I know this is written from the perspective of Christian faith and is thus suitable for the Religion forum. However, it also has many political facets as well. I decided to post it here.
Clint
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Watching Terri Die
A commentary on the social and spiritual condition of America
The way I see it by Pastor Jack D. Hoffman
Our nation has been captivated by the drama revolving around the plight of a woman in Florida by the name of Terri Schiavo. Unprecedented action by the Senate and Congress coupled with President Bush"s return to Washington to sign special legislation has brought into limelight the pitiful condition, not only of Terri Schiavo, but also of America.
Beyond Pulling the Plug
Years ago as technology advanced, people began to be faced with excruciating decisions concerning the termination of a loved one. In years prior the process was simple. Death came and death took. Then advances in the fields of science and medicine began to prolong life. Along with the wonderful discoveries of cures for once fatal diseases and advances in ability to save people from early death, came a new development. We could keep a person"s body functioning even after they should have expired. Now the loved one"s family faced the dilemma of when to "pull the plug." We continued to advance until that decision was made somewhat easier by the new knowledge about brain wave activity. Understanding that brain wave activity had ceased therefore leaving nothing left to revive actually became helpful. We learned there was nothing else we could do at that point but to let them go. It was still difficult and emotionally draining, yet acceptable. But today, because of several factors, we have arrived at a place in America where we are beyond pulling the plug; now we are stopping the drip and pulling the tube.
Sustaining someone by feeding tube or intravenously is an act of comfort and benevolence. It is humanitarian and not heroic. Countless multitudes of people in this great land have been fed in such a manner at one time or another, some for a short period, others for far greater lengths. To withhold food and hydration is not a passive act of allowing a person to die; it is an active act of participating in the termination of a human being. This fundamental difference needs to be understood. In our country today we have so blurred the issue and have become so callused about life that we are on the verge of the greatest internal catastrophe any nation could endure.
Devalued Human Life
We have devalued human life to the point that we allow ourselves to be convinced that there is no pain in starvation. We can convince ourselves that a person would want to slowly dry up without water, but if our neighbor allowed his horse such indignity, we would want him arrested and charged, and guess what, he would probably serve time. Our neighbor"s horse is held in higher regard than those innocents that cannot speak for themselves. We cannot seem to bring ourselves to call certain actions immoral or even inhuman when in regards to a human being"s cessation. Yet we have no difficulty understanding cruelty if someone decides to eliminate the roaming neighborhood kitten. We have a society that is so off its gyro that we are rocking dangerously close to becoming totally unbalanced as a people. We have lost our way and we are adrift in a fog of confusion about issues that should be clearly defined. We need to find our way back to the safe harbor of unwavering conviction and in normalcy hold to distinct principled actions and responses, regardless of our personal emotions and feelings.
Inhumane to withhold food and hydration
It should be considered inhumane to withhold food and hydration to any human being. Unfortunately some in the medical or legal profession, that do not possess convictions concerning the sanctity of human life, have incorrectly advised and steered fragile souls in the midst of emotional turmoil. If someone is allowed to die, after every heroic action and technology has been applied, then we can walk away from the attempt with a clean conscience. We know we did everything humanly possible to save that life. But, if we decide, for whatever motivation or reason, to actively participate in the termination of life by withholding humanitarian resources, than God have mercy on our darkened souls.
The heartbreaking story of Terri Schiavo has far deeper consequences than just for her and her family. It is more than just about a right to die issue. It is more than just about judicial activism. It is more than just about the necessity of having one"s wishes recorded legally in a "living will" or other such instrument. It is more than the issue of clash between the judicial and legislative branches. It is more than a custody battle. It is more than about a painless way to allow someone to die, or more accurately, to hasten someone to death. Oh by the way, we would have been far more humane to put a plastic bag on her head and end it all in a few seconds than what we did to her by withdrawing food and water. Makes one wince to think about bagging and suffocating her doesn"t it? But what is the difference, either way we have actively participated in her demise. The difference is that in one case it seems so obviously evil, in the other it has been so sanitized.
Where We Are Going
This is about where we are going as a nation. By terminating Terri"s life by withdrawing necessary sustenance, we are placing an uncountable amount of people in jeopardy. By allowing judges to decide to give a "death penalty" to those who cannot speak for or defend themselves, we have entered the most dangerous period of our nation"s history. What about a child born with a medical problem that demands a feeding tube for years? Suppose its parents, or guardians decide that child wouldn"t want to live that way? Suppose an individual is injured in an accident and not able to speak, but needs food and hydration for an undetermined period of time, but that individuals legal mate decides they wouldn"t want to be in that condition? Oops, we have already arrived at that one. Suppose someone becomes a quadriplegic and also has to be fed by a tube but their mate decides they really shouldn"t bear such indignity? What about so many disabled persons in America, and in thousands of nursing homes, that need help in feeding, should we consider them not worthy to sustain? And why stop at feeding tubes? How about other measures, less than heroic, but still life sustaining? Just a few months ago our nation"s chief justice revealed he had to undergo a tracheotomy in order to breathe adequately. Dare I suggest the obvious? Pulling his tube would be considered an active effort to terminate his life, but it is coming. And how about people who need certain medications that are not considered heroic, but help maintain their life. Heart patients who take diuretics such as lasix to remove excessive sodium and water for instance. And why do we have all those dialysis machines going from one end of America to the other? Where will it stop? Or will it stop?
A Black Blot on America"s soul
The gray area is rapidly becoming a black blot on America"s soul. Our "killing fields" are filling with the blood of innocents. First it was the unborn that could not speak, so we agreed that the woman who could speak had the greater right to her "reproductive life." The innocent lost. Then it was the brain damaged, those with a lesser "quality of life," whatever that means, that we agreed needed help in dying. The innocent lost. Now the permanently disabled, the one that looks so pitiful yet is loved so dearly, we have agreed should be eliminated. The innocent lost. Too many people in America have taken on the "Survivor" mentality, to discard anyone who isn"t fit or doesn"t mesh into our neat little world, and in so doing; we are becoming a nation of barbarism.
If, as the judges seem to feel, starvation and dehydration is a painless way to die, then why don"t we do away with electric chairs, needles and chemicals and sentence death row inmates to simply have no food and water? It will never happen and you know it. We are rapidly becoming a nation of hypocrites who are bullying, ignoring and removing the innocents who cannot speak for themselves.
Watching Terri Schiavo die breaks my heart. Watching America die also breaks my heart. We have pulled the plug, and we have pulled the tube, it is just a matter of time before we take our last gasp. Shed a tear and say a prayer for Terry and also for America.
© Pastor Jack D. Hoffman, March 22, 2005. Permission given to copy or retransmit in part or whole as long as credit is given to author. Pastor Jack Hoffman may be reached at
jackandjill@comwares.net or C/O Cornerstone Baptist Church, 15197 US HWY 150, Paris, Illinois 61944
Watching Terri Die
