Daily Ramblings:
The Lonesome Death Of ... 03/30/2005 08:08:02 pm
Yeah, there's a Dylan reference here, albeit a
tenuous one. Nat Hentoff, who did that interview with Dylan way back
in the 60s, and has written on other occasions about
him (and is rather far from being "right
wing") wrote a column for the Village Voice on
the subject of Terri Schiavo. The sub-heading is
"her crime was being disabled, voiceless, and at
the disposal of our media." It makes a good
recap of some of the facts of the case, as well as a
good review of outrage. Some excerpts:
For all the world to see, a
41-year-old woman, who has committed no crime,
will die of dehydration and starvation in the
longest public execution in American history.
...
Among many other violations of her due process
rights, Terri Schiavo has never been allowed by
the primary judge in her case—Florida
Circuit Judge George Greer, whose conclusions
have been robotically upheld by all the courts
above him—to have her own lawyer represent
her.
Greer has declared Terri
Schiavo to be in a persistent vegetative state,
but he has never gone to see her. His eyesight is
very poor, but surely he could have visited her
along with another member of his staff. Unlike
people in a persistent vegetative state, Terri
Schiavo is indeed responsive beyond mere
reflexes.
While lawyers and judges have
engaged in a minuet of death, the American Civil
Liberties Union, which would be passionately
criticizing state court decisions and demanding
due process if Terri were a convict on death row,
has shamefully served as co-counsel for her
husband, Michael Schiavo, in his insistent desire
to have her die.
...
Do you know that nearly every major disability
rights organization in the country has filed a
legal brief in support of Terri's right to live?
...
As an atheist, I cannot speak to what he {Michael
Schiavo - ed.} describes as his abandoned wife's
ultimate destination, but I can tell how Wesley
Smith (consultant to the Center for Bioethics and
Culture)—whom I often consult on these
bitterly controversial cases because of his
carefully researched books and articles—describes
death by dehydration.
In his book Forced Exit
(Times Books), Wesley quotes neurologist William
Burke: "A conscious person would feel it
[dehydration] just as you and I would. . . .
Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their
lips crack. They may have nosebleeds because of
the drying of the mucous membranes, and heaving
and vomiting might ensue because of the drying
out of the stomach lining.
"They feel the pangs of
hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without
a glass of water! . . . It is an extremely
agonizing death."
...
And keep in mind from the Ralph
Nader-Wesley Smith report: "The courts . . .
have [also] ordered that no attempts be made to
provide her water or food by mouth. Terri
swallows her own saliva. Spoon feeding is not
medical treatment. This outrageous order proves
that the courts are not merely permitting medical
treatment to be withheld, they have ordered her
to be made dead."
I can understand differences of opinion on this
subject. The arguments will go around and around. For
me it's always come down to the fact that food and
water are not extraordinary means of keeping someone
alive, and where they are all that is required, they
should not be denied. It surprised me personally to
discover that this would even be considered. It would
not be an acceptable way of executing a mass
murderer. It would not be something that you'd do to
your pet. It is said by some that Terri Schiavo is a
vegetable. Well, it's not even something one would do
to a potted plant in an office. If it's looking dried
up, someone will give it water. The chief risk is
that too many people will water it. Not a risk in
Terri's case, thanks to the police in place to defend
the judge's order.
Iowahawk's contribution to this debate was a list
of various vegetable, fruit and nut plants which are
specifically protected by Federal law: Some Vegetables Are More Equal Than
Others. Tasteless? Sure. But a lot less so than
the headline in the New York Post today, echoing so
many others, saying, "Let Her Die In Peace And With Dignity."
Now, again, it is time to step
back and let Terri Schiavo die.
She deserves at least that
much.
God rest her soul.
Well, no, I disagree that she deserves this ...
"dignified" death. I have not been apprised
of the crime which she committed to warrant a denial
of food and water. In fact, I've never heard of a
crime where such a punishment is the result. Even
Zarqawi in Iraq beheads his victims in an ordeal that
lasts minutes - not weeks.
I wasn't going to write anything more about this
case on my little site, but today it occurred to me:
if she can hold out for 12 days - and counting - with
no water, I can at least type a little bit and add to
the cacophony.
Oh, but you who philosophize
disgrace and criticize all fears,
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now's the time for your tears.
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