No Apologies

After the Terri Schiavo autopsy results were made public, some were saying that those of us who are against what was done to Terri owed Michael Schiavo and his supporters an apology.

Well, you know what? I will apologize when hell freezes over. Here's what perfectly demonstrates this man's (lack of) character -- her gravestone. Michael Schiavo couldn't resist being vindictive to the very end. He couldn't resist the opportunity to make sure he gives Terri's family the finger every time they visit her grave.

How anyone could continue to defend this dirtbag is beyond me. How anyone could defend the callousness of this gravestone is beyond me. The usual bloodless libertoids are defending it, of course, but I don't expect much from them anyway...they are beyond hope.

The gravestone is disgusting on so many levels. First, there is the "departed this earth" date, which is the day she collapsed and sustained brain damage. Then there's the "at peace" date, which is the day she actually died. Finally, there's the inscription -- "I Kept My Promise". As usual, it's all about Michael Schiavo, not Terri.

(Via Dean Esmay.)

Commentary on Terri Schiavo's Autopsy Report

Basically, all I can do is say "amen" to this post by the Anchoress. Some excerpts:

So, the Terri Schiavo’s autopsy report came out. And it told us very little that was new. She was in a bad way. Her cortex was not “mush” or a “sack of fluid” but her brain was severely damaged. She was blind. Her brain was shrivelled. Hello? The woman was totally dehydrated and yes, when you are dehydrated your brain will shrink.

I haven’t read anyone, anywhere, who has written down that simple fact.

The autopsy confirmed what no one denied: Terri Schiavo was in bad shape. She was severely brain damaged. [...]

[The autopsy] does not answer the question of what, exactly happened to Terri Schiavo to cause such massive brain damage. It does not tell us if she was, as conventional wisdom insists, “bulimic.” It doesn’t tell us why broken wheelchairs were never fixed, why nurses who put washcloths into Terri’s hand would have them smacked out of her hand by a husband who would warn, “that is therapy.” [...]

What the Autopsy of Terri Schiavo tells us with enormous lucidity is that the Deatheaters appetites have been whetted. With the release of this report which - as I say - tells us almost nothing we didn’t know, the Deatheaters are not simply feeling vindicated, they are feeling victorious…not just victorious but…gleeful.

It seems to me that when an innocent life has been snuffed out, that is not, perhaps, a time for glee. Quite possibly it is a normal thing, in some circles, to celebrate the destruction of life and then move on to the next battle or party or “pressing issue.” To my way of thinking, when a world has ended, respectful silence is in order, as are time for remembering, and prayers for regretting where we have fallen short.

Also, don't miss this comment if you think living wills are the answer.

Update: Welcome all Dean's World readers! I've decided to open the comments up on this post.

She's Gone

God grant her soul eternal rest.

May God have mercy on us.

Where to go from here...

Unless something miraculous happens, Terri will die at any time now. For someone who supposedly wanted to die and is just a "slab of meat", Terri certainly is showing a strong will to live. I believe that if she wanted to die, or if she really wasn't "there", she would have died days ago.

So, can we make any difference here to make sure that there are no more Terri Schiavos and Baby Does? Can we keep from becoming a society that disposes of the voiceless disabled like they're garbage?

Paul Deignan at Info Theory looks at what we can learn from all this so that we can better respond to other situations like this in the future.

BlogsforTerri proposes that the diverse types of people who are on Terri's side (conservatives and liberals, believers and non-believers, gays and straights, etc.) put aside their differences and work together to make sure the rights of the voiceless disabled are protected.

Interesting Search

I got the following Google search in my referrals today:

if terri schiavo dies the disabled are in trouble

I think that pretty much speaks for itself...

Catholics and the Sancity of Life

Mark Shea has been on a very lengthy hiatus. However, he broke his silence and suggested a email to be sent to President Bush and Governor Bush.

Mark Shea is just one of the many Catholics of blogdom who have been so devoted to the fight to save Terri. Andrea Harris has noted this as well. She makes note of something that I also have found frustrating -- that there are (non-Catholic) Christian bloggers who are not against starving Terri.

Yes, I've read all the usual mealy-mouthed crap from people who should know better. Those who care more about states rights than saving this woman. Those who yammer about "quality of life" and say, "I wouldn't want to live that way." Those who think they are just too cool and above it all to get sucked in by all the "Terri hysteria". They think that those of us who are concerned about this are an embarrassing bunch of yahoos.

Those Christians who have posted the above takes on the Schiavo situation have one thing in common -- they are Protestants. Well, I'm Protestant too -- an LCMS* Lutheran in case you didn't know. And there are many Protestants who are against what is being done to Terri. However, it seems to me that devout Catholics are far more consistent when it comes to standing up for the sanctity of life. You have to wonder why this is.

*I'm pleased to report that the LCMS is solidly against what is being done to Terri.

From "Baby Doe" to Terri Schiavo

You may remember me mentioning the song "Baby Doe" by Steve Taylor. MCJ links to the whole story on the case that this song is about.

B. Preston at JunkYardBlog modified the lyrics for the current situation. As he says, "We've been here before."

I also have to thank Preston for coming up with "InstaPilate". How wonderfully fitting that moniker is!

Just Sad

Like Alicia, I have felt overwhelmed, helpless and guilty the past few days over the developments in the Schiavo situation. Since I'm recuperating from gallbladder surgery, I just haven't felt like I have my wits about me enough to post. All I can do is watch the events unfold and then pray.

