Did they LET Terri die or MAKE Terri die?
If you believe the latter, reverse logic says they weren't letting Terri live - but rather were MAKING Terri live. Of course, logic has never been the far right's strong point.
And despite the deluge of contradictory information and wild last-minute allegations, and the understandable torn feelings of many in this country, Terri Schiavo's case can be narrowed down to just a few fundamental questions:
Can we trust our doctors? God help us if we can't. The so-called liberal media reports that some physicians describe Terri Schiavo's as being in a persistent vegetative state. Where are the reputable implied others who actually examined her? Her death was described as torturous, yet according to the medical community a human body that cannot eat or drink releases endorphins and feels no discomfort. That's what they tell the hundreds of families every year who make the agonizing choice to remove feeding tubes. Wouldn't we all like to believe it's true?
Can we trust our judicial system? When hearing after hearing, in front of liberal and conservative judges alike, all conclude the same thing - Terri should be allowed to die - enough is enough. Can you imagine the 2000 or 2004 general election issues continuing on for five months, let alone five years? Of course not - those Americans who questioned the results were met with eye rolls and told to have faith in the courts and not "drag it out" for the good of the nation.
Who makes the better guardian - a person's spouse or biological parent(s)? You can't divorce your family. Unless you found yourself rooting for Hillary Swank's disgusting, parasitic relatives in Million Dollar Baby, you can imagine why the best judge of what an incapacitated person would want is probably their partner, chosen by them as an adult. They know, understand, and most likely agree with their mate's mature ideological belief system - including matters of life and death.
What is more important quality of life or basic existence? The pro-life radicals call Michael Schiavo and, by extension, the vast majority of Americans who agree with letting Terri die, murderers. Is anyone that has ever ended life support for a loved one, made the gut-wrenching decision to terminate a pregnancy or even put a pet to sleep also guilty? We'd better get busy building prisons. Advocates of a "culture of life" completely disregard what kind of life a person may be experiencing. To them it does not matter if an unwanted child is born into neglect or abuse. It does not matter what Terri would have wanted. Life is life and any views that differ from theirs are dead wrong and tickets to hell.
Where is all this headed? No one wanted to see poor Terri die. To imply so is offensive. If all goes well, this issue will serve as a wake-up call for society. Narrow-minded attempts to pay off Michael Schiavo, as if his decision was a matter of simple, calloused cost or convenience, should speak insensitive volumes to everyone. Claims that Terri tried to say, "I want to live" serve only as an affront to the medical and legal communities, as well as the intelligence of the American people. The Save Terri movement's parading of pitiful images of a by-all-accounts proud beautiful young woman should insult us all. Perhaps the far right's vagrant exploitation of Terri's tragedy will open the moderate public's eyes to their warped, intrusive and dangerous agenda.
