The Sad Case of Terry Schiavo and the Moral Right in ameriKa

All we have been hearing and seeing on the news is poor Terry Schiavo, mouth slightly agape, eyes staring of into space, at times a possible glimpse of life but mostly nothing. A catatonic stare into eternity. Her case has grown into a media frenzy, with her husband and 73% of the public on one side according to CNN/Gallup and her parents and every right to life person on the other. The facts we know for sure are this:Terry collapsed in 1990 suffering severe brain damage due to lack of oxygen to her brain.The cause of her cardiac arrest was believed to be due to chemical imbalances in her blood (specifically potassium) believe to be caused by her bulimia nervosa. In 1992 a medical malpractice suit was brought against Schiavo's medical care providers. The jury concluded that Schiavo suffered from bulimia, which caused her chemical imbalance and subsequent cardiac arrest and had not been properly diagnosed by the hospital. The hospital appealed, and the case was settled in 1993 before the appeal could be decided, with Terri Schiavo receiving $750,000 and Michael Schiavo receiving $300,000 from the hospital.

After that there are few facts known, a lot of bark but no bite. We can only surmise our opinions from what is presented from her on.We know Terri's husband claimed that on more than two occasions Terri told him that she would never want to live "hooked on machines" and after seeing relatives on their death beds she made sure he promised to never let her become like that. Michael Schiavo has been trying to grant her that wish for 7 years. He waited 6 years to see if Doctor's could do anything to improve her condition. They couldn't and she hasn't. Since 1998 Schiavo has tried to have her feeding tubes removed and allow her to die and move on to a better place. Around this time Terri's parents tried to have a court remove Michaels guardianship, claiming he abused their daughter and was unfit to be in charge of her care. This case was was never heard since it contained allegations that were 12 yrs old. A nurse was even going to testify that Michael abused her in the hospital. They went even as far to suggest that Michael withheld CPR to Terri as she lay on the floor after she first collapsed. A lot of hate, lies and deceit from both parties has fouled the entire affair. One fact remains after all this. According to numerous Doctors and Experts, Terri Schiavo is in a Persistent Vegetative State and does not react to stimuli. So we have Michael Shiavo who in all fairness probably wants to move on with his life, release his wife, grant her wish and move into the future knowing she is in a better place. Then we have her Parents, devoutly religious, convinced that Terri recognizes them and with more treatment will get better.Neither is wrong in their hopes. Terri's Parents spokesperson who just happens to be one of the biggest anti-abortionist's in Florida believes she will get better with time. One wonders where they have been for the last 15 years during which Terri has shown no progress. Granted I am a bit bias here. I fully believe in a persons right to die and I fully believe that if Terri could say one sentence it would be "Let me go." Michael Schiavo gains nothing by his wife leaving this earth. Nothing but closure. I truly believe her parents love Terri and in their faith based beliefs think she could recover but I think its more than that. They claim it is the ultimate sin to kill and if their daughter is removed from her feeding tubes then I guarantee you will see "murder" in quotes all across the nations news papers. Maybe Michael was a scumbag. Maybe he hurt his wife or maybe its just a story concocted by her family to help them gain control of Terri's destiny. We will never know because Terri cant and will never be able to tell us. Either way it does not change the fact of her condition, one I might add that was partly brought on by her own bulimia. How do you think Terri felt about herself before the collapse? She was sick, had a serious eating disorder and known physciatric issues. She was troubled to say the least and now her parents think she is happy in her current condition? If she had the will to think it I doubt this to be the case.
The last Doctor to briefly examine Terri for her parents had this to say:"In summary, Terri Schiavo demonstrates behaviors in a variety of cognitive domains that call into question the previous neurological diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. Specifically, she has demonstrated behaviors that are context-specific, sustained, and indicative of cerebral cortical processing that, upon careful neurological consideration, would not be expected in a persistent vegetative state. Based on this evidence, I believe that, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, there is a greater likelihood that Terri is in a minimally conscious state than a persistent vegetative state... [and] in my judgment it would be wrong to bring about her death by withdrawing food and water." This Doctor of course was brought in by Terri's parents and as usual, Doctors called in by them concur that she is not in a Persistent Vegetative State as Michaels Doctors all agree that she IS in PVS. This obviously is representative of some of these Doctors moral opinions more than their scientific knowledge. Some of Michaels Doctor's are known to support Doctor assisted Suicide as some of Terri's Parents Doctor's refuse to perform abortions and other specific "morally disagreeable" services. This is a no win situation for Terri, but the above Doctor's quote is interesting though. If you had asked Terri fifteen years ago if she would want to live "in a minimally conscious state" how would she have reacted? This was a woman who was overweight growing up and suffered from bulimia because of this. As horrible as this sounds if Terri had one look at herself in this condition I think her answer would be obvious. "Let me go."
Terri is still the only victim that remains here. I would think her husband is long past the point of grief as is her family regarding her current condition and the sad hand she has been dealt in life but that was 15 years ago. It is now the fight for the right to live or die and the moral issues that are dwarfing Terri in this hotly debated issue. Georgy Porgie signed a bill that was rushed through Congress to keep her alive. Congress actually wanted to wheel her up to Washington so they could spout their rhetoric in front of the TV cameras like they recently did with Major League Baseball regarding the steroid issue. Porgie's brother and Florida Governor Jeb Bush even tried to circumvent the courts when he produced a Doctor who had spent 90 minutes with Terri and proclaimed "I felt Terri's presence in the room" Its quite ironic that politicians who are passing legislation to curb Medical Malpractice suits and cut Medicare, the two things that have KEPT TERRI ALIVE for 15 years are now rushing to her aid with Bible in one hand and sound bytes in the other.

It looks as I write this that Terri will soon get her wish, the wish Michael claims anyway and she will be leaving us. Though starving someone to death sounds horribly in-humane it is the only way to let her go. It would be the choice I would make. I feel for her family and for her husband and I can only hope when she is gone that it brings closure.
We know it wont though. Debate will rage on. Her family or spokespeople will accuse the State of "murder" and their defamation of Michael will continue. Michael will continue to profess Terri's wish to be let go if she was ever hooked up to machines. I'm sure Michael will re-marry and we will see them all endlessly on Oprah, Larry King etc. Only one voice wont be heard and that will be Terri's. Hers was silenced 15 years ago. This is a good time to believe in a better afterlife because after the circus that has revolved around her for 15 years she deserves better. I think she will get it.