Terry Schiavo, RIP (1963 - 2005)
March 31st, 2005 | Published in Culture, Politics | 3 Comments
Terry Schiavo has finally died after being starved by her husband for almost two weeks.
May those who loved her be comforted by the God of all comfort, and may they trust that God will get glory even from this tragedy.
To all of those who were involved in killing her, may you come to realize your error and repent of your sin of murder. You should all be gravely ashamed.
April 1st, 2005 at 12:09 pm (#)
Recently an elderly friend passed away after refusing treatment for her lung cancer. She had long been in less than good health after being caught in a house fire and inhaling a great deal of smoke.
Our pastor tried to convince her to seek cancer treatment, but in the hand allowed her to make this decision.
Did she commit suicide?
In lieu of Terry’s own capacity to accept or decline medical treatment, her husband is called on to speak her wishes. He stands in for her as mediator and spokesman.
If Terry had refused this treatment, would it be suicide?
Is the law wrong to allow one’s guardian to speak for his charge?
Is biological life the only absolute good?
April 4th, 2005 at 11:55 am (#)
thank God that this did not happen to a dog, rabbit or squirrel…that would be “inhumane” to do that to an animal.
the world is a mess.
April 5th, 2005 at 12:33 pm (#)
John,
Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure how I feel about refusing certain kinds of treatments. On one hand, it seems like if there is a viable option to stay alive, and you refuse it, you are choosing death for yourself–suicide. However, doctors are often wrong and when they say you will live 6 months it could be 20 years. It has happened many times. I would suggest it has to do with the motives.
Let us say that a doctor tells me I have cancer all through my neck and chest, and that my outlook is not good. He tells me I have 6 months to live even with tons of surgery. I would, most probably, refuse treatment–in those hopes that I am healed or will live much longer than they say. I believe that is not suicide due to my motives. However, if I did not want to live any more and hoped to die, that would be suicide because I am purposely trying to kill myself. I am not sure if this helps get my point across, but I hope so.
Michael was her guardian, but he handled it disgustingly. He would not let the parents see her starved to death. He insisted she would choose death, whereas he would have no idea–the amazing thing about people is they have a desire to live through all kinds of situations. That is not always the case, but it often is. I recently heard an example about if a supermodel were asked that if her body was 90% burned and she looked ugly if she would want to die, she would inevitably say yes. But after going through the experience, she would very likely say no. You almost never know how a person will act through an experience like that until they do. Michael obviously did not want her to recover. He was an adulterer, and like the Harry Truman quote that I posted a few weeks ago said, a person who can’t honor his marital covenant probably isn’t an honorable person.
Answers to your other questions:
1) If Terry had refused this treatment, would it be suicide?
If by treatment you mean food and water–of course it would be suicide. All she needed was a little food, like all of us. If anyone deprives anyone of food, they are very cruel. It is one of the worst ways to die, as any of us could imagine.
2) Is the law wrong to allow one’s guardian to speak for his charge?
I do not have a formulated opinion on this yet. This is a helpful safeguard, but as we can see with this situation it can not always be helpful. The idea of guardianship is good and necessary (especially with children), but I do not think it should cover life and death. No one should ever decide if you should die unless it is capital punishment for a heinous crime.
3) Is biological life the only absolute good?
God is the only absolute good, but God gave us life and it is the most precious gift we possess. It is a very very high good, and society is based on the fact that life is precious. This concept is being removed, and I fear the worst because of it. However, just because it is not “the only absolute good” does not mean we should not protect life!
Again, thanks for your comments and for asking the hard questions.