong with this case that I can not for the life of me understand why people do not see the larger issue. This is bad for everyone, not just Terri.
I keep saying that I wouldn't want to live as an Ugly Lesbian but I certainly don't think they should be starved to death.
I have worked with all levels of disability people can have. And I have loved each one of them. Most of them make the best of what they have and bring joy to those who love them.
IF THEY, themselves, decide it is too much and want to go- I will let go- then and only then.
Good job Mike ~ thanks!
God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, & wisdom to know the difference.
We have been so blessed as a nation for no apparent reason other than God's grace. God's grace has shone upon this nation for over 200 years and while we have been tested in the past, we have invariably risen to the test and God has continued to bless us. But this may be the last test before the hammer drops. We have become too complacent in our attitude towards the sovereignty of the creator. We have evicted him from our schools and we are seeking to evict him from every avenue of public life. We have aborted our posterity and now we have undertaken the murder of the infirm.
This is a test of our character as a nation. We are failing that test miserably as we watch the government that we have been entrusted with torture and murder a woman who, because of no fault of her own, is unable to speak out. We are not watching a woman die a natural death. God has seen fit not to allow her to die a natural death. He has placed her life in the hands of those we (as a free people) have placed in power and those we have placed there have chosen to torture and kill her in our name and under the color of our authority.
If God is just, then I truly fear for our nation.
And I bet not one of them would voluntarily endure the agonies of a forced death from dehydration.
That has come to my mind as well. Though, at this point, it does not matter for Terri. Maybe a close examination of the history case will be useful is preparing whatever legislation may be required.
BTTT
Like I said, I can understand the DNR status and the removal of life support if that is the patients wish.
For the life of me, I cannot understand a judge ordering the feeding to be stopped after living this way for 15 years.
What's wrong with being allowed to go home with our parents before we are sent home to Jesus?
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