Is the Terri Schiavo case a clear pro-life issue, or is there a significant gray area involved? Some pro-life groups have championed the cause of the Florida woman’s parents, who have been fighting her husband, Michael, over her fate. Terri Schiavo collapsed and suffered subsequent brain damage as a result of a previously undiagnosed medical condition in 1990.
She has been in what doctors describe as a “permanent vegetative state” ever since. In 1998, Michael Schiavo began legal proceedings to have his wife’s feeding tube removed, thus ending her life.
However, Terri Schiavo’s parents have opposed his efforts, arguing that she can be rehabilitated and shows signs of consciousness.
But a court-appointed doctor agreed with Michael Schiavo that his wife’s condition is irreversible, and a state court granted permission for the tube to be removed on his order. It was removed Oct. 15.
However, Terri Schiavo’s parents and many pro-life groups convinced Florida’s Legislature to pass an emergency law that gave Gov. Jeb Bush the authority to override the courts and have her feeding tube re-inserted. The bill was passed and signed into law Oct. 21.
Shortly thereafter, Bush ordered Terri Schiavo’s doctors to re-insert her feeding tube.
Many conservative Christian groups and commentators immediately hailed the action. “Thankfully, Terri and the people of Florida have a leader who not only takes a strong stand for life but is willing to stand up against a judiciary who does not,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council.
Civilizations clash
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said the case reflected the “clash of two very disparate civilizations — the Judeo-Christian civilization, which is based upon the sanctity of all human life, and the neo-pagan relativist quality-of-life civilization,” according to a news release.
But many medical ethicists have disagreed that the case is a clear-cut example of life-ethics issues. Schiavo’s parents’ belief that their daughter shows signs of consciousness is simply wishful thinking, according to several physicians interviewed for a Sept. 23 Washington Post story on the subject.
Although her parents’ case was bolstered by videotapes showing Terri Schiavo appearing to smile and look at visitors, such signs are simply natural instincts of someone in a vegetative state, according to many medical experts.
“The CAT scan shows massive atrophy of the brain,” said Ronald Cranford, a neurologist who testified for Michael Schiavo in the trial, according to the Post. “What Terri Schiavo manifests is a classic vegetative state. It looks like she’s looking at you, but really she’s not. It looks like she’s grinning at you, but she’s really not.”
Cranford added that Terri Schiavo does not show the key signs of consciousness in the videotapes — the ability to “track” with her eyes. Joni Eareckson Tada, a popular evangelical author, speaker and quadriplegic, said that shouldn’t matter. On Christian psychologist James Dobson’s Oct. 22 radio broadcast, Tada said even people in vegetative states “have a right to live.” (ABP)
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