The Execution of Terri Schiavo

"The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life."

"I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others.”

- President George Bush

The crime is complete, the deed is done, and the long battle is over. Terri Schiavo is dead.

Terri’s so-called wishes if she was ever dramatically injured only surfaced some seven years into her condition and after a malpractice suit had been settled. This endless mantra that death by dehydration was ‘merely carrying out Terri’s wishes’ rings hollow when one looks at the evidence and once again common sense and rationality was the first casualty of the legal system.

In February 1990, a sudden loss of oxygen to the brain left Theresa Marie Schiavo in a coma and eventually in a profoundly incapacitated state. Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, took care of her, working alongside Terri's parents. He took her to numerous doctors; he pursued experimental treatments; he sought at least some modest restoration of her self-awareness. In November 1992, he testified at a malpractice hearing that he would care for Terri for the rest of her life, that he "wouldn't trade her for the world," that he was going to nursing school to become a better caregiver. He explicitly reaffirmed his marriage vow, "through sickness, in health."

When one doctor suggested that he remove Terri’s feeding tube he replied that “I couldn't do that to Terri," and let her die of dehydration. Yet by 1993 such sentiments increasingly fell by the wayside as Michael’s interests focused elsewhere. He was moving on and his brain damaged wife was becoming a mere problem and inconvenient tie to the past.

If my wife was in such a state I would allow physical therapy. I would want her to go outside in the sunshine and to receive friends and flowers. I would want her to have her teeth cleaned and life threatening infections treated. I would allow ‘pet therapy’ and for the blinds to be opened in her room. Even if she had told me she wanted no exceptional medical measures taken, I would make sure her existence while she was still alive was as pleasant and comfortable as possible. Common sense and natural compassion call for such simple measures yet these were the things that Michael denied Terri for many years.

Are these the actions of a man who deeply loved his wife and unselfishly wanted only to fulfill her wishes? No one would wish for themselves and their family to be treated that way. These are the actions of a man who I wouldn’t trust to water the houseplants over the weekend or feed the family pet, let alone make the ultimate decision whether I lived or died.

If any of us had treated a dog, cat or even an iguana the way Terri has been treated we would have been arrested and prosecuted by the same system that provided the legal cover and protection for Michael to deprive, mistreat, and eventually kill his wife. Terri was not a piece of unwelcome human debris to be hidden away in a darkened room barred from even the light of day or killed so that another could marry the mother of his children and move on with his life.

Regarding Terri’s care, Michael Schiavo once said:
"How the hell should I know we never spoke about this, my God I was only 25 years old. How the hell should I know? We were young. We never spoke of this." – (Michael Schiavo’s former girl friend Cindy Shook in a May 8, 2001 Deposition.)

Some have argued that it is not about the right to die, that it is about the right to kill. Perhaps just a small matter of semantics, but more likely a significant difference in how one views the sanctity of human life. There is a distinct line between letting someone go and wanting to see them go and the cheerleading for the death of this brave woman with the tremendous will to live has finally been overcome by those with the tremendous will to see her die. She talked (a few words), she felt pain, she responded to commands, she laughed, she cried, and she brought joy to those around her.

Because of a court order Terri died at the command of the husband she feared and was preparing to leave. It’s sad to see a struggle in our culture and our society between those who seek a culture of life and those who vigorously champion the acceptance and advocacy of a culture of death. The secularists and the Christians. The Right to Life versus the Duty to Die. The representative branch versus the judicial branch. A society torn apart on such basic fundamental rights as human dignity, the sacredness of human life and the worthiness of those ‘less perfect’ than the rest of us.

Is she just the latest sacrifice on the blood splattered altar of convenience or a woman finally being granted her ultimate wish? Unfortunately, we will never know in this lifetime what she truly wanted and whether she wanted to leave her family who loved her and fought for her dignity, care, and finally her life. The love and devotion of such a family is a rare treasure to be cherished. She will be missed by those who loved and cared for her and her courage, and the courage of those who fought for her life, will be an inspiration for many others.

Thursday morning, as Terri was in her final hours of life, police prohibited any blood relatives from spending time with her. O'Donnell, one of the family's spiritual advisers, said that her parents and siblings were "begging to be at her bedside” but they were denied. In one final act of cruelty at the end, Terri’s parents were not allowed to be with their daughter as she died.

Terri was cremated against her family’s wishes, and her remains will be tucked away in her husband’s family crypt far removed from the ever faithful family who fought for her until the bitter end. The cruelty exhibited by Michael Schiavo to Terri’s parents continued to the very end and now even beyond her death. Though we will never know Terri’s true wishes as to whether she would have wanted to die this way, we do know for certain that Terri would have never wanted Michael to be so mean and cruel to her parents, and make them suffer like this.

The nationwide debate has not ended with Terri’s passing but has just begun. Political blood will be shed and with both barrels blasting the various sides will begin the long battle over whether we are a culture of life or a culture of expediency with a duty to die once we are not productive. Fascist regimes glorify the killing of the weak, the disabled, the helpless and ‘useless’ eaters that exist among us, not a civilized Western society with a heart of compassion.

Though technically not killed by the state, it was the state that allowed her to be killed by another. It was the state that failed to protect a helpless woman from a man who has shown his cruel and uncaring character time and time again. It was Terri, and those who need our protection and care the most, that was failed by the state and its cold laws that were not tempered by mercy. Michael Schiavo failed her, the courts failed her, our laws failed her, and ultimately we as a society failed her, for we allowed our culture to become one that would allow this to happen. "Dasein Ohne Leben", the Nazi idea of "Existence without life", must not be enshrined in law as an excuse for euthanasia.

Though I believe she was welcomed with open arms into the presence of the Lord, my family and I grieve her passing and empathize with the pain her parents are experiencing at the loss of their firstborn daughter. Death of a loved one is never easy, but we, and they, do not mourn as those who have no hope. God Bless you Terri, you will be missed and remembered.

........"Mrs. Schiavo's death is a moral poverty and a legal tragedy. This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today. Today we grieve, we pray, and we hope to God this fate never befalls another. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schindlers and with Terri Schiavo's friends in this time of deep sorrow."

- Congressman Tom DeLay.