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Jewish World Review March 29, 2005 / 18 Adar II, 5765 Orwell and Terri Schiavo By Rich Lowry
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Denial is not just a river in Egypt, goes the saying. Indeed, it
is something very important to supporters of ending Terri Schiavo's
life, judging by their head-spinning evasions.
A woman who might (or might not) be in a persistent vegetative
state, but who is otherwise not ill and can continue to live for
years despite her profound disability, is dying because we are
refusing to give her sustenance. We are affirmatively ending her
life, perhaps against her will, because there is no way now to know
her will. Supporters of this act feel compelled to try to pretty it
up.
They say that Terri is being "allowed to die." No. She is being
made to die. All across America, in hospitals, mental wards and
institutions for the severely disabled, there are people who, if we
withdrew our care for them, would die. We wouldn't call this
"allowing" them to die. We would call it scandalous neglect.
George Felos, the lawyer for Terri's husband, Michael, explains
his position in the case thusly: "I firmly believe in the right of
individuals to make their own medical-treatment choices." But Terri
is not making her medical choices. Choices are being made for her,
perhaps (if you believe Michael Schiavo) on the basis of things she
said a decade ago, perhaps (if you don't) in the absence of any
stated preference.
After visiting her bedside recently, Felos declared, "In all the
years I've seen Mrs. Schiavo, I've never seen such a look of peace
and beauty upon her." Maybe Felos has forgotten: If she is indeed in
a persistent vegetative state, as he maintains, she can't feel
anything, let alone a sense of peace that would make her radiant
with beauty.
One expert told The New York Times that "no one is denying this
woman food and water." Really? Then why is she dying? Is it merely a
coincidence that she might experience kidney failure from
dehydration at any time?
This expert's argument is that, since she is in a persistent
vegetative state, she has "no knowledge of food." By this logic it
would be morally acceptable to suffocate her with a pillow since she
has "no knowledge of air." She could be dropped out of a 15-story
window because she has "no knowledge of gravity." She could be shot
because she has "no knowledge of ballistics."
Then there is the misuse of words that are thrown at Republicans
to prove their alleged hypocrisy. For example: Why aren't
conservatives respecting the "sanctity of marriage" here? But
Michael Schiavo — perhaps understandably, given the wrenching
circumstances — long ago moved in with another woman, with whom he
has two children. This is no longer a case of simon-pure
"sanctified" marriage.
Or how about "federalism," supposedly trampled by the GOP
Congress? But federalism means a division of the branches of
government, all with their designated powers. When state and federal
courts willfully strike down or ignore laws passed by democratically
elected legislatures, this is not "federalism," but a perversion of
the country's constitutional scheme.
Felos says Terri would want us to "ask ourselves the questions:
What's the purpose of my life? And how can I best fulfill that? And
how can I be of service to others?" Those are important questions,
but ones liable to produce answers that might confound all our
expectations. Terri Schiavo might have believed, before her tragic
injury, that her purpose was to be a loving wife and mother. Now, in
circumstances that would have horrified her, her purpose might be to
give a kind of comfort to her family and to demonstrate to those
around her the value of life, even when our capacities are
heartbreakingly diminished.
Despite the spiritual-sounding mumbo jumbo, Felos and his allies
want to foreclose the possibility of this purpose. They believe that
some people's lives are meaningless and expendable. There is
something chilling about that, which is why they so often resort to
weasel words and gauzy euphemisms.
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© 2005 King Features Syndicate |
Mitch Albom | |||||||||||
