A Matter of Life and Death

It bothers me more then a little that someone is trying to kill Theresa “Terri” Schiavo in Florida, and the entire nation is watching like it’s some CSI drama. To me this case is cut and dry, and there should have been no reason that it ever went to court in the first place!

Why do I think this is such a simple case? Let me explain my position and see if you agree.

First of all, there is no written desire by Terri to back up the statements that her sleazy husband claims she said. If her husband no longer wants to take care of her, then why is he fighting her parents who do want to take care of her? Some speculate that it’s the money if she dies. Her husband can take an insurance benefit and be with this other woman he is now seeing and having children with.

He claims that he is doing this because it’s what Terri wanted, which seems a little confusing, because if she is truly in a state where she is not aware of anything, then why fight so hard to keep her from her parents? Let them take her and care for her if it is their wish.

I realize that some people do not want to be a burden to their family, and so choose to fill out written instructions on what should be done in case they can no longer make decisions for themselves. Terri had made no instructions of this sort. Furthermore, her parents are stepping up to the plate to offer to care for her, and to take on the burden to do so.

There should be an immediate release of this woman to her parents so that they can take care of their daughter. Instead, the courts agreed to remove her feeding tube and kill her based on some stupid legality. If someone wants to care for a disabled person, no matter how disabled they are, who in their right mind would deny them that opportunity?

This is why I feel that this husband has other motives. Or maybe he’s been fighting this battle for so long that he really believes this is what his wife would have wanted. Now he has turned this into a crusade to “win the day” come hell or high water.

No matter the reasons of her husband, Terri has some loving parents who want to care for their handicapped daughter. It would be a sin against humanity if they are not allowed to do just that. A court ordering a handicapped person to be starved to death just because her husband says so is wrong no matter how you view the facts. Whether or not Terri is aware of any of this is not the point.

The time has come for her husband to give up this fight, and get on with his new life. You’ve got to wonder what this new woman in his life is thinking watching this whole thing unfold. In situations like these it makes me wonder why people say the lines, “for better for worse, in sickness and in health, so long as we both shall live”.