Revisiting the Terri Schiavo case
September 30, 2004 ~ 4:59 p.m.
Contrary to popular opinion, I can admit when I make the wrong call. Such is the case with the fight over Terry Shiavo�s life.
I am now in agreement with Florida Governor Jeb Bush�s decision to reinstate fluids in order to keep her alive. I didn�t see, at first, how scummy the husband, Michael, was.
Even though Terri Schiavo has been in a vegetative state for 14 years, that fact does not excuse the Florida Supreme Court for striking down the edict issued by Governor Bush last autumn. Furthermore, if Terri�s feeding tube is removed, she will starve to death. What kind of a way is that to die?
The FSC obviously agreed with my initial opinion on the case:
�I believe it was unconstitutional. This legislation was crammed through at the 11th hour and the move looks very doubtful when held up against the litmus test of liberty that is the Constitution.�
Chief Justice Barbara Pariente wrote for the court: �It is without question an invasion of the authority of the judicial branch for the Legislature to pass a law that allows the executive branch to interfere with the final judicial determination in a case. That is precisely what occurred here.�
Going back to Michael Schiavo, his concern for Terri�s right to die is motivated by pure self-interest. He left Terri for another woman whom he had children with. It has become clear to me that Mr. Schiavo does not have Terri�s best interest at heart and should be ruled unfit to pursue the matter of removing her feeding tube.
Florida law allows for the execution of one�s wishes, even if orally expressed. Terri has not done so, and it can safely be assumed that she has expressed her desire in remaining alive to her parents.
And, Lord, believe me, I do not want to see legal euthanasia based on the Dutch model. Witness:
In 1991, in an effort to come to grips with the actual medical practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide, the Dutch Government established a government commission, headed by Professor Jan Remmelink to study the problem. The Remmelink Report opened the eyes of both the people of the Netherlands and the world to the extent of the practice of euthanasia in Holland. Remmelink found that 49,000 of the 130,000 deaths in the Netherlands each year were not natural but involved a "medical decision at the end of life" or MDEL. 95% of these MDEL cases involve, in equal numbers, either withholding treatment/discontinuing life support or the alleviation of pain and symptoms through medication that might hasten death. This latter (alleviating pain and symptoms) category accounted for approx. 20,000 deaths that had been hastened by a physicians decision. Actual euthanasia, using the official Dutch definition, occurred in 2,300 cases or 2% of all Dutch deaths. Dutch physicians helped 400 patients who requested suicide, for either mental illness or discomfort, to kill themselves in 1990. The alarming statistics of the Remmelink Report indicate that in thousands of cases decisions that might or were intended to end a fully competent patient's life were made without consulting the patient. (Emphasis mine.)
Having said that, I still think we need a system in place, with checks and balances, where a terminally ill patient can, him or herself, decide whether they want the plug pulled or not. We do it for animals, why can�t we do it for humans? Terri should be the one to end this whole affair by declaratively stating herself what she wants with no interference from either the state or the �husband��just her doctors, her closest family members and herself.
If such a system were to ever be foolproof, one cannot say. And so it is such that while I still avidly approve of euthanasia in theory, I cannot endorse it in practice. If it�s not perfect, then we may well be killing people against their wishes.
Our Way Home loses their way in Caunckistan
For once, decency and respect wins the day in Canada. A group of peace activists wanted to build a memorial to honor both the American citizens who moved to Canada, rather than serve in Vietnam, and the Canadian citizens that helped them.
The U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars was understandably outraged, alerted the White House to the monument proposal, and threatened a boycott of the area around Nelson, British Columbia. The Nelson Town Council rejected the monument bid, stating the proposal did not have the popularity to justify the use of public funds in order to build it.
�We urge the President and Congress to do whatever is necessary to communicate to the Canadian government that this exercise of free expression is an absolute slap in the face to every man and woman who ever served in uniform,� said John Furgess, the U.S.V.F.W.�s national commander . �Everything America holds dear and every freedom we cherish today came from the blood, sweat and sacrifice of more than 42 million Americans who have answered the call to duty since the Revolutionary War.�
Furgess is right. Honestly, to equate the draft-dodgers� �cause� with that of Holocaust, 9/11 and POW/MIA remembrances by building them a monument just goes to show how morally screwed up the peace protestors really are.
At least we don�t have to worry about his civil rights anymore
For those who complain about human rights abuses at Guatanamo Bay, here�s one story of a man (I use the term ever so loosely) whose civil rights will never again be violated�on account of his death in Afghanistan, via this report:
Sunday, September 26, 2004
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan�A former inmate at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who returned to Afghanistan to rejoin the Taliban as a key commander, was killed along with two fellow fighters in a raid by Afghan security forces, two senior officials said Sunday.
Interim President Hamid Karzai, meanwhile, made a visit � under heavy security � to a northern warlord whose influence could swing the Oct. 9 presidential election, which the Taliban and their anti-government allies threaten to disrupt.
The Taliban commander, Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar, died along with two comrades in a gunbattle Saturday night in Uruzgan, a southern province, said Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan.
He said authorities had received intelligence that Ghaffar was hiding in a village called Pishi and was planning an attack against the government. Security forces launched the raid after surrounding the house where the militants were hiding. No Afghan forces were reported hurt.
The governor said Ghaffar had been a senior Taliban commander in northern Afghanistan and was arrested about two months after a U.S.-led coalition drove the militia from power in late 2001. He was held for eight months at Guantanamo Bay before his release and return to Afghanistan.
Khan and Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali Khan said Ghaffar was then appointed leader of Taliban fighters in Uruzgan, a rugged region believed to be a stronghold of the hardline Islamic militia.
Joke of the day
After Super Bowl XXXVIII, President Bush called the New England Patriots to congratulate them.
Former Vice President Gore called the Carolina Panthers and said, �You were robbed, you should demand a review of the last play!�
Bill Clinton called Janet Jackson.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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