RIP Terri Schiavo
I shall never get over the death of Terry Schiavo. It was the most awful feeling that a helpless, disabled woman was being starved to death, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I wrote emails to government officials. I prayed. I listened to horrifying descriptions of what was going on. I pledged to a fund that was set up to buy Terri's life. I hated myself for not having the guts to go down to Florida and join in the protests.
What has become of our country? How have we reached the place where we treat a disabled woman worse than we would treat a condemned criminal or a lab rat?
I do not understand the behavior of Judge George Greer in this situation. I could never see how, without any written directive, the judge would condemn her to death solely on the statement of her husband that this is what she wanted. I read some of the judge's rulings. The tone of them sounded like, "These requests of the family are just trying to evade my earlier orders, so I deny their requests. So there." I later signed a petition that this judge be impeached.
I do not understand how the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, could allow this to happen, saying that he had no power to intervene. I cannot understand how a judge could be so powerful that no one dares challenge him.
I commend the Schindler family for their unbelievable courage, faith, and patience in the midst of all this. I hope that their fight to protect others in the same situation will have more success than it had for Terri.
Words cannot describe what I feel about Michael Schiavo. I cannot comprehend his behavior, and I find it reprehensible. He was clearly not a benevolent, nor even a disinterested guardian. Most people have probably heard the arguments on both sides, and I doubt I shall convince many. He was maintaining another family and wanted to be with them. What I do not understand is why he could not divorce Terri and let her parents have her. They offered to take care of her for the rest of her life, at their expense. Why, why, why, could he have not let them have her? How would it possibly have harmed him?
Where do we go from here? This was a chilling episode. People were arrested for trying to take a cup of cold water to Terri. A lawyer sickened my by telling us how wonderful Terri looked as she lay dying of starvation and dehydration. I can only pray that we learned something from all this. My fear is that we did not.
What has become of our country? How have we reached the place where we treat a disabled woman worse than we would treat a condemned criminal or a lab rat?
I do not understand the behavior of Judge George Greer in this situation. I could never see how, without any written directive, the judge would condemn her to death solely on the statement of her husband that this is what she wanted. I read some of the judge's rulings. The tone of them sounded like, "These requests of the family are just trying to evade my earlier orders, so I deny their requests. So there." I later signed a petition that this judge be impeached.
I do not understand how the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, could allow this to happen, saying that he had no power to intervene. I cannot understand how a judge could be so powerful that no one dares challenge him.
I commend the Schindler family for their unbelievable courage, faith, and patience in the midst of all this. I hope that their fight to protect others in the same situation will have more success than it had for Terri.
Words cannot describe what I feel about Michael Schiavo. I cannot comprehend his behavior, and I find it reprehensible. He was clearly not a benevolent, nor even a disinterested guardian. Most people have probably heard the arguments on both sides, and I doubt I shall convince many. He was maintaining another family and wanted to be with them. What I do not understand is why he could not divorce Terri and let her parents have her. They offered to take care of her for the rest of her life, at their expense. Why, why, why, could he have not let them have her? How would it possibly have harmed him?
Where do we go from here? This was a chilling episode. People were arrested for trying to take a cup of cold water to Terri. A lawyer sickened my by telling us how wonderful Terri looked as she lay dying of starvation and dehydration. I can only pray that we learned something from all this. My fear is that we did not.
posted by John at 6:21 PM
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