Tuesday, March 29, 2005
The Zealous One in New York. Who knew I had such a fervently religious cousin in NY? Over the last few days, she has been mass-blasting urgent emails appealing to us all to save Terri Shiavo. Said I to her:
I'm afraid we couldn't be more profoundly at opposite ends of the spectrum on this issue! But thank you for sharing your views. It is always good to see and hear different perspectives and it certainly makes one realize just how many different realities are out there. There are no easy answers to any of this. Unfortunately this particular case has been grossly politicized and I certainly feel very sorry for everyone closely involved just because it's a no-win situation; one or the other is going to be demonized and perhaps even hurt (e.g. some of the judges who have done nothing else but try to uphold the law of the land have received death threats because certain groups aren't getting their way). So why not just let the parents take care of Terri if that's what they want to do you ask? Well perhaps Terri's husband (who has also been demonized by people who don't even know him) has put himself through all the expense and tribulations of court battles because he is trying to respect the wishes of his wife expressed to him and some of Terri's friends fifteen years ago! And while many religious folks may not want to hear this, Terri's wishes must be considered under a constitution which seperates church and state. And for that I am very thankful to the judiciary who has so far been able to keep the Jeb Bush's of the world from imposing their religious ideology on my death bed thank you very much.
If you close your eyes and think about yourself being in a vegetative state not only from a quality of life perspective but also from the standpoint of the burden it puts on family, friends, and health care professionals, could you really say, "Yes, I want to spend the next fifteen years starting tomorrow like Terri Shaivo?" Maybe your answer is yes. Mine would be an emphatic no. I would want to move on. And I would want my loved one's to be able to move on. Were something like this to happen to me, my only natural recourse would be to to starve to death. Which seems like a rather peaceful way to go actually, particularly if my brain were in a completely vegetative state.
I rather like what the Rev. Margaret Graham, rector at St. John's, said. For years, she has visited hospitals to look after the terminally ill and their families. Ms. Graham said that human interference with God's will and the natural progress of a human life starts not with the removal of a feeding tube, but with its insertion....
As to the video clips, I do not think you and I can possibly judge whether they prove anything. We have simply not enough information to say how much of Terri's 'reactions' are involuntary or voluntary on these brief clips i.e. what does she look like or what does she do when no one is around, or when the nurse comes in to roll her body over so she doesn't get bed sores....? There may be any number of reasons why her face seems to "light up" (not the least of which is the desperate hope that her parents want to believe she is responding). The leg jerks oddly and the family thinks she is trying to communicate with them. They swear she smiled at a joke. She grunts and the family wants to believe she is trying to tell them she wants to live! All the while the doctors who have extensively examined her (as opposed to some of the ones who have only seen the video clips or read her case file) say that she is in a complete and utter vegetative state...
I hope that Terri passes peacefully and soon so that she might die the dignified death she requested and deserved fifteen years ago. So I'm afraid we have to agree to disagree on this one! Take care.
I'm afraid we couldn't be more profoundly at opposite ends of the spectrum on this issue! But thank you for sharing your views. It is always good to see and hear different perspectives and it certainly makes one realize just how many different realities are out there. There are no easy answers to any of this. Unfortunately this particular case has been grossly politicized and I certainly feel very sorry for everyone closely involved just because it's a no-win situation; one or the other is going to be demonized and perhaps even hurt (e.g. some of the judges who have done nothing else but try to uphold the law of the land have received death threats because certain groups aren't getting their way). So why not just let the parents take care of Terri if that's what they want to do you ask? Well perhaps Terri's husband (who has also been demonized by people who don't even know him) has put himself through all the expense and tribulations of court battles because he is trying to respect the wishes of his wife expressed to him and some of Terri's friends fifteen years ago! And while many religious folks may not want to hear this, Terri's wishes must be considered under a constitution which seperates church and state. And for that I am very thankful to the judiciary who has so far been able to keep the Jeb Bush's of the world from imposing their religious ideology on my death bed thank you very much.
If you close your eyes and think about yourself being in a vegetative state not only from a quality of life perspective but also from the standpoint of the burden it puts on family, friends, and health care professionals, could you really say, "Yes, I want to spend the next fifteen years starting tomorrow like Terri Shaivo?" Maybe your answer is yes. Mine would be an emphatic no. I would want to move on. And I would want my loved one's to be able to move on. Were something like this to happen to me, my only natural recourse would be to to starve to death. Which seems like a rather peaceful way to go actually, particularly if my brain were in a completely vegetative state.
I rather like what the Rev. Margaret Graham, rector at St. John's, said. For years, she has visited hospitals to look after the terminally ill and their families. Ms. Graham said that human interference with God's will and the natural progress of a human life starts not with the removal of a feeding tube, but with its insertion....
As to the video clips, I do not think you and I can possibly judge whether they prove anything. We have simply not enough information to say how much of Terri's 'reactions' are involuntary or voluntary on these brief clips i.e. what does she look like or what does she do when no one is around, or when the nurse comes in to roll her body over so she doesn't get bed sores....? There may be any number of reasons why her face seems to "light up" (not the least of which is the desperate hope that her parents want to believe she is responding). The leg jerks oddly and the family thinks she is trying to communicate with them. They swear she smiled at a joke. She grunts and the family wants to believe she is trying to tell them she wants to live! All the while the doctors who have extensively examined her (as opposed to some of the ones who have only seen the video clips or read her case file) say that she is in a complete and utter vegetative state...
I hope that Terri passes peacefully and soon so that she might die the dignified death she requested and deserved fifteen years ago. So I'm afraid we have to agree to disagree on this one! Take care.
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