The Triangle

Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Ed-Op

Media Credit: The Triangle

The Terri Schiavo case may be old by now, but I believe that the arguments I am about to make are still pertinent. Let me start out by saying that it was an injustice that she had to die on March 31, 2005. She should have had the dignity of death, as was her wish expressed to her husband, a long time ago, but for the actions of right-wing religious zealots and other Republican leaders politicizing her suffering in order to gain brownie points with other religious zealots.

This can be argued in two different ways. My first argument is for the legalization of euthanasia. There is nothing natural about death anymore. People can be kept alive for insanely long periods of time with help of medical technology though they are nothing more than a vegetable. Sometimes these people have no hope of recovery, are in extreme pain, and are kept alive artificially until death mercifully takes them months or years later down the line. People should have the dignity to decide that they want to end their suffering, and euthanasia should be legalized post haste to ensure that Terri Schiavo type controversies don't come up again. Illogical religious arguments aside, such as "only God has the right to take a life" and "prayer's healing power works," there is no substantial argument against euthanasia. Of course, strict oversight and legislation is necessary to ensure that euthanasia is not misused by doctors or relatives, but the first step needs to be towards legalization.

Back to the Schiavo case, the law could not be clearer on the subject. In the absence of a living will, the law defines a person who knows her best to decide in her best interest in the case of a terminally ill disease. In Terri's case, a living will was absent. Her husband was the person who would know her best. She had a terminally ill disease. Multiple doctors' opinions correlated in this regard. Her husband said that she had told him that she would not like to live in such a state. That's the end of story. That's why the federal judges hearing the case repeatedly struck down attempts to reinsert the feeding tube. Doing so would clearly have been unlawful. I realize that this would have been very difficult for Terri's parents.

Media Credit: Associated Press

But unfortunately, this was the sad reality and they had to look at it as fairly as possible. The foremost thought on their minds should have been "Does our daughter want to continue to live, or would she rather die," not "Do we want our daughter to live or die." The answer to the second one is only too obvious.

They also said that when they met their daughter, she seemed like she wanted to say, "don't let me die." Could it be possible they were thinking what they wanted to think, and she could also have been trying to say, "Please let me die with dignity?" Once again, we can all make our own conclusions of what she was trying to say.

Despite being painted as a villain and adulterer in the media, I commend and admire the bravery of Michael Schiavo for doing what his wife wanted. Yes, he is living with another woman right now, but what was he expected to do? Should he not be allowed to move on with his life? Just because he moved on with a part of his life, does it suddenly mean that his commitment to Terri disappeared?

No, the answer to all these questions is no. He seemed to be the only person in this whole drama that actually seemed to think rationally. It has also been reported in the media that after the Terri Schiavo case, people have started writing up living wills to ensure that "what happened to Terri" doesn't happen to them. That's wonderful. I encourage everyone to do the same. If you want to be kept alive as long as possible, please make a living will so that your wish can be respected. On the contrary, if you would not like to be kept alive indefinitely, please make a living will of that also. However, this does not guarantee that Republicans will not pervert rules to ensure that they get their way. Republicans went to great lengths of trying to pervert democracy to keep Terri Schiavo alive.

When Terri's feeding tube was last removed in 2003, Florida Governor Jeb Bush pushed through a law in the Florida legislature mandating that Terri's feedings continues, six days after a court ruled that the feeding tube be removed.

The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that the law was unconstitutional and struck it down. The Republicans tried a different method to subvert the system. If Florida courts wouldn't agree with them, they thought federal courts might. In an extraordinary "emergency" measure, the Republicans strong armed a bill through Congress that allowed federal courts to hear the case, a move Terri's husband rightfully described as "congressional thuggery." The thuggery didn't stop there. The federal courts subsequently followed the rule of law, and ruled against reinserting the feeding tube. Terri was allowed to die, as was her wish from more than a decade ago. Subsequently, Tom DeLay, perhaps the most corrupt leader of the most corrupt Congress in recent history, declared that the "time will come" for the judges who upheld the rule of law and stood up to Republican bullying to "answer for their behavior." If I was Tom DeLay, and thankfully I am not, I would be more concerned about putting together the shattered pieces of his own political life, and hoping that the House Ethics Committee doesn't come and ask him to "answer for his behavior" and that his "time doesn't come."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist argued not so long ago that there was a "real fire lighted by Democrats around judges over the past few days." He should be looking more at the rampant arson being carried out against judges by members of his own party. If Tom "the Corrupt Hammer" DeLay is not enough, Senator John Cornyn of Texas argued that the judges' decision adds to frustration in the public that "builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in" violence. As was pointed out in an NY Times editorial ("The Judges Made Them Do It," The New York Times, Apr 6), as part of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Cornyn is supposed to protect the Constitution and its promise of an independent judiciary, not threaten them with violence if they don't bend to his rabid right-wing stance.

The Terri Schiavo case was hijacked by the Republicans to try and distract attention from the corruption mounting against their House Representatives, many of whom made benefited from largesse on the part of DeLay's special interest buddies, often at the cost of the well being of the American people. At one point, we simply must say enough is enough.



Vivek Thuppil is a junior majoring in environmental science. Mr. Thuppil can be reached through ed-op@thetriangle.org.

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