Please don't get me wrong - I pray that God's wisdom will flow over all involved here, both in Florida and all over the nation. I pray that God's will be done with Terri, whether that be to remain alive or to be commended to heaven. And I pray that something good comes of this entire affair for all, whether it be for other laws to be enacted or changed, or if it's for increased knowledge, wisdom and faith for all.
I'm not evil. None of us on FR who are here on this side of the divide are evil. Please don't paint us as such.
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.
No one should paint you as evil. You have thoughtfully and prayerfully stated that Terri's fate lies in the hands of the Creator. Thank you for writing this piece during the Holy Week. Bless you.
What we are talking about is killing people with healthy bodies but damaged brains. This is not right. And the question of where do we draw the line once we start doing it must be addressed.
Terri was NOT dying until her food and water were cut off. It does not matter how she got into that state. It does not matter what happened after. What does matter is she was a healthy person with a damaged brain who is being slowly killed.
While withholding food and water from a dying person might be marginalibly acceptable do we want to give our approval to withhold food and water from a healthy person?
Where will we draw the line from here on out? Let us say that Terri has marginal awareness. If it is ok to kill her is it ok to kill others?
This is a very slippery slope with lots of nastiness at the bottom. I think we are better off as a civilization not getting even close to that edge.