Terri Schiavo

The situation with Terri Schiavo has become a nightmare for everyone involved. It is now a no-win situation for anyone involved in this case who is not in a Persistent Vegetative State (PVS). Here is where the situation stands (from my viewpoint):

Michael Schiavo - Even if his wife dies tomorrow, this nightmare will not end for this man. His in-laws will continue to make his life a living hell for as long as they draw breath. While he is doing the right thing by having them try to pull the plug on Terri (since she had expressed her wishes to him), I do not understand how he could have formed another family in the meantime. Baffles me to no end. I can't disagree with it strongly enough. But his sins do not have any bearing on the situation with his wife. Just means that, in life, there are no white knights charging in on trusty steeds to save the fair maiden. Only humans with faults trying to make perfect decisions in an imperfect world.

Mr. and Mrs. Schindler - My heart goes out to them. They lost a daughter 15 years ago to a potassium imbalance. It is never easy for a parent to let go. It would tear me apart to lose either one of my daughters to ANYTHING. However, her parents need to get a grip on reality and begin the grieving process. Their daughter will not come back. The time and energy that they are taking for appeals and motions and spewing forth bile about Michael Schiavo(I don't know if it's true what they say, but the courts have also found nothing substantial in it) could be used to help the thousands of other people that are going through the same thing (I do understand that they feel that they must do all they can, but it has gone far past that point now).

Congress - Our beloved congressional representatives and Senators played to their core constituency like a piano player at a recital. They wanted to make sure that they had a vote on record so that they could wave it in the mid-term (2006) elections. Then the Christian right (with all of its various factions and, of which, I am proudly a member) will support them and, hopefully, get them reelected. But they may have shot themselves in the foot. I know that it was a slap in the face to the Florida courts ("We don't trust you. We want a look-see ourselves."). I am reasonably sure that it was unconstitutional (just as it was when Gov. Jeb Bush tried the same stunt). They may have ended up alienating more people than appesing. Plus, on top of that, one question arises above all else in my mind. If the person in the PVS had come from the inner city or a legal immigrant (even an illegal immigrant, for that matter) or had been of another race or had already been disabled/poor, etc., would our esteemed legislators have gone to the same trouble that they went to? I will leave it as a thought to ponder.

Having said all that, understand that I am firmly pro-life. Abortion is murder. Flat out, no exceptions. But this is not about aborting a helpless fetus. This is strictly about allowing a person to have their say in how their life is maintained (or not maintained). The courts have repeatedly found that it was her wish not to be kept on life support. Now let's do our part to grant her one last request.