According to Terri Schiavo’s autopsy report, she was severely brain-damaged. OK.
For me, the whole tragedy surrounding Terri and the people who wanted her dead didn’t hinge on how severely brain-damaged she was. She was alive and wasn’t on life support, and her husband’s credibility was extremely low, too low to trust his assertion that Terri wanted to die if ever severely brain-damaged. Forget about what you’d want if you were ever in the same condition. Take yourselves out of the equation.
The way they killed her was appalling, and I was angry for a long time afterward. I’m giving you a heads-up. Don’t be alarmed or disgusted by the liberal media and liberal bloggers (and some conservatives, too) declaring that Terri’s wayward husband is somehow “vindicated” by the autopsy report. The doctor-induced starvation was immoral.
Look at the thing itself, to paraphrase a fictional man-eater paraphrasing Marcus Aurelius. What is it in itself? What is its nature, this culture of death?
It is dark, dank, and putrid. And hungry.
Continue reading Death Culturists Say Michael Schiavo ‘Vindicated’
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Update: Hating the “Religious Right”
Update II: Kate Adamson, a woman once diagnosed as being in a Persistent Vegetative State, will be on Larry King Live tonight. Dory at Wittenberg Gate interviewed her.
Update III (4/1): James White, my favorite Christian apologist, travels across the country debating on such topics as the doctrine of the trinity, solo scriptura, predestination, papal infallibility, etc. He also won Best Overall Evangelical Blog in the 2005 Evangelical Blog Awards. Yesterday he blogged about Terri Schiavo. It’s a must-read.
Check out the Blogs4God round-up.
Significant numbers of people were outraged in 1973, when the Supreme Court placed its “holy” imprimatur on the murder of babies in the womb and overstepped its bounds by tying up states on the issue through a constitutional right it manufactured.But over the last several decades, despite a virtual monopoly by leftist forces in academia, the major media and Hollywood, the public’s sentiment toward protecting babies in utero has matured, and its aversion to judicial activism has grown.
People have a sense, if not any particular sophistication in constitutional analysis, that there is something radically wrong with the Orwellian propaganda that “social change” ought to emanate from the courts rather than legislative bodies.
Update IV (3/26 @ 12:22 p.m.) Judge Greer rejects emergency appeal.
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I’ve learned from FOX News that the Schindler’s have made an emergency appeal to Judge Greer (trial judge) tonight to order reinsertion of Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube. I can’t find a link to the story, though. Greta Van Susteren is standing by for Judge Greer’s ruling, which may come tonight. Check Yahoo! full coverage for updates.
A man has been arrested for making threats against Michael Schiavo via the Internet. In that case, he shouldn’t be the only one. How many people have said or written such things about Schiavo in the past week out of emotion? Should they all be arrested?
Greta’s interviewing a nurse who claims Michael Schiavo told her (and cried) that he didn’t know what to do about Terri. “We never talked about it,” she claims he said.
Update: From CNN: “In a separate, emergency motion, on which a Florida state judge is expected to rule by noon Saturday, the Schindlers contend that their daughter has expressed the wish to live.”
They say Terri was trying to say, “I want to live.” I’m doubtful about this.
It’s 10:47 p.m., and I’m going to bed. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Update II (3/26): FOX finally updated its site. Also see LifeNews.
Update III (12:05 p.m.): Still awaiting Judge Greer’s response to their emergency motion, the Schindler’s say they won’t seek additional appeals.
Update II (3/25): The Schindler’s second appeal to Judge Whittemore fails. They appealed again to the 11th Circuit. The court will likely turn them away a second time.
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Liberals’ newfound respect for “federalism” is completely disingenuous. People who support a national policy on abortion are prohibited from ever using the word “federalism.”
I wholeheartedly agree, Ann.
During the Federal Marriage Amendment debate, liberals were suddenly supporter’s of “states’ rights.” Strangely enough, they couldn’t be bothered with it when the Supreme Court struck down a sodomy law in Texas. Or when the same court discovered a right to privacy to kill babies, despite state laws to the contrary. It seems that liberals favor states’ rights as long as death is involved. Except the deaths of convicted murderers, that is.
