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Printer-Friendly ModeSchiavo case sheds light on other problems
April 4, 2005 —
To the SVSU Campus: If I get into a car accident tomorrow, and come out an irreversible vegetable, you have my permission to pull the plug on me, in whatever way that is required. Pull the feeding tube out of my stomach; yank that IV from my wrist; save the Earth a little bit by cutting off the electricity to my respirator, and let me die the natural way. Under no circumstances do I want to be kept alive artificially because I know that this world isn't the only one I will encounter, and I don't want to stay here longer than I should.
It's a shame poor Terri Schiavo's family failed to grasp this dilemma. Her parents, as devout Catholics, should have realized God called her number 14 years ago, and that it was time to let go. I'm not sure exactly what they had to fear; what I have gathered these past few months, their daughter is guaranteed a prime spot in the afterlife. Instead, they simply did their best to keep her in a medium that no one should have to endure for 14 years - in a state where she was not quite alive, not quite dead.
There isn't a soul in America who doesn't feel sympathetic to the parents of Terri Schiavo - even though I disagree with their actions, I feel their pity. I admit that at times, they seemed much more agreeable than Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, who often seemed willing to let his wife die solely so he can begin his new life with the woman he has been dating for a decade and has two children with. But even these factors don't negate the fact that what Schiavo's parents - and most of the federal government - were doing was a gross usurpation of powers from not only the states, but from families, especially from the closest link in families: spouses.
As much as I love my parents, if I was married, I wouldn't want life-altering decisions made by them if I was incapacitated. I would only want my wife to make these decisions for me; conversely, if she was incapacitated, I would not allow or expect her parents to take over for her. For conservatives, who make such a big fuss out of adhering to tradition, they should recognize this as well - hence the "giving away of the bride" at wedding ceremonies, which signifies a transfer of power from parents to spouse.
But alas, there are so many in this nation who feel it is necessary to use any means possible to preserve a life, even if it is a life not worth living (although most of these voices are strangely muted when it comes to executing juveniles). These people would shred the Constitution for a loophole to keep someone alive artificially, and these people would oppose the funding to keep other individuals, presumably those with a good chance of living a normal life, alive through a universal healthcare system.
Take our beloved President. Looking beyond his fondness for executing the retarded and juveniles while governor of Texas, Bush signed a little-known bill into law in 1999. This law enables hospitals to pull the plug on critically ill patients over the objections of family members. Two weeks ago, the law was used to pull a six-month-old baby off life support, and it died shortly after. I guess President Bush, who has been quite vocal in his opposition to abortion, stops caring about children once they leave the womb.
As heinous as it is, President Bush is not the real monster in this law. He did not draft the bill, he merely signed it. This is in no ways condoning what he did, but rather to point the finger at a larger culprit.
The National Right to Life Committee, the demagogic group who portrays itself falsely as a voice of support for all forms of life, supported the law, which has been used so far only on poor families who could not pay their medical bills. This would be the same National Right to Life Committee that has decried the Terri Schiavo case the single most important event in America.
Hypocrisy, ignorance, and demagogy - these are what the so-called pro-life movement is really representing.