Like I was telling Alicia in her comments, when I was waking up after the surgery, my mouth and throat were very dry. I managed to say to the nurses looking after me in the recovery room, "Throat dry." They then gave me ice chips. Those ice chips tasted so good! This makes me think of how unimaginably worse Terri's thirst is, and how there are no ice chips to refresh and relieve her.

Blog Reads on the Schiavo Situation

Since I may not be posting much the next few days, I'll link to a few good posts on the Schiavo situation. As always, keep visiting BlogsforTerri and Terri's Fight to find out the latest news.

• Straight Up with Sherri looks at what may be motivating Judge Greer to rule the way he does. (Via BlogsforTerri.)
• Steve H. says, "Terri Schiavo is the Rosa Parks of the disabled."
• Tony Woodlief weighs in and reminds us that Terri embodies "the least of these".
• Andrea Harris has several good posts on this subject. She also has a modest proposal*.
• Rachel (aka the Blue-Eyed Infidel) has an impassioned rant* on this subject as well. (Via Bunnie Diehl.)
• Lileks addresses this subject in his characteristically thoughtful, compassionate way.

*Salty language alert.

What Awaits Terri

Fr. Rob Johansen has obtained a document prepared by the hospice at which Terri is confined. This document is an "exit protocol" that makes it clear that starvation and dehydration is hardly "peaceful" and "painless". This is not "nature being allowed to take its course". This is not "letting her go".

Fr. Johansen also wrote this NRO column linked a few posts down. The column is an exposé of how Terri has not been given proper medical care or proper tests to accurately diagnose her condition.

(Via Andrea Harris.)

Just Angry

Judge Greer has run roughshod over the federal subpoena and Terri's feeding tube has been removed.

Meanwhile, Neal Boortz demonstrates why I quit listening to him a long time ago. I lost count of the inaccuracies, ignorance and culture of death talking points he managed to vomit forth in those few paragraphs. Boortz' post epitomizes why I have no use for libertines of any stripe -- whether they call themselves libertarians, moderates, liberals, South Park conservatives or whatever.

The latest developments in the Schiavo situation...

There are so many things happening that it's hard to keep up with it all. I'm on my lunch break but I have to go back to work soon. The latest news from BlogsforTerri is that the hospice has been served with federal subpoenas preventing them from removing Terri's feeding tube. It is also important to keep the heat on your representatives to make sure they pass that incapacitated bill for Terri. Keep checking BlogsforTerri for the latest developments.

Time is short...what to do now...

• The U.S. House and Senate have passed a bill that will help Terri. The President will sign the bill, but first it has to go back to the House so that they can fix some technicalities.

  There's one problem with this, and that is that the House will be adjourning for two weeks starting today. BlogsforTerri has some information that is crucial to making sure the House fixes the bill before they go on break.

• I am confused as to what the status is of the Florida Senate bill that is the companion to HB 701, which was passed by the Florida House. One bill (SB 804) was voted down. Another, which also appears to be a companion, hasn't been voted on. This bill is SB 2128. If anyone could shed some light, I would appreciate it. In the meantime, I'm going to write my state Senator and ask him to support SB 2128.
• If these bills fail to be made into law in time, Terri's starvation will start at 1:00pm today. So today is a day for prayer and fasting for Terri.

Fr. Robert Johansen - Starving for a Fair Diagnosis

Has Terri been properly diagnosed? Is she getting appropriate medical care? Has she received sufficient rehabilitative therapy? Father Robert Johansen's column at NRO answers those questions. The answers will shock and anger you.

Terri’s diagnosis was arrived at without the benefit of testing that most neurologists would consider standard for diagnosing PVS. One such test is MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). MRI is widely used today, even for ailments as simple as knee injuries — but Terri has never had one. Michael has repeatedly refused to consent to one. The neurologists I have spoken to have reacted with shock upon learning this fact. One such neurologist is Dr. Peter Morin. He is a researcher specializing in degenerative brain diseases, and has both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Boston University.

In the course of my conversation with Dr. Morin, he made reference to the standard use of MRI and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans to diagnose the extent of brain injuries. He seemed to assume that these had been done for Terri. I stopped him and told him that these tests have never been done for her; that Michael had refused them.

There was a moment of dead silence.

“That’s criminal,” he said, and then asked, in a tone of utter incredulity: “How can he continue as guardian? People are deliberating over this woman’s life and death and there’s been no MRI or PET?” He drew a reasonable conclusion: “These people [Michael Schiavo, George Felos, and Judge Greer] don’t want the information.”

There's more, including how one of the main medical witnesses who claims Terri is PVS, one Dr. Ronald Cranford, is also a well-known "right-to-die" advocate:

In published articles, including a 1997 op-ed in the Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune, he has advocated the starvation of Alzheimer’s patients. He has described PVS patients as indistinguishable from other forms of animal life. He has said that PVS patients and others with brain impairment lack personhood and should have no constitutional rights. Perusing the case literature and articles surrounding the “right to die” and PVS, one will see Dr. Cranford’s name surface again and again. In almost every case, he is the one claiming PVS, and advocating the cessation of nutrition and hydration.

In the cases of Paul Brophy, Nancy Jobes, Nancy Cruzan, and Christine Busalucci, Cranford was the doctor behind the efforts to end their lives. Each of these people was brain-damaged but not dying; nonetheless, he advocated death for all, by dehydration and starvation. Nancy Cruzan did not even require a feeding tube: She could be spoon-fed. But Cranford advocated denying even that, saying that even spoon-feeding constituted “medical treatment” that could be licitly withdrawn.

And Dr. Cranford's method of examining Terri included hitting her on the head!

