Thursday, March 31, 2005

Farewell Terri

Terri Schiavo passed away this morning.

I cannot bring myself to condemn all such "mercy killings", these are difficult situations and the families of the ailing should be given a certain amount of "benefit of the doubt". Even the Catholic Church allows for a "double effect" principle, in which a person in unbearable pain may receive a potentially fatal injection of a painkiller. Life can become unbearable, we all understand that.

But it is worth noting that Michael Schiavo and all the other advocates of what has taken place could not even refer to this as a "mercy killing". Is this because they could not face up to what they were doing?

The entire case against continuing to provide Ms. Schiavo ultimately rested on the premise that Terri had expressed this wish. But did we have to grant this wish? Is it possible that Michael Schiavo and his supporters are dodging responsibility by trying to pin this decision on Terri herself?

In the end, the manner in which the decision to deny Terri Schiavo nutrition and water comes across as more an educated guess than a serious effort to ascertain Terri's condition and wishes. Michael Schiavo's version won out, based less on facts than on sheer determination and legal exhaustion. For his sake, I hope he's right, that Terri Schiavo really was in a persistant vegetative state, and that this is what Terri would have wanted.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

A Classy Move

The parents of Terri Schiavo have decided to forego any further legal action, and have asked protestors to cease protesting. This is a gracious and smart move, and I say this with full respect for what they were trying to do.

I'm not an absolutist about life issues, I don't believe that there is any obligation to keep a brain-dead person alive; I'm inclined to believe that the human spirit is no longer present in such a case. But as long as there is a realistic chance that an individual is not in a permanent vegetative state, we should presume that we are dealing with a full person. As Charles Krauthammer observed a few days ago, the evidence that Terri was in such a state was never as strong as advertised, and much of the fault for that lies with her husband, who refused to allow tests that might give a conclusive answer. At any rate, Terri Schiavo was in no particular pain -- not even Michael disputes this -- and we are talking about basic food and water here, not any particularly exotic medicine or technology.

This was a very gracious move by the Schindlers, and if it's any comfort to them I believe that it will bring benefits to the pro-life movement. Even their staunchest opponents will recognize that the Schindlers came to a point where the Schindlers were willing to let go. And no pro-lifers will hold it against them; after so many rejections from the courts, including some fairly bizarre rulings, nobody can fault them for giving up.

It is only a matter of time before we have a national debate on the state of our judiciary, and the course of the litigation surrounding Terri Schiavo will figure prominently. By letting go, the Schindlers make it easier for their opponents to forgive and forget the legal effort to have food and water restored, and for their supporters in the pro-life movement they underlined their sense of despair in dealing with the courts.

This was a very gracious move by the Schindlers, made at a very difficult time for them. I belive they will be rewarded for it, perhaps in this life, certainly in the next.

Easter Began a Little Early...

...for us Illini fans. Saturday night the Orange and Blue, down 15 with 4 minutes to go went on a 17-2 tear to tie the game then won in overtime. I imagine that across the flatlands, from Champaign east to Indianapolis, north to Chicago, and south and west to St. Louis, midwestern smartalecks are replacing the traditional Eastern greeting "Christ is risen -- Christ is risen indeed" with "I-L-L! -- I-N-I!". As well they might. The Illini sure looked dead to me, but this Easter morning they are very much alive.