by Pamela F. Hennessy
Excerpts:
"It’s a pity that the mainstream press and media overlooked the fact that Terri Schiavo, while still in full capacity, could never have consented to the removal of enteral nourishment upon the event of a profound neurological insult. Indeed, it wasn’t until 9 years after Schiavo suffered her injuries, and at least a year after her husband and guardian petitioned the court for the authority to withdraw her tube-provided food and water, that such an act could take place and - even then - only under certain circumstances. It is, therefore, unreasonable and disingenuous for columnists, bioethicists and ‘scratch’ attorneys to promote the idea that a simple piece of paper would have circumvented the predicament that the Schiavo case triggered. It is also completely false to say that a living will, in the traditional sense, is a document crafted to protect the patient’s best interests. It’s anything but."
"In sum, a great disservice upon the general public has been committed by those promoting the idea that a living will is a means to ensure personal autonomy. Understanding that each of us holds dissimilar values, beliefs and desires, ushering people into signing their lives away under duress is something I view as a criminal act and not in keeping with the intent of the laws that allow us our own privacy and decision-making."
"A living will has nothing to do with living. It, instead, has everything to do with dying. It has to do with granting permission to others to withdraw medically necessary care from you so that you can either die naturally or die quickly – whichever comes first. For many people, the provision of artificial life support when death is eminent can seem unreasonable and unwanted. That’s certainly understandable. But, consenting to such a thing can be a hazard inasmuch as it opens the door for the removal of medically necessary treatment when death isn’t eminent."
Read the article at Opinion Editorials
New editorial on Charles Crist and Michael Schiavo.
Schiavo and Crist….Now We Know The Rest Of The Story
And it all ties in.