Sad from every point of view
I am quite bothered tonight about the Terri Schiavo situation. Her husband's relentless battle against her own parents to starve their daughter to death just makes me sick. I am not saying that I disagree with living wills or a person's right to choose to not be kept alive in a vegetative state - I completely agree with those choices and encourage everyone to have a living will and make their wishes known in writing.
That said, the problem here is that the courts have relied on the husband's word that his wife did not want to live this way, that she would rather be dead. And perhaps she did, in fact, indicate such wishes to her husband. Mrs. Schiavo's parents, however, disagree. How heartbreaking for them to feel that their daughter is being murdered - not just by her husband, but legally by the justice system! The fact that there is a disagreement here, that Terri Schiavo did not make her wishes known to anyone but her husband, should be persuasive enough to deny her husband's request. I just don't think that a spouse's word alone should be enough to affect such a result. I understand that legally, Mr. Schiavo is considered the closest next of kin, not the parents, but just because something is legal does not always mean the best result. Had Mrs. Schiavo had a living will, or even if her parents agreed that the feeding tube should be removed, then indeed, remove the tube. But because there are such strong feelings against removing the tube by her own parents, I feel that their wishes should have outweighed Mr. Schiavo's, especially because the alternative is the death of their daughter.
It will take one to two weeks for Mrs. Schiavo to starve to death. Can you imagine being a parent and knowing that your child is being legally and forceably starved to death? My empathy for her parents far exceeds my empathy for her husband's desire to "allow her to die." Terri Schiavo is not completely brain dead - she has some sense of interaction with the world around her. She smiles, she opens her eyes, she will likely feel the pain from starving to death.
Additionally and importantly, while I disagree with the court's decision here, I disagree even more with the congressional tactics to roadblock the decision.
So sad and disturbing on so many levels.
That said, the problem here is that the courts have relied on the husband's word that his wife did not want to live this way, that she would rather be dead. And perhaps she did, in fact, indicate such wishes to her husband. Mrs. Schiavo's parents, however, disagree. How heartbreaking for them to feel that their daughter is being murdered - not just by her husband, but legally by the justice system! The fact that there is a disagreement here, that Terri Schiavo did not make her wishes known to anyone but her husband, should be persuasive enough to deny her husband's request. I just don't think that a spouse's word alone should be enough to affect such a result. I understand that legally, Mr. Schiavo is considered the closest next of kin, not the parents, but just because something is legal does not always mean the best result. Had Mrs. Schiavo had a living will, or even if her parents agreed that the feeding tube should be removed, then indeed, remove the tube. But because there are such strong feelings against removing the tube by her own parents, I feel that their wishes should have outweighed Mr. Schiavo's, especially because the alternative is the death of their daughter.
It will take one to two weeks for Mrs. Schiavo to starve to death. Can you imagine being a parent and knowing that your child is being legally and forceably starved to death? My empathy for her parents far exceeds my empathy for her husband's desire to "allow her to die." Terri Schiavo is not completely brain dead - she has some sense of interaction with the world around her. She smiles, she opens her eyes, she will likely feel the pain from starving to death.
Additionally and importantly, while I disagree with the court's decision here, I disagree even more with the congressional tactics to roadblock the decision.
So sad and disturbing on so many levels.
posted by Amanda at 6:42 PM
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