Yes, I know it's a cliché to say this, but please read the whole thing -- especially if you are undecided or think that Terri's feeding tube should be taken away from her.

(Via Dawn Eden.)

Why is Terri in a Hospice?

That's what I've been wondering. After all, she's disabled, but she's not dying. Hospices are for people who are terminally ill. Patients stay in hospices for a few weeks or months, not for years. But yet Terri has been in one for years and she's not terminally ill.

Here's what I think. Putting Terri in a hospice, rather than in some place like a nursing home, was a very shrewd PR move on the part of Michael Schiavo and his lawyer, George Felos (who once served as chairman of the board of directors of this hospice).

What suggestion is planted in the average person's mind when they hear that somebody is in a hospice? Naturally they think, "That person is dying." So Terri being in a hospice sways the public into thinking she's dying, that she's a "vegetable". Then they hear about the legal battle between Terri's parents and her husband and they think, "Oh, the parents need to just let that poor woman go. She's dying. Pull the plug!"

If you remind them that there is no "plug" to be pulled, only a feeding tube, they say something like, "Well would you want to live that way? I wouldn't want to live that way!" Of course, nobody wants to be disabled or brain damaged. But is it okay to starve someone to death because they are in such a condition? Unfortunately, it looks like some are all too willing to say that it is okay. It's getting to a point that if you are disabled, you are considered as good as dead.

If Terri dies of starvation, will we start seeing more brain damaged and disabled people sent to hospices? While they may not be dying, they will be considered as good as dead by many people. People will expect them to die. And killing them will be no big deal because, as people will say, "Who wants to live like that anyway?"

Hate to Say I Told You So

Like I said a few posts ago, it's too bad Terri Schiavo isn't a murderer on death row, because then Amnesty International would give a damn about her situation.

Today's Schiavo Items (3/1/05)

Here are some important items over at BlogsforTerri and ProLifeBlogs:

• Florida residents -- write your representative and ask them to support HB 701. It goes up for vote on March 8.
• More Terri Schiavo mythbusting -- this time it's the "Terri wants to die" myth.
• Kate Adamson knows what it's like to be disabled and to almost starve to death because doctors mistakenly thought there was no hope and that she wasn't aware of anything. She recovered and lived to tell her story. Now, she is speaking up for Terri.
• Terri's parents ask judge to let her divorce her husband. Since her husband has, for all practical purposes, abandoned her, I think this is appropriate. He's living with another woman, has had two children with this other woman and he wants his wife dead. Yeah, I think the marriage vows are pretty much broken...
• The blogger supported ad in the Tampa Tribune ran on Sunday. USA Today is next!
• Where is Amnesty International on this issue? Since Terri isn't a criminal on death row, I wouldn't hold my breath about them caring about this, but it may be worth a try to write them anyway.
• Please sign this emergency petition for Governor Jeb Bush. (Via ProLifeBlogs.)

Why I harp on this...

...the Schiavo case, that is.

I have seen the accusation in a message forum and on a couple of blogs that those of us who don't want to see a disabled woman starved are just sticking our noses where they don't belong. That we are only harping on this because we are self-righteous moralizers who are just trying to show how great we are. That we don't really care about Terri or others like her. That we just want to hear ourselves rant.

I can't express how disgusting and unfair these accusations are.

I care about this because I think it's wrong to starve a disabled person to death. I care because I don't want to see us turn into the kind of society that sees the weak and disabled as disposable. I don't want to see us imitate animals in the wild -- killing off the weaker of their own species.

I also have more personal reasons why I care. I posted about one of those reasons in this post from more than a year ago. I am reposting the contents of that post in the extended entry.

(Originally posted on October 22, 2003.)

You probably wonder why I kept harping on the Terri Schiavo situation. Well, if you've read this blog for any length of time, you know that I'm pro-life. But there are more personal reasons why I felt compelled to follow this case.

I've mentioned before that my older brother died of a brain tumor over six years ago. I've never went into much detail about it because it's still very painful for me to think about. I won't go into a lot of detail now, either. There was a lot more to my brother's situation than this. I just want to give you an idea of where I'm coming from.

Before my brother died, he spent most of his last days in sort of a semi-coma. He would react to you, respond to things you said, and he even spoke a couple of times. He was there, but yet there was a sort of fog separating him from full consciousness. I played a Beatles CD for him, and he actually blurted out, "Wow, they were good, weren't they?" I thought a miracle was happening, and then he slipped back into the fog. We had a feeding tube put in him, but he could not process the food. I think it may have been because that part of his brain was not working properly.

During this time, I prayed for his healing. I even offered up my own life to God in exchange for his. My mother and I held out hope even though things looked (and were) hopeless. Other member of my family saw how hopeless the situation was and dealt with it in different ways.

Was my brother a non-person when he was in this state? Absolutely not! He was no "vegetable". He was enveloped in a fog, but he was there. He was probably in worse shape than Terri Schiavo is, judging by the videos of her. (Actually, he was in much worse shape, because he was dying. She is not.) If I knew my brother had consciousness, how could I deny the same about Terri?

Today's Schiavo News

Well, it's been a trying day for those of us following the Schiavo case. Judge Greer has ruled that Terri will be denied nourishment starting March 18th. Also, the St. Petersburg Times would not accept the BlogsforTerri ad unless certain parts of it were stricken. They later recanted the demand for changes, but BlogsforTerri had already made other arrangements. So, the ad will not run in that paper this Sunday. It will run in the Tampa Tribune instead.

