If I were HTML-savvy enough to start a blog right now, I would. And I would have no choice but to title it “Terri Schiavo Made Me Start A Blog” (Side Note: I think blogspot is my first choice for blogging, but I think you need some HTML knowledge just to add links and stuff. Any advice? For real this time? I have an office job now and lots of time to blog)
Anyway.
No one should ever have been in a position to get sucked into this case, because it never should have been public.
Terri Schiavo’s case has been heard over and over in Florida state courts, and they have consistently found that Schiavo has the right to die, and her husband is the only person legally permitted to make that decision. But somehow, this private matter is a federal issue.
(Republicans are for states rights until you try to legalize marijuana. But no one is really a staunch federalist anymore, so you can’t blame one side over the other)
I’ve never seen Bush as much as a conservative. The Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, and NCLB are the very opposite of limited government and less interference in a citizen’s personal life. This case, however, has the distinction of being the most ridiculous because it ultimately involves the case of one person (Schiavo) and ultimately only affects a small group of people (her husband, parents, and other immediate family who would already have been affected by this anyway) ((Supposedly. This case doesn’t seem like it will serve as a precedent for future legal matters because the legislation is so carefully tailored to fit the details surrounding Schiavo)).
Quite frankly, many of the details in this case don’t matter to me. They aren’t my business. And they are not, and never should have been, the business of the federal government.
Much of this has simply become political grandstanding and media frenzy. Schiavo’s parents are eager to paint her husband Michael as a greedy gold digger whose out for insurance money and already “sinfully” living with another woman. (Actually nearly everything I’ve read suggests Michael Schiavo has gone near broke providing basic care for Terri)
For the most part, I don’t think it’s valid or helpful to overanalyze Michael Schiavo’s possible “motivations” in this case. For every story that claims he’s denied her proper care, with which she could recover, there’s another five saying that he exhausted all medical options before accepting the conclusions the doctors had already come to – his wife was not going to recover. Her brain was essentially gone. Additionally, Schiavo was examined by court appointed doctors – neutral parties – who came to the same conclusion that previous doctors did. The law is not perfect. But when different courts repeatedly rule in his favor, I think that has to mean something for the validity of the law. (I’m sure, if anyone actually read this thing, I’d get lots of angry comments about courts upholding laws on slavery, discrimination, and the like).
There is no compelling evidence that supports any of the charges that have been made against Michael Schaivo. “Competing claims” seem to be an attempt by Schiavo’s parents to distract from the fact that COURTS HAVE CONSISTENTLY RULED IN MICHAEL SCHIAVO’S FAVOR.
Further, a claim is made that her parents would assume all costs for her care, should they gain custodial rights. This is merely a half truth – regular people can’t afford the degree of lifelong care Schiavo would require. Medicaid would be paying for it, and in turn, the taxpayers. As many ardent and not-so-ardent Bush-bashers have pointed out, this injects a degree of irony in to the case: as governor of Texas, Bush signed legislation that “forced cessation of treatment in futile cases in the instance of inability to pay. To be honest, I don’t know what should be done about healthcare in this country. But keeping alive a woman who has no hope of ever recovering seems to be a waste of resources on all levels.
Politicians on both sides are rallying around this issue, promoting some kind of twisted “culture of life,” and playing to the emotional, rather than legal side of the issue. No one wants to imagine their child in the state Schiavo is in. But even without explicit instructions (such as a living will), the law gives one’s spouse jurisdiction over these matters. Of course, as with anything, there is room for this power to be used in an abusive matter, but I still trust an individual’s decision, particularly an individual who actually KNEW the woman is question, over the federal government.
The Federal judge required by the new legislation signed this past weekend sees it fit to permit Michael Schaivo the right to allow Terri to die, as all the other judges who previously heard the case. Likely, her parents will appeal the decision and continue this spectacle further.
Nearly everyone involved in this case are first-rate hypocrites. And I want a living will as soon as possible that states that if I ever wind up like Terri, to pull the plug. Perhaps if nothing else, this case will inspire others to do the same.
