Many of the issues that revolve around the Schaivo debate would be resolved if a simple question was answered. Is Terri Schaivo an innocent human being?
On the face of it this question seems so simple. What can the implications be? Well, let’s first answer the question. This very simple question has two parts. Is she innocent and is she a human being?
Obviously Terri has committed no crime. She has not been accused and she has not been convicted. Ok, that is very simple and it is out of the way.
Now, is Terri a human being? Of course again she is a human being. There is nothing that can be done that would take her out of the realm of being a human being. Even if she were in a “persistent vegetative state” she would still be a human being.
So as an innocent human being, she must be afforded all the rights of an innocent human being. She must be afforded the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
So how does starving an innocent woman to death fit into this list of rights? If you know anything about starvation or even fasting you know how painful and awful it can be. Many of you that are arguing for her starvation would never consider doing the same thing to a convicted child rapist and murderer but you are willing to do it to an innocent woman. What could possibly lead to this thinking?
How does “quality of life” fit into this argument? If I am depressed for a few days, my quality of life goes down and certainly my family’s quality of life decreases. Should I kill myself because of that? What does “quality of life” have to do with anything? That concept is totally subjective and the feeling of life quality can change on a whim from day to day. A human life is a human life, it is our duty as care providers to do our best to help improve the life of others, not take their life.
Let’s call this what it really is, removing the feeding tubes from Terri is murder. Just like if we were to stop feeding a baby it would be called murder. Let’s keep our moral compasses directed to the true north here.
Wayne Moran