On the Air for Life

Earl Appleby of Life Matters! will be a guest on the Steve Kane show today at 7:30am Eastern time (6:30am Central). He will be talking about the Schiavo case. Unfortunately, I won't be able to listen online because I have to take my Mom to get some routine medical tests. However, if you can, try to catch it!

Terri Schiavo Mythbusting

I have really grown weary and impatient with the misinformation being spread around by the mainstream media and others. I mean, how many times do you have to tell people she is not brain dead?

BlogsforTerri presents some facts and dispels some myths about the Schiavo case.

This really isn't that hard to understand. It's wrong to starve a disabled, brain-damaged person to death.

Update: It looks like the Florida DCF is serious about investigating those abuse allegations. Judge Greer may rule on this later today.

William Luse in Touchstone Magazine

William Luse summarizes Terri's situation as it currently stands. He also has an article about the Schiavo case in the March issue of Touchstone Magazine. The article is available online. Here's a brief excerpt:

Here is something I don’t get. If a murderer on death row were found to be suffering his execution by means of starvation—by our withholding from him food and drink—the ensuing uproar would occupy the national headlines and the shouted outrage of the television news until the injustice had been repaired and the warden and his foot soldiers brought to bar and thrown in prison. What would be cruel and unusual punishment for the murderer will be good enough for Terri.

That’s the world we live in now. We agonize over punishing the guilty, while throwing the innocent into Astarte’s fire. And it’s all legal. Where’s Sister Prejean when we need her? Terri Schiavo, being innocent of any crime save possession of a “life not worth living,” lacks star power. She doesn’t draw the crowds. She has no bad-girl swagger. There’s no glamour here, just a dead woman waking.

Now, RTWT.

Terri's stay extended...

...until Friday at 5:00pm. In the meantime, the Florida Department of Children and Families is now intervening. Apparently, they will be investigating the allegations that Terri suffered abuse and evaluating Michael Schiavo's fitness to be her guardian.

Update: More on the abuse allegations and the unreliable nature of PVS diagnoses.

Petition for President Bush

Sunnye has brought this petition for President Bush to pardon Terri Schiavo to my attention. I have signed it. Please do the same.

Temporary Stay for Terri

Terri Schiavo's starvation did not begin yesterday. Judge Greer issued a stay until 5:00pm today. Terri's family is hopeful.

Sadly, what may happen to Terri has happened to others before. Life Matters posts about a few of those cases. There is also the case of the Downs Syndrome baby who was starved to death over twenty years ago. This is the subject of Steve Taylor's song "Baby Doe". You know, I don't even remember hearing about these incidents when they occurred. I was in my teens when they took place, so maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

I'm paying attention now. God forgive me for not paying attention before.

What can be done? Send emails to help spread the word. Write Governor Jeb Bush. Support this ad. And pray.

No Stay for Terri

Unless someone (Governor Bush, for instance) steps in, Terri Schiavo will be denied food and water starting at 1:00pm today. That's less than 12 hours from the time of this post.

What can be done?

Please pray. Write Governor Jeb Bush. Make a pledge for this ad. If you live in Florida, write your representatives and ask them to support HB 701. (And if they are a sponsor/co-sponsor of this bill, write them and thank them.)

Also, join BlogsforTerri and help to get the truth out there.

An urgent reminder for my fellow Floridians...

Email or call your state representatives and ask them to support HB 701. This law will help Terri Schiavo and others like her. Here's why:

We have very little time left. As you read through this bill, realize this will protect the incapacitated. Hearsay and casual conversation will not be enough to starve and dehydrate a person to death in this state if this passes. Protecting the vulnerable, the brain injured, the elderly, those with disabilities will benefit from this bill.

John Bambenek has more on this bill and links to an analysis that explains why this is a better law than Terri's Law.

Update: John Bambenek also links to a petition that Floridians should sign. This petition asks Florida representatives to not support bills HB 523 and SB 988. The petition has a goal of 50,000 signatures. Mine is number 108, so a lot more are needed.

Telling the Truth about Terri Schiavo's Condition

When I have argued with people about this case, one tremendous obstacle is the overwhelming amount of misinformation there is about Terri's situation. They think she is brain dead...that she's a vegetable or a "slab of meat". They say, "Well, I wouldn't want to live like that." In saying this, they should keep a couple of things in mind. First, just because you wouldn't want to live like that doesn't give you the right to decide that starving someone else to death is okay. Secondly, if there is even a shred of hope for Terri at all, shouldn't she be given a chance? I sure am glad Sarah Scantlin was given a chance.

This is not a situation where Terri is brain dead and is on a machine that forces her heart to beat and her lungs to take in air. She is disabled, not brain dead. All she needs to live is food and water. She actually tries to communicate, so she is aware of her surroundings.

The mainstream media will continue to spread ignorance about Terri's condition. One of the important things blogs can do is to combat that ignorance and make sure the truth gets out. Many people have changed their minds about this case once they realize that Terri is not brain dead and is not on artificial life support -- "pulling the plug" is not an issue here.

Some refuse to change their minds even after being told the truth about Terri's condition. Trying to get through to these people is about as productive as hurling yourself against a brick wall. They are true believers in the virtues of euthanasia and/or they are prejudiced against the disabled and the less-than-perfect.

Many say to Terri's parents and those who believe she has a right to live, "Let her go!" Again, this is an ignorant statement. She is not dying. Since when does letting someone go entail starving and dehydrating them to death?

When people actually think that starving a disabled person to death is a merciful and compassionate thing to do, you can see how pervasive the Culture of Death really is.

