To Starve or not to Starve?
The whole fuss over the Terri Schiavo case seem quite confounding for me. However, one thing for certain, to be Judge Whittemore right now is not a place I want to be in. Judge Whittemore must be the one to decide whether:
1) Terri Schiavo really stated that she would want to die in such a state,
2) She really is in a permanently, irreversible vegetative state, and
3) Removing the feeding tube is not akin to murder.
Ultimately, the judge will be the one responsible for the fate of Terri Schiavo--whether it's "murder" or a "mercy killing."
Thus, is removing Terri Schiavo's tube akin to murder? Murder is defined as:
n. the killing of a human being by a sane person, with intent, malice aforethought (prior intention to kill the particular victim or anyone who gets in the way) and with no legal excuse or authority.
There appears to be no real leeway in this definition, however, the question is "malice" in play here. I don't feel that Mr. Schiavo wants to remove the tube out of malice, rather out of mercy. However, Mr. Schiavo's current behavior and constant persistency appears to be out of pride, not out of mercy.
The murder question set aside, is Terri Schiavo really beyond help? First, if so, she should have been placed in therapy. Her therapy ended in the early 90s, and she has spent the last ten years with simply a feeding tube. Doctors disagree as to whether Ms. Schiavo is really indeed permanently and irreversibly in a vegetative state. The videos shown appears that Terri is responding, but is it merely random? Is she really smiling and gesturing, or are these random blips in an otherwise dormant mind.
Judge Whittemore thus has an incredibly difficult decision--and in these cases the ruling should err on the side of life. If Ms. Schiavo is indeed ultimately irreversibly vegetative, then so be it--but what if she can be helped with intense therapy? What if, 10, 20, maybe even 30 years down the road, science produces a way for a mind to be revived from such states? Science has found ways to transplant hearts, livers, lungs, kidneys. Science has sent us to space, given us the power of destruction and creation, science has created life--why can science not one day revive dead brain cells? Moreover, beyond science, miracles from God have and still continue to happen each day.
Judge Whittemore will one day face the question from the almighty--and he is the one who will have to answer for his prospective ruling. Is it mercy or is it murder? Congress finally gets something right--let's err on the side of life, and let life run its course.
1) Terri Schiavo really stated that she would want to die in such a state,
2) She really is in a permanently, irreversible vegetative state, and
3) Removing the feeding tube is not akin to murder.
Ultimately, the judge will be the one responsible for the fate of Terri Schiavo--whether it's "murder" or a "mercy killing."
Thus, is removing Terri Schiavo's tube akin to murder? Murder is defined as:
n. the killing of a human being by a sane person, with intent, malice aforethought (prior intention to kill the particular victim or anyone who gets in the way) and with no legal excuse or authority.
There appears to be no real leeway in this definition, however, the question is "malice" in play here. I don't feel that Mr. Schiavo wants to remove the tube out of malice, rather out of mercy. However, Mr. Schiavo's current behavior and constant persistency appears to be out of pride, not out of mercy.
The murder question set aside, is Terri Schiavo really beyond help? First, if so, she should have been placed in therapy. Her therapy ended in the early 90s, and she has spent the last ten years with simply a feeding tube. Doctors disagree as to whether Ms. Schiavo is really indeed permanently and irreversibly in a vegetative state. The videos shown appears that Terri is responding, but is it merely random? Is she really smiling and gesturing, or are these random blips in an otherwise dormant mind.
Judge Whittemore thus has an incredibly difficult decision--and in these cases the ruling should err on the side of life. If Ms. Schiavo is indeed ultimately irreversibly vegetative, then so be it--but what if she can be helped with intense therapy? What if, 10, 20, maybe even 30 years down the road, science produces a way for a mind to be revived from such states? Science has found ways to transplant hearts, livers, lungs, kidneys. Science has sent us to space, given us the power of destruction and creation, science has created life--why can science not one day revive dead brain cells? Moreover, beyond science, miracles from God have and still continue to happen each day.
Judge Whittemore will one day face the question from the almighty--and he is the one who will have to answer for his prospective ruling. Is it mercy or is it murder? Congress finally gets something right--let's err on the side of life, and let life run its course.
posted by Kenn at 9:08 PM
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