Terri Shiavo Terri ShiavoThis entire sequence of events is sick. I shall summarize because although every one knows the details today, we have short memories. 15 years ago this woman became brain damaged from events starting with an accident. She has been in a vegetative coma ever since. ALL of the doctors concur that there is no chance of recovery and that she is not aware of her existence. She is ‘awake’ and can move and can do the normal involuntary things like blink her eyes. Today. She is now dying.
Oh. There is one doctor, a self-proclaimed “Bio-Ethicist” who disagrees. On this planet you will always find some nut who is a contrarian. Why the issue? Many parents/families and hospitals make this kind of decision every day. My friend, Amy, a registered nurse (see previous years) in a neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) saw (and cried) parents have to watch their newborn baby die in the same situations. Babies born with no chance of having a cognoscente life having their food and water withdrawn.
Back to the question: why the issue? The husband and wife knew that they would not want to survive a living death situation. Her family wants their pet baby girl. The family put up a major fuss involving the entire state government and because the governor of Florida is a radical right-wing Republican Right-to-Lifer brother of the President, our entire government stopped its serious work and interfered with this poor woman's death.
For years the state government of Florida made medical decisions, passed laws, badgered the judicial system, and played God in every manner it could. The judges finally got past this and pulled the feeding tube and water tube to let her die. Then they put them back and then recently took them out again.
This time the governor called in his big brother, the President. He pushed Congress to pass a special law to make her case Federal. The Federal judge refused action. The appeals court refused action. The Supreme Court refused action. The press had a field day. Millions of copies sold. Web site bloggers with millions of lines of opinions. Bio-ethicists. The governor did not give up. He tried to adopt her.
The family was destroyed. Her husband has spent years trying to let his wife die in peace as she and he had told each other they would want to do in such a situation. But nothing on paper: make yourself a living will. NOW. The husband and the rest of the family will hate each other for the rest of their lives. Millions of dollars spent on lawyers and doctors. Pictures spread across the world.
Why? There is always a motive. I think it varies here. I think the husband wants to honor his wife's life and her wishes. The family wants to have a pet baby girl. Maybe more than that. No one wants to see their child die. But she died fifteen tears ago.
Why the state government? Maybe they had good intentions. Maybe it is the Right-to-lifers again. There are a lot of retired people in Florida and dying is a serious issue there.
Why the Federal government? This is the serious question. I think that the President has only one motive here and we have known it for a long time. He wants to pack the courts with radical right-wing Christian judges. He wants our country to continue being a theocracy after he leaves office. He knows that even with a Republican Senate that his judges are in trouble. He has been appointing radical right-wing Christians to every possible position that will survive him that he can. He will appoint 4 Supreme Court judges this term. That will leave a legacy that will take decades to overcome.
George Orwell’s Big Brother pales in comparison to Jeb Bush's Big Brother. We have lost all rights to privacy. The thought police can now arrest you and hold you incommunicado on ‘reasonable suspicion’ of a possible crime. The federal government can jump into a state and force an issue into the federal system on a whim. I mean the president's claim that due process was not followed after fifteen years of state court battles is preposterous. If you want more of the same, sit in your chair. If you want to help our sinking ship, talk to the folks at www.moveon.org.