Terri Schiavo Items for the Day

• Pro-Life Blogs announces the launch of BlogsforTerri.
• Attention fellow Floridians! BlogsforTerri has a legislative call to action regarding HB 701. This bill will help Terri and others like her. Write your representatives ASAP and encourage them to support this bill.
• Paul Deignan of Info Theory has proposed an experiment: a pledge drive for Terri. Read what he has to say and make a pledge if you feel moved to do so.

Terri Schiavo Event in Front of Woodside Hospice

Hyscience was there and has an initial report. Also from the same post, this interesting item: Did you know that Michael Schiavo's lawyer George Felos was once Chairman of the Board of Directors of the hospice where Terri now resides? Looking at the copies of the annual reports confirms this.

Why isn't this conflict of interest getting more media attention?

Revisiting the Schiavo Case

As you have probably heard, Terri Schiavo's life is once again in peril. Once again she faces the possibility of being starved and dehydrated to death.

I have posted about Terri Schiavo quite a bit in the past. I have argued with those who disagree with me about this on other sites. One thing I found very disturbing and disheartening was that otherwise decent and compassionate people could actually argue in favor of withholding food and water from Terri. I know they think they are being compassionate and merciful. They think she is no longer aware of anything, that she's a vegetable, so it doesn't matter if she starves and dehydrates to death.

An argument people often make in defense of killing Terri (or "letting her go" as they euphemistically put it) is that her parents are in denial -- that they simply can't face that their daughter is already gone. But I for one am glad that her parents and siblings are standing by her -- because of stories like this.

I have decided that when it comes to this case, I'm not going to spend time arguing with people on other sites anymore. The reason for this is that it's frustrating and fruitless. I just get angry and strident. I have a feeling I may have even lost some internet friends over this.

For the latest on Terri's situation, check out the following:

• Terri's Fight
• Times Against Humanity
• Thrown Back
• Hyscience (Link found via Dean's World.)

Also, Dean's World is posting about differing views in the Schiavo case, and La Shawn Barber encourages the blog world to get involved.

Note: I have joined the Blogroll for Terri and have included it on the sidebar.

Something that got overlooked in all the election talk...

Some good news in the Terri Schiavo case. (Via Mark Shea.)

Terri Schiavo and the Florida Supreme Court

Life Matters posts the latest on the Schiavo case. This may end up going to the Supreme Court. Maybe Terri and her family will be able to get some justice there.

In the meantime, I have noticed that two of the Florida Supreme Court Justices are up for retention on November's ballot. They are Justice Kenneth B. Bell and Justice Raoul G. Cantero, III. Strangely enough, they were both appointed by Gov. Bush. Bell is a Pensacolian. Nevertheless, I am voting "No" on retaining them in office.

Terri's Fight Continues...

The joke of a Supreme Court in this state has done it again -- Terri's Law has been struck down. Once again, Terri's life is in peril. As this statement on Life Matters says so eloquently, this is not just about defending Terri's life, but all human life.

Terri Schiavo News

Fr. Rob Johansen posts an update on where Terri stands legally and medically. Sadly, things are not improving on either front.

(Via Eve Tushnet.)

Boortz is a jerk sometimes...

Yesterday, I defended Boortz, but today, I have to bust on him.

A little while ago, he called Terri Schiavo a "slab of meat". This was in reaction to this story. He then went on to make tasteless remarks about her family wanting to do a Weekend at Bernie's routine with her.

I realize that Boortz is almost completely without compassion for the weak and helpless. Some people have a "might makes right" and "only the strong should survive" attitude, and Boortz is one of those people. I usually enjoy his show, but when he starts talking social issues, I have to stop listening. He's definitely on the "Kill Terri" side. He thinks it's better for her to starve and dehydrate to death than to be what he deems a "slab of meat".

Well, pardon my bluntness, but how the hell does he know that? Who the hell is he to judge that she's a piece of meat or a "vegetable"? The guardian says she may never improve. If he's right, does that make it okay to deliberately kill her?

I think Terri reminds some of their vulnerability, and they sort of hate her for that. They hate her weakness, because it reminds them that they too may one day be completely helpless. I think Terri stirs up a primal fear in some people. Fear of weakness, fear of being "defective". In the wild, certain animals will kill off the weaker of their species. Sometimes humans act the same way.

BTW, today is Terri's birthday. It's also my brother's birthday.

Is starvation and dehydration "painless"?

Wesley J. Smith has a point by point smackdown of the rationalizations made for starving and dehydrating Terri Schiavo (and those like her).

Some compare withdrawing a feeding tube from a disabled person to not forcing food on a cancer patient who has stopped eating. These are two completely different situations -- they are not equivalent at all:

Yes, it is true that when people are actively dying from terminal disease, they often refuse food and water. The disease makes the food and water repulsive to them. In such circumstances, it is medically inappropriate to force food and water into a person who is actively rejecting it. Indeed, doing so could cause suffering.

But this isn't what is happening to Terri. She isn't dying of cancer. Her body isn't shutting down as part of the natural dying process. Indeed, she is not dying at all--unless her food and water is taken away.

So, what exactly happens to someone who is starving and dehydrating to death?

When I conducted research on this question in preparation for writing my book "Forced Exit," I asked St. Louis neurologist William Burke these very questions. Here is what he told me:

"A conscious [cognitively disabled] person would feel it just as you or I would. They will go into seizures. Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack. They may have nosebleeds because of the drying of the mucus membranes, and heaving and vomiting might ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining. They feel the pangs of hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without a glass of water! Death by dehydration takes ten to fourteen days. It is an extremely agonizing death."

