A Positive Spin on Terri's Fight

Is there anything positive that can be said about the murder of an innocent handicapped woman? I think so.

Maybe there will be dozens, maybe hundreds, of future Terri's out there who will not have to go through state-sanctioned starvation/murder precisely because they were moved by this case enough to fill out a living will. Their husbands or wives will not be able to starve them to death legally.

Maybe the sheer insanity of it all will cause lawmakers to write good foolproof laws that can save people's lives, laws that won't be deemed unconstitutional by judges when it's too late to do anything else.

Maybe some of those who were silently protesting at churches and at her hospice will be energized by the whole experience and go now and fight against euthanasia and abortion.

The God of the Bible is not mocked. He is not biting his nails to see what will happen. He is neither impressed nor deterred by sanctimonious lawmakers, foolish judges, misguided lawyers and bad husbands. Terri is in His hands. He can and will use this humilating American experience to bring about good in other places and other people, most of which we will never know about.

Ironically, her death may save many lives.

Praying for Michael Schiavo

Michael Schiavo is not a well-liked man. Some might even go so far as to say they truly hate him. I'm not innocent of having really really bad feelings towards him.

But...

As I sit here on this Easter weekend I am reminded that my God died an awful death for all of us - including Schiavo. He raised from the dead victorious over death so that we all, including Michael Schiavo, could live. And while He was here he commanded me to pray for the likes of him.

I don't want to. I don't like the man and all he's done. I don't believe a word he says. I believe he is guilty of state-sanctioned murder. But Jesus never said to pray only for those who are kind and caring and are great spouses. He doesn't have a No Prayer List that I know of.

So I will... start... praying... for Michael Schiavo. God help me.

Erring on the Side of Life

Here's a dilemma.

There is one party who wants to end the life of a brain-damaged woman. She is definitely handicapped. She probably won't have a normal life. Some doctors say she will never have a chance at real recovery. She will have to be fed via a tube at taxpayer's expense possibly indefinitely. She should die, they say.

There is another party of people who genuinely love her and want to take care of her. They have been told by reputable doctors who have examined her that there is a real hope of some recovery. Whether there is or not, the group of people are willing to help her try it. They say there is no evidence that she is suffering. They say she had never previously expressed a desire to die should she be in this situation. They say she should live.

What should you do?

Maybe this analogy will help. You have to demolish a building. The explosives are set. The contractors want this thing down now. Suddenly, just as you are about to destroy the building, a fellow worker screams out, "Stop! I see movement in the building. Stop!" But you thoroughly checked the building! There was no one there. What do you do? Do you light the charge? Or, now that there is a genuine doubt from a trusted colleague, do you go back and check it all over again?

I go back and check.

It's a pretty easy call with that building. Why is it so difficult with Terri Schiavo?

Where is NOW now?

I'm looking at the homepage for the website for the National Organization for Women, and well... I must have missed it. There isn't a single mention of Terri Schiavo. Not a single one. Anywhere on their website. There's a lot of anti-Bush rhetoric. But nothing about Terri. Mind you today (21 March) is the day a judge is deciding - again - on whether she should live or die. It's BIG news.

So here is a man, her "husband," who wants her dead. Other men, those judges down south, have already ruled that she should die. Crimaney, doesn't this look like a lot of men wanting the death of a defenseless woman?

And just where is NOW now?

Maybe they should change their name to National Organization for Some Women or for Healthy Women or for non-Handicapped Women or...

Modern Love: The Michael Schiavo Story

Tonight Michael Schiavo's lawyer said that he (Terri's "husband") really loves his wife.

Let's see. He wants her dead. He won't let her parents take care of her. He lives with another woman. He's had children by her. How can that be considered love? Think like a lawyer. Think like a lawyer...

I've got it!!! He obviously doesn't love her like he would a wife or his new girlfriend or his new kids. Or, heck, even a stinking dog! Maybe he loves Terri like he loves vegetables! Get it? Terri is in that unhuman "vegetative state," and he loves her.

He loves vegetables. It all makes sense now!
He may love vegetables, but he sure doesn't love his wife.

Vegetative State

Just what exactly are we trying to say when we say someone is in a vegetative state? Are we saying Terri Schiavo is a vegetable? Is she no longer human? When exactly did she "devolve" into a plant?

What have we become when we can label someone as less than human? I don't get it.

I just fricking don't get it.