Tuesday, March 29, 2005
When Terry met Jessie
Sometimes conflict can forge odd, and seemingly unlikely alliances. For once, Jessie and I are on the same side! The Schiavo case has been beaten into the ground by both sides, (Excellent editorial here , a somewhat off economic analysis here and Andrew McCarthy on legal ramifications here) but I have gathered from heated exchanges with the liberal student body that most people are forming there opinions based on faulty information. Terry Schiavo is not on life support, contrary to what many people will attempt to tell you. Anyone who has ever seen a newborn being breastfed, or even a person on a glucose IV Drip has seen exactly what is going on here, or at least was. And as for the shaky "Consistent Vegetative" diagnosis, we have only to look to some of the worse-off cases in elderly homes to glimpse cases that could pass for the same (although I wonder, if some "pro-death" folks got there way, how long they too would be around). Unfortunately, it seems that Jessie's intervention will be too little to late, and for once its a shame.
Joining conservatives who have rallied to the Schindlers' cause, the liberal Jackson said he would call state senators who opposed legislation that would have reinserted Schiavo's feeding tube and ask them to reconsider.Terry is close to gone, if reports from her husbands lawyer(Midway through article) are any indication. But this is not a vindicating cause of the tube removal, but rather a inhumane and grisly outcome. Jackson cuts to the heart of the issue: this is not depriving extraneous treatment, but basic human needs. Stop feeding me, and I too will die. And as many have noted, placing a gun to her head and streamlining the process would hardly be acceptable, but it is both quicker and less painful, and about the same thing as what is happening now. For the sake of brevity, although not wit, I'm not going to rant about the specifics, others have done it better than I could. But the simple fact remains that Terry is not dead; removing the feeding tube is not allowing her to die, it is killing her.
"I feel so passionate about this injustice being done, how unnecessary it is to deny her a feeding tube, water, not even ice to be used for her parched lips," Jackson said. "This is a moral issue and it transcends politics and family disputes."
Comments:
" But the simple fact remains that Terry is not dead; removing the feeding tube is not allowing her to die, it is killing her.
Your ending sentence (as referenced above) was one of the most truthful comments I have read on this ordeal. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and words. I've quoted you already.
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Your ending sentence (as referenced above) was one of the most truthful comments I have read on this ordeal. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and words. I've quoted you already.
# posted by 
: 1:31 PM
: 1:31 PM