But you may be thinking, "That's just what one neurologist says." Okay, how about the testimony of someone who was in a state very similar to Terri's:

At age 33, Kate Adamson collapsed from a devastating and incapacitating stroke. She was utterly unresponsive and was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). At the urging of doctors, who believed she would never get better, her nourishment was stopped. But midway through the dehydration process, she began to show subtle signs of comprehension, so her food and water were restored.

So, did Kate Adamson feel pain?

When the feeding tube was turned off for eight days, I thought I was going insane. I was screaming out in my mind, "Don't you know I need to eat?" And even up until that point, I had been having a bagful of Ensure as my nourishment that was going through the feeding tube. At that point, it sounded pretty good. I just wanted something. The fact that I had nothing, the hunger pains overrode every thought I had. [...]

I craved anything to drink. Anything. I obsessively visualized drinking from a huge bottle of orange Gatorade. And I hate orange Gatorade. I did receive lemon flavored mouth swabs to alleviate dryness but they did nothing to slack my desperate thirst.

But what about painkillers? Won't that stop the suffering?

At this point, defenders of removing feeding tubes from people with profound cognitive disabilities might claim that whatever painful sensations dehydration may cause, these patients receive palliating drugs to ensure that their deaths are peaceful. But note: Adamson either did not receive such medications, or if she did, they didn't work. Moreover, because these disabled people usually can't communicate, it is impossible to know precisely what they experience.

I tried to hit on the major points of this piece, but you really should read the whole thing.

Link via Mark Shea, who has been driving home the point lately that we are not the perfect, civilized society that we think ourselves as being. This is a point that some don't want to hear, and I won't deny that it's hard to listen to. But we need to listen.

Schiavo Columns

Here are a couple of columns about the Terri Schiavo case that are well worth reading:

• Patterico has this column on CaliforniaRepublic.org: Fighting For Her Life - Inflicting 'Capital Punishment' on Terri Schiavo. Patterico points out why it was appropriate for Gov. Bush and the Florida legislature to step in in this case:

  But the situation is quite different for Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband obtained court approval to have her feeding tube removed - and would even have been worse had she been a resident of California. Unlike a convicted murderer, Ms. Schiavo was ordered to die based on the findings of a single judge, applying a standard of proof typically reserved for civil cases involving monetary awards, rather than life-or-death issues. If the political left had its way, Ms. Schiavo's death warrant could not be countermanded by the governor, as could occur in a criminal case. Finally, Ms. Schiavo was ordered to die in a way -- forced starvation and dehydration -- that would never be tolerated as a means of executing a murderer. Worst of all, a patient in Ms. Schiavo's position in California would likely receive even less protection under the law than Ms. Schiavo has received in Florida. [...]

  If issues of similar significance were raised in a capital murder case, calling into question whether courts were correct to order a death sentence, liberals would rush into action to prevent the possibility of an unjust execution. But here, where the person condemned to die was not convicted of murder, the political left seems eager to ignore any suggestion that the courts might be wrong. When Governor Bush acted to save Terri Schiavo's life, howls of outrage from the left were heard from coast to coast.

• Nat Hentoff on the Schiavo case: Lying about Terri Schiavo.
  

  For 13 years, Terri Schiavo has not been able to speak for herself. But she is not brain-dead, not in a comatose state, not terminal, and not connected to a respirator. If the feeding tube is removed, she will starve to death. Whatever she may or may not have said, did she consider food and water "artificial means?"

  The media continually report that Terri is in a persistent vegetative state, and a number of neurologists and bioethicists have more than implied to the press that "persistent" is actually synonymous with "permanent." This is not true, as I shall factually demonstrate in upcoming columns. I will also provide statements from neurologists who say that if Terri were given the proper therapy—denied to her by her husband and guardian after he decided therapy was becoming too expensive despite $750,000 from a malpractice suit—she could learn to eat by herself and become more responsive.

  Terri is responsive, beyond mere reflexes. Having this degree of sentience, if she is starved to death, she will not "die in peace" as The New York Times predicts in an uninformed October 23 editorial supporting the husband. What happens to someone who can feel pain during the process of starvation is ghastly.
  

  
  (Via Open Book.)
  

For further updates on Terri Schiavo...

...go to Thrown Back, the blog of Fr. Rob Johansen. Fr. Johansen is a Catholic priest who is in Florida right now helping to minister to Terri's family. There's a lot of interesting information and insights...just start at the top and scroll down. Here is his first post after arriving in Florida. In that post he describes the Schindlers, who are not the pathetic fanatics that the media would have you think they are. He also talks about how the 81-year-old priest who has been allowed to see Terri was threatened with arrest if he even attempted to give her the sacraments of her church. Appalling.

And as an aside, I want to talk about religious belief her for a bit. While I'm not Catholic, I admire the principled stand that the Catholic bloggers have taken on this issue. I'm happy to see that Protestants and Catholics are putting aside differences and praying together about this. I may upset some people when I say this, but when it comes to orthodox Christianity, I'm an ecumenist at heart. After all, don't we all have the most important things in common? Why not work together and pray together? I'm not trying to gloss over the differences. I'm just saying that I think it's a good thing when we quit arguing, put those differences aside for a while, and unite for a common cause.

That subject again...

In this post from a couple of days ago, I said I would not be posting on the Terri Schiavo case again for a while. Well, I guess you can define two days as "a while". It seems I have more to link and a little more to say.