See Slanting the News Against Terri Schiavo and I Come To Bury Terri Schiavo, Not Praise Her.
Interesting story in the Washington Post (reg. req.):
Michele Finn and her husband’s brother, Edward, were on opposite sides of the decision to remove Finn’s feeding tube, but they both thought that his death might bring about some change.“When this happened to me,” Michele Finn said, “I thought and hoped that it would send a message to government to stay out of these decisions, these very heart-wrenching decisions. It is very disappointing to me that this has gotten up to Congress the way it did over the weekend.”
Hugh Finn’s brother, Edward, who disagreed with his sister-in-law’s decision to withdraw the feeding tube, said his family lives with the circumstances of his brother’s death every day.
“The Schiavo case and my brother’s case are identical,” he said. He said he thought the issues raised by his brother’s death might have resulted in new laws proposed by politicians who opposed Finn’s feeding tube being removed.
Pro-life blogger Kevin McCullough writes: “How is it that this doctor [William Hammesfahr] with these credentials is being ignored by the judges, and the media regarding the facts of the case of Terri Schiavo’s actual medical condition?”
Also see Michelle Malkin’s latest column.
I’ve been trying to suppress this feeling, but I can’t stand the thought of Terri Schiavo lying in that bed slowly dying, while people who love her can only watch. THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!! Her mother is watching her child die. I just saw a video clip of Terri’s mother standing over her touching the face of her starving daughter. But I take comfort in knowing there will be an accounting for this.
Commenting is closed because I don’t want or need opinions right now. Trackbacking is enabled, though. I encourage Christian bloggers to trackback to this post. (Non-Christian bloggers may trackback, too.) Give us some words of comfort, something I’m unable to provide at the moment.
And pray.
Afterthought: I wonder how much jail time you’d get for deliberately starving your dog.
After-Afterthought: But that’s “unrelated” to the deliberate starvation of a human being, I suppose.
More thoughts: I’ve been snapping at people today. Only one person really deserved it (obsessed troll); the rest didn’t. I apologize. Just tired.
Update (3/23): The Schindler’s appeal to the 11th Circuit was denied this morning. The court said they “failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims.” Here’s a PDF copy of the ruling.
Interesting story from the Washington Times:
As in most culture war issues, the battle over Terri Schiavo’s life has attracted an outpouring from an army of traditional values, pro-life, conservative and religious groups.But there is virtual silence from many of their usual adversaries: The National Organization for Women, NARAL Pro-Choice America and other major pro-choice and feminist groups don’t mention the brain-damaged Florida woman on their Web sites. Neither does Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the National Council of Churches or the National Coalition for Domestic Violence (NCDV), even though these groups often lock horns with some of the organizations defending Mrs. Schiavo’s right to life
Update: Read about a formerly comatose woman who felt hunger pangs after her feeding tube was removed.
PDF copy of Judge Whittemore’s ruling.
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There are a few points I want to touch on today.
It should be understood that Congress has the authority to remove jurisdiction of cases from state courts to federal courts. Article III of the U.S. Constitution gives the legislature the power to do so. (Also see discussion of Removal From State Court to Federal Court for further details)
[Note: From the Washington Post (reg. req): “Article Three of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to send a case to federal courts, particularly if a person’s constitutional rights have been violated. But it is not clear that Congress can dictate guardianship rules to states. “I don’t think any power Congress has under the commerce clause or other powers gives them the authority to make federal guardianship laws,” said Mary Cheh, a law professor at George Washington University.”]
As in all such exercises of government power, the constitutionality of such a move in this case is a legitimate concern. But extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures.
When it comes to homosexual “marriage” or starving Terri Schiavo, liberals pontificate about respect for the “rule of law.” But it was disregard for the rule of law that enabled the Supreme Court to fashion a right to privacy to kill unborn babies out of the “penumbra” of the Constitution. However ironic it is, it’s irrelevant. Political motives of conservatives or liberals are of little importance in this case. The point is to keep Terri alive, at least until more tests can be done to determine the true extent of her condition.
