From
terrisfight.org:
Terri's struggle for life has ended this morning.
December 3, 1963 - March 31, 2005
From
National Review Online:
But while the public may have agreed with the removal of Schiavo's feeding and hydration tube, apparently there are limits to the public's willingness to tolerate euthanasia — and apparently its defenders recognized these limits. So we saw euphemism after euphemism deployed to cloud the issues.
From
President Bush:
Today millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schaivo. Laura and I extend our condolences to Terri Schaivo's families. I appreciate the example of grace and dignity they have displayed at a difficult time. I urge all those who honor Terri Schaivo to continue to work to build a culture of life, where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others. The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life....
From
Mark Steyn:
One consequence of abortion is that, in designating new life as a matter of ‘choice’, it created a culture where it’s now routine to make judgments about which lives are worth it and which aren’t. Down’s Syndrome? Abort. Cleft palate? Abort. Chinese girl? Abort. It’s foolish to think you can raise entire populations — not to mention generations of doctors — to make self-interested judgments about who lives and who doesn’t and expect them to remain confined to three trimesters. The ‘right to choose’ is now being extended beyond the womb: the step from convenience euthanasia to compulsory euthanasia is a short one.
It is interesting and sad to see how the so-called "mainline" denominations have painstakingly avoided making any pronouncements about the value of human life in light of what has happened to Terri Schiavo. I visited a few mainline websites and entered the search term "Schiavo." Here's what I discovered:
- Presbyterian Church (USA): Exactly one hit, a link to a newsletter which cites Terri Schaivo's case as a reason to establish a "living will."
- United Methodist Church: Several hits, most citing a statement by Jim Winkler, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, saying the Schiavo case highlights "the difficult issues related to quality of life and our own participation in life with life decisions."
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: One hit to a "Bible study/discussion" weekly which asks the question "Do you think it is a sin to let her die? Or to keep her alive? Discuss your response."
- Episcopal Church: One hit, "While the Episcopal Church’s General Convention has not specifically addressed the situation of Terri Schiavo ... several resolutions have been passed regarding end-of-life issues."
- United Church of Christ: Five hits, mostly dealing with the importance of having a "living will."
- Reformed Church in America: No hits.
That's enough for now. Let's pray for Terri's family and for all of those who face the daunting task of preserving human life.
Interesting comments. I did your "Schiavo" search on Catholic.org and there are several opinion articles. Although on vatican.va, there were none ... although I think they have a lot on their minds right now. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked and dismayed that the Bush administration didn't intervene in the case of the Pope. He could have been kept alive through intubation. He could have gotten his air from a machine. Religious activists could have stormed the Vatican with bottled water and McNuggets. But they didn't. Instead, everyone just stood by with a bunch of candles. I for one have great faith in modern medicine. Science could have kept him alive so that he might continue to be a shining beacon of suffering for us all to marvel at. But alas, it is not to be. Dang.
ReplyDeleteAs sure as that Terri Schiavo should still be staring blankly at her ceiling or at an adjoining wall, waiting patiently for Merk or Pfizer or Jeb Bush to provide the miracle cure and to make all her parents wishes come true. I've said it before and I'll say it again here with the utmost outrage. Dang.
Just another quick note...
ReplyDeleteBoy, that guy Al Franken sure has Ann Coulter's number, huh? He really lit her up there in the first few chapters of "Lies & The Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair & Balanced Look At The Right." is Ann coulter going to heaven?
Perhaps, Derek, your comments were made to be humor, becuase they are so bereft of the facts that I cannot take them seriously.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe you would think that Jesse Jackson, Tom Harkin, and Ralph Nader are part of the Bush administration.
And I cannot believe you would try to draw an equivalence between the Pope, who until the very end had his mental faculties and made his wishes explicit prior to his final decline, and Terri Schiavo, who could not express her wishes, and whose representative was a "husband" whose interests were in direct conflict with hers. Such an attempt would be beneath you, my friend.