First, the links:

• Andrea Harris has posted her opinion on this subject. She hits on some uncomfortable truths here:

  I think that all this brouhaha reveals that fear of 'tards is alive and well in the twenty-first century. "Ew gross, a 'tard! Kill it!" seems to be an almost atavistic reaction to the sight of a mental defective or the thought of becoming one.

  Something in our culture just drains the humanity out of people; how else to explain the fact that starving someone to death is considered to be kinder than just giving them an overdose of morphine, or putting a bullet in their heads. The real reason this method is preferred, of course, is that everyone can pretend that Terri Schiavo isn't being deliberately killed; they are simply "letting nature take its course." Nature -- that we have spent the last ten thousand years or so trying to thwart. Now we let it win one?

• I've never heard of David Gelernter, but I like the way he thinks. Power Line quotes from a recent column of his in the dead-tree version of the Wall Street Journal. Some excerpts:
  

  Professor Gelernter advocates the cause of Terri Schiavo's parents. He asks: "[W]ho dares say you have no right to commune with your gravely ill child? To comfort your child? To pray for your child? Who dares say you have no right to hope that she will recover no matter what the doctors say? Who dares say you have no right to comfort, commune with and pray for her even if you have given up hope? Yes, the woman is mortally ill. Who dares say that her life is therefore worthless, to be cut off at her husband's whim?"

  
  

  "Thoughtful people have argued: Once you start footnoting innocent human life, you are in trouble. Innocent life must not be taken . . . unless (here come the footnotes) the subject is too small, sick, or depressed to complain. One footnote, people have argued, and the jig is up; in the long run the accumulating footnotes will strangle humane society like algae choking a pond."

  (Link via Amy Welborn.)

• William Luse links to some articles about where Terri stands now. He also links to an article about another Terry: Wesley J. Smith - Waking from the Dead:
  

  Terry Wallis recently woke up. For most of us, this would not be news. But for Terry it was a huge event: He had been unconscious for nineteen years due to injuries sustained in an auto accident. Indeed, upon awakening, he believed that Ronald Reagan was still President.

  Wallis’ recovery should give great pause to the bioethics movement and members of the medical intelligentsia, many of whom seem determined to read people like Terry out of the human family. In mainstream bioethics philosophy, being a human being is not itself sufficient to a claim of moral worth. What matters primarily is whether a “being” possesses sufficient consciousness or cognitive capacity to earn the label of “person.”

  
  

  Bioethicists have one version of how society should treat our most vulnerable brothers and sisters; the Wallis family has another. For nineteen years while Terry lay unconscious, they cherished him, visited him in the rehabilitation center where he resided, and even brought him home on special family occasions. In short, Terry wasn’t ever viewed as a burden, he wasn’t cast into the outer darkness of nonpersonhood, he wasn’t deemed killable, he wasn’t seen as being morally equivalent to the dead, but remained a beloved member of his family and society. Indeed, doctors say this special attention may have been a factor in his unexpected awakening.

Now, I have a few more things to say. What has Terri gained from this? A chance, that's what. A chance that she's never really had. Yes, she is still in the clutches of her husband and his lawyers, who don't want to give her one. But the war isn't over yet.

I think that the rejection of starving and dehydrating a helpless woman to death is a rejection of the moral decay, the disregard for human life, that has been going on for sometime in this country. The banning of PBAs is another rejection of this decay. It seems so obvious. It's -- hello? -- WRONG to starve and dehydrate someone to death. It's WRONG to partially deliver a baby, pierce his skull and suck his brains out. I just can't wrap my mind around the rationalizations made for these actions.

This rejection of forced starvation and PBAs actually gives me hope. Perhaps we are turning back from the brink. Many people have said the Schiavo case is significant because a line was being crossed. Once crossed, there may be no going back for our society. The fact that we didn't cross the line this time is a good sign. But what about next time?

Sometimes I lose hope. I often feel like evil always wins. But evil didn't win this time.

Terri Schiavo Update

Governor Jeb Bush has signed the bill to allow Terri Schiavo's feeding tube to be reinserted. This is a huge step in the right direction, but it isn't over yet:

Meanwhile, Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, vowed to sue anyone who reinserted the feeding tube, reports local television station WFTS.

While on this subject, Justene has posted at Dean's World about this case, and there is a good discussion going on in the comments. One of the commenters, Patterico, asked a neurologist friend of his to give his opinion about Terri Schiavo's condition after viewing the videos of her. What this neurologist has to say is very interesting.

Update: A couple more items on this subject:

• Amy Welborn drives home the point that life matters:
  

  The basic question, under all of these discussions is that concept of "quality of life," and that is the question that we absolutely must address as a society and as a people. This insidious, slippery concept has invaded and taken over Western thinking on human life. It's the center, deep down, of all of our discussions: When does an unborn human being attain the quality of life that then somehow magically bestows on them the right to life? Severely disabled and terminally ill people are devalued and told they needn't bother living anymore because of their quality of life...

  This, it seems to me, is our challenge - to replace the language of quality of life with another way of thinking and talking about these things that embraces the value of all human life from conception to natural death, that takes into account the reality of death, the purpose of suffering and our profound responsibility to one another.

  Of course, RTWT.

• Do you think Terri is completely without hope, and that she's just an empty shell? Well, people said the same thing about this woman, too. (Via Fructus Ventris.)

