WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Justin Taylor has a helpful post with links to some video of Terry Schiavo - certainly worth sending to people who doubt that this situation is anything less than murder. And he provides some helpful steps to take to stand against the injustice of the situation. Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed yesterday and it seems that without intervention, she will starve to death. Jeremy Pierre also offers some excellent thoughts on this tragedy.
So what are we to make of this? What should we expect from our government - those whom are given the duty to protect life? As a citizen of this country Terry Schiavo deserves better. And while this is not a partisan issue (or should not be), the GOP leadership needs to get it together in this final hour and practice what they preach. You want to be “pro-life” and campaign on the issue of the “sanctity of human life”? Then do not let this woman be cruelly and slowly starved to death. For more on this, read Peggy Noonan’s op-ed from yesterday.
But beyond Schiavo’s American citizenship and her right to equal protection under the law, there is a deeper and more weighty issue at play. Are all humans of equal worth? Are those in a vegetative state (and we still do not know what may be going on in Schiavo’s brain!) somehow “lesser persons” because of their condition? What about the unborn? Ultrasound technology is dismantling the myth of equating personhood with birth. So the argument made to retain the abominable practice of abortion is now being shifted to suggestign that the life of the mother is of more consequence or worth than that of the unborn child. The logical conclusion of such an ideology is the ethical system of someone like Peter Singer, suggesting that infanticide may actually be morally good in certain situations. What about the elderly? Or the mentally handicapped? Are all men truly created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights?
This is where Christians must speak loudly and clearly. The issue is no longer about medical or biological arguments. It is the call to have a prophetic voice in a culture who has deluded itself into thinking it prizes civil rights when it advances the genocide of these “lesser persons.” It means recovering a biblical theology of personhood and of the significance of what it means to be created in the image of God. It means restoring a proper understanding of man’s unique place and role within the created order. Social justice is not a “liberal” concept - the covenant people of God are to be marked by a love for mercy and justice. So pastors - give up your “Six Ways to a Stress Free Life” sermons and preach boldly. Exhort the people of God out of the lethargy of moral apathy and may the Word do its work.
March 21st, 2005 at 2:22 am
something to be considered on the flipside, however, is what it means to be alive, and what life consists of. without the benefits of technology, Mrs. Shaivo would have died a long time ago, which gives me cause to wonder what technology has really given us in terms of life. my grandfather died this past week, and as i watched him take his last breath, without the benefit of a respirator, i had to pray to God a prayer of thanks, for mercy, knowing that life is not marked off by length, but by love. i’m not sure that technology has given us a great gift in this particular arena, by extending lives beyond the natural lengths. what is happening in Mrs. Schaivo’s case, unfortunately, touches on the thorny issue of what happens when a person’s life and technology have become so intertwined that one cannot be seen without the other.
just some thoughts.
March 21st, 2005 at 12:27 pm
Amen and amen, Matt.
March 21st, 2005 at 1:38 pm
Myles - there certainly is something to seeing someone in your grandfather’s situation that is heart-wrenching. And for those who are in Christ, what a joy to know that they are “in paradise.” Thanks for sharing that.
The Schiavo case does not seem to be as thorny though - she is not on “life support.” A feeding tube is not replacing or assisting any of her internal organs - it’s just giving her the nourishment that she needs (as we all do). That’s a huge part of the public dialogue on the Schiavo case - this is not a question of “pulling the plug.” It is a question of starving someone to death.
March 21st, 2005 at 2:22 pm
Myles, I fairly certain that in Terri’s case, the tubes were only feeding tubes. They did not support life that would normally not function on its own (like a respirator, for instance). They simply fed her in the way that she needed.
Your point is good, nonetheless. The ethic of sustaining a life is not an easy one. It is one that my family has had to deal with as well.
I am sorry to hear about your grandfather, but it sounds like you are finding peace from the Lord. Blessings.
March 22nd, 2005 at 12:40 am
Perhaps someone can help me on this one, because I am not sure whether it is true or not: I think I remember hearing that there seems to be a good chance that with therapy, Terry Schiavo could learn to eat and drink without a tube. However, her husband has not permitted her to undergo this therapy. Has anyone heard anything like that?
Whatever the case on that, I agree with you, Matt, that we need to make a distinction between providing the basics of food and water to someone (whether feeding them orally or by some other means) and allowing them to die, as is the case when a respirator is turned off.
March 22nd, 2005 at 3:04 pm
I have found out more about this case. Michael Schiavo won over one million dollars in a malpractice suit that resulted from his wife’s injury. He pledged to use that money for her care, but he has instead used it to pay legal bills in the battle to have her killed. He has not provided her with the care that would have resulted in the best possible life for her. One of the reasons she is in a poor condition (though not in a persistent vegetative state) is because he did not opt for therapy. So, the argument that she would not want to live this way is pretty much out the door, because all this time it could have been possible for her to have progressed substantially, but the man who wants her dead did not allow that to happen.
Furthermore, some are suspiscious that Michael Schiavo wants her dead because of possible criminal action on his part against her. At the very least, this case is full of bizarre, shady elements, and it seems ridiculous in these present circumstances to consider the man who is now living in a common law marriage with another woman, having fathered two children with her, is the man who has the best interests of Terry at heart.
If the state allows Terry Schiavo to be starved to death without being directed to do so by a living will, then I think the door is being opened for all kinds of handicapped people to be killed, because after all, nobody wants to live that way. We’re civilized people who have the authority to decide what life is worthy to be lived and what is not.