"Once you get used to designating living, breathing bodies as "non-human entities," it's easy to bandy them ever more carelessly -- as they do in the eminently progressive Netherlands, where their relaxed attitude to pot and prostitution led to a relaxed attitude to euthanasia which looks like relaxing the Dutch people right out of business. It's all done quietly over there -- no fuss, no publicity; you go in to hospital with a heavy cold and you're carried out by the handles." - Mark Steyn
Don't tell me I'm short on facts, Chris. Why don't you tell me that you knew Terri's wishes better than the man SHE married. You're tight with some diety, right? Some invisible man way up in the sky who watches over us as though we were will-less automotons on a vibrating toy football field? What really went on between Terri and her husband? Where did the conversation about incapacitation and hospitalization take place, if you have all the facts? Was it in their kitchen? Was it in their car on the way to Schlotsky's on a Thursday evening? Tell me all of this since I'm so short on the facts.
ReplyDeleteDrawing the equivalent to the Pope is based solely in my belief (being an immoral liberal type) that all human life is of EQUAL value. The Pope's life was no more valuable than that of Terri Schiavo, Phil Donahue or one of the lower 10% of high school graduating classes catching bullets in Iraq. See where I'm going, Chris? The biggest outrage of them all however is that we just got done debating the sanctity of marriage and importance of following the decisions of the highest court in the land. (Mostly republican appointed, I might add. [Gee, I guess my facts ARE straight...]) No sooner does the Supreme Court say that they won't get involved in a families private matter that the heaven-goers begin to appeal to a higher power; Jeb Bush. If it were reversed and the left were appealing to Roger Clinton or Billy Carter, you'd be rioting in the streets. You heaven-goers can't have it both ways. You say "What the court says goes." when it suits you're agenda. But when reversed, you scream immorality. Weak arguement that Nascar fans and homophobes eveywhere can really sink their teeth into. Shame on you. You grew up in an all-white, all upper-middle class neighborhood. You played with and hung out with white kids from similar backgrounds. You went into consulting, whatever that means and earned yourself a nice nest-egg that would ensure you would never have to rub elbows with common negroes, homosexuals and the like. Yes, that little chunk of moolah will insulate you well from the stuff you'd just rather not face up to. You're opinion is that of an upper-middle class loaf of Wonder Bread and the world is full of those antiquated, miopic opinions. So keep blogging to the right, Chris. And those of us who really know who you are and where you came from will marvel at the hipocrisy. All the while laughing at your inability to come to grips with it all yourself. You can only hide behind your wall of religion, politics and homophobia for so long before one of you falls. Not all the God-praisin' in the world will change that. Happy dodging to you.
The last posting was mine. I don't want someone annonymous taking credit for my opposing comments. I know Christopher Drew to be a decent person of average intellect. But simply grew up sheltered and safe. Never wanting for anything. Never having unfulfilled needs. A person from such a background is expected to lack depth and breadth in critical thinking, but it doesn't give them the right to tell others that they're short on facts. If you want facts, check out GW Bush's driving record. The famous DUI? Check out what time of day it was... Was it late, late at night after the bars had closed, or was he three sheets to the wind at noon? What was his BAL? Just above or below the limit? Careful with your accusations about who has the facts and who doesn't, gang. It seems to me that the only thing sepearating the right from the left is being able to tell when someone is lying to you and admitting when you're wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhat... No clever little quote from some moldy tome you've been thumbing through? No empty words rapped up in quotation marks? Maybe you're just going to zip yourself up into your sleeping bag of lies and dogma, using the afore mentioned quotes or simply point the finger at someone else. I'm not surprised. What does surprise me though is how the lesson of loyalty and tolleration was in fact wasted on you and how you strutted about with your meaningless DeMolay awards around your neck without haveing ever lifted a finger to really lead anyone to higher ground. Nope. You've always played it safe. Never admitted that you were wrong. Walked away when adversity reared it's ugly head. Cowardly. Just keep to the script and stay on message: Lie. Repeat the lie. Repeat it again. If you're caught lying, claim you are being assaulted by the Liberal Media. Launch into a tirade against your accuser. Repeat the lie.
ReplyDeleteI wish that objective comments were possible. If you care about what you write, you chould give others the common courtesy they deserve. Personal attacks are what steer me completely away from the liberals. At least couch in in rhetoric as the republicans do.
ReplyDeleteI posted a comment earlier, and either my connection was unsettled or it somehow was deleted. I share my ideas on this blog not to make others see things my way, but to let them see how I see them.
The travesty in this topic is not whether or not she died, but that so many uninvolved people believed that their opinion should have changed what happened.