Terri Schiavo Roundup

These are just a few posts from around the blogosphere regarding the Schiavo situation:

• Times Against Humanity has two very good questions:
  Will Gov. Bush Do What He Can to Save Terri?
  Has Gov. Bush Wimped Out?
• Brothers Judd Blog looks at how the "the law is an ass" in the Schiavo case. There is a paragraph in the post that nicely sums things up and shows why Michael Schiavo's motivations are extremely suspect.
• Chris Regan at JYB wonders if we need a "do not kill" list and points out how, typically, the mainstream media has been ignoring various important facts about this case.
• Ben Domenech has a beautifully written post on this subject. He looks at how personhood is defined and why this case is important:
  

  The case of Terri Schiavo is not the first, nor the last - but it may be the clearest indication that the "robbery of life" is a problem we will ultimately have to face. And it is those of us in this society who believe that every life is sacred - who believe there is no such thing as an insignificant person - who will have to face it.

• HokiePundit urges us to pray for a miracle.
• Before going on hiatus, Maripat at Right We Are urges us to write to Governor Bush.
• Pete Vere at Envoy Encore posts about how Catholics and Protestants are putting aside theological differences and uniting for a common cause.
• William Luse and Mark Shea are keeping up with the latest developments.

Update (10/19/03):

• Bene Diction links to this excellent piece in Christianity Today: Janet L. Folger - Speaking Out: Why I Believe in Divorce
  

  Starvation and dehydration is so brutal, so agonizing, we wouldn't do it to the most hardened criminal on death row. In fact, if you did it to a dog, you'd go to jail for cruelty. But for a disabled woman, that's another matter. When Terri made her wedding vow, "till death do us part," I'm pretty sure this is not what she had in mind.

  So let's review our choices:

  Starve a dog: Go to jail. Do not pass "go;" Do not collect $200.

  Starve a disabled woman: Collect $1.3 million, a new car, a new boat, and a new family.



• Pete Vere at Envoy Encore is at the scene and has been posting continuous updates.

Update 2 (10/20/03): Some hope for Terri...keep praying, folks! Here's a WorldNetDaily article about this development. (Via Envoy Encore.)

Update 3 (10/21/03): Wonderful news -- the Florida House has passed a bill which will allow Terri to be put back on her feeding tube. The Florida Senate is supposed to vote on it later today. The President of the Florida Senate, Jim King, was at first reportedly resistant to bringing up the bill. He seems to have since had a change of heart:

"If we are to err — because time is of the essence — for goodness sake let us err on the side of caution," said King, a Republican.

Boortz on Terri Schiavo

Apparently, Neal Boortz has been commenting on this case on his radio show. I haven't heard what he's said, so I don't know for sure his position on this. He is a pro-choice libertarian, so I'm pretty skeptical about his view on this, especially after reading the following from his Nuze site today:

This issue came up yesterday when we were discussing the tragedy of Terri Schiavo in Florida. Terri's feeding tubes have now been removed and she will die within two weeks. This after 13 years in a comatose state following brain damage caused by a heart attack.

If you've been following the Schiavo story you will know that this has been a battle royal between Terri Schiavo's husband and her parents. Her husband, Michael, went to court asserting that his wife had expressed to him a desire never to be kept alive in this manner. Her parents disagree.

OK .. this isn't really about the Schiavo matter, that's just how this particular topic began. Here's your question. To whom do you owe your primary allegiance, your spouse or your parents? My contention is that once you are married you owe your primary duty, allegiance, devotion and love to your spouse, not to your parents. Your spouse's feelings and desires come first, your child is second, your parents are third. Belinda can't go along with this.

(Belinda is his call-screener.)

What is Boortz saying here? Is he saying that Terri has a "duty" to die because her husband wants her to? I know he said that this wasn't really about the Schiavo matter, but he seems to be relating this to Terri's situation.

What if Terri's husband wants her to go ahead and die already so he can marry the woman he's been shacking up with and having kids with for years? What if she's not vegetative and she can interact with other people, although she cannot speak? I'm sorry, but I cannot go along with Boortz and his belief that what the spouse says goes in all situations. Especially a spouse whose motives are as suspect as Michael Schiavo's.

Florida's Shame

I am ashamed to be a Floridian today. Terri Schiavo's family's last-ditch effort to save her from death by starvation has failed. Her feeding tube has been removed. Unless a miracle happens, she will die an agonizing death.

Take a look at these videos. Does that look like someone in a vegetative state to you?

(First link via Cam Edwards. Video link via De Fidei Oboedientia.)

Last Chance for Terri

Terri Schiavo will be starved to death starting tomorrow if the last-ditch effort to save her isn't successful:

...Should a divorce be granted, Terri's husband, Michael, would lose his standing as her guardian, and his demand that his wife be deprived of food and water would no longer have any legal force.

The source said that in view of the fact that Terri's husband is living with another woman, has already sired one child by her and is expecting another child, the lawsuit could charge him with adultery and cite that as justification for a divorce decree.

Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 30 against Schiavo; his attorney, right-to-die advocate George Felos; and two of the nursing facilities where Mrs. Schiavo had been previously kept. The lawsuit alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Terri's civil rights under the First, Fifth and 14th Amendments.

Terri is not a vegetable. If she's such an "inconvenience" to her husband, why doesn't he just divorce her so that her family can take care of her? Why is he so determined to see her dead?

(First seen on Catholic Pundits.)

For more on this case: Terri's Fight.

Update: You know, I was wondering about where Governor Jeb Bush is on this. I know he filed an Amicus Brief, but I was wondering if he could do something to put a stop to this. William Luse has a post about the Terri Schiavo situation and links to two articles that completely contradict each other as to whether Gov. Bush can do anything to stop Terri from being murdered.

Update 2: Amy Welborn has more on this sad situation.

A Fight for Her Life

Take a look at this site and read about Terri Schiavo's situation. This is an outrage!

(Via Open Book.)