New England Press...on the cutting edge

Born:    December 30, 1939
Died:    September 23 2006, Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Robert Ramos, Journalist, Katapat newspaper, Laguna, Philippines.
Born:        November 24, 1965
Died:        November 20, 2005, at the public market at Cabuyao, Laguna.

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Thoughts on the Schiavo Case, and Politics

(as it exists now.)

This Schiavo case is a difficult one. The kind of question presented is one that gives us students of ethics fits. I strongly suspect that most of this country is very sick and tired of all the coverage. I know of at least one person who felt that way, very strongly. You couldn't tell the family that this is a silly cause to be going after, because it's their daughter who's going through this...even though the situation is hopeless for her. Face it...she has been this way for 15 years, with no real improvement in her condition. Were my wife in that unfortunate situation...I wouldn't want her to live in such a poor condition. Admittedly there could be a legal fight, unless she sets up an advance directive or living will, bought on by third parties interested to gain standing (the legal term for any person who has the right to sue in a court of law.).

There has to be more to all of this burning controversy than the simple fact that this family is trying to save their daughter's life (what there is of it, anyway.). It seems to me she has been turned into a pawn in a much larger battle involving the husband and politics in general. The husband is branded as being a criminal in this case. I don't think he is here..but it's hard to know because of the slant in the press. He might be the only sane person, along with his attorney, in the whole lot of people arguing over Ms. Schiavo's fate. I pity his position and the vile things being said about him in the press by the conservatives who want Teri's life saved, despite the poor condition it's in. I wouldn't want to save my wife's life, were it to end up in such a bad state of condition, if heaven forbid, my wife should suffer one day a misfortune that left her all but brain-dead and in a vegetative state. I wouldn't want my life to be saved if it meant living as a vegetable, unable to even think. Family squabbles have no place in the U.S. Congress. Bad enough they end up in the courts...even the courts don't really want them, and the courts encourage the parties to work it out among themselves. It's one thing to want to save your daughter's life, and quite another to insist that your child live when there is nothing left to their life. Insisting on keeping a person alive when there is no more useful life is cruel; the former, prudent. The latter is a gigantic waste of time and resources that could be better deployed elsewhere. The courts have made their decision with respect to Teri Schiavo, and while I don't always agree with the courts on how they resolve cases, this is one time I think they got it right. The family of Teri Schiavo ought to be ashamed of itself, for trying to get Congress to reverse the decisions made in their daughter's case. The court didn't make their decisions in a vacuum; it was with all the facts and circumstances considered, and a careful weighing of them. The fact there were checks and balances here is shown by the fact this case was able to be litigated for 15 years and heard by a number of different judges, each of which came to different decisions regarding the fate of Teri Schiavo. If the Schiavos got away with changing the law and effectively usurping the court's decision, it would set a dangerous precedent allowing anyone to negate the law when they saw fit; when it didn't suit their purposes. Especially on the subject of life and death. Every so often, state legislatures act whenever they don't agree with a particular ruling. It doesn't happen often; in law school, I read of 2-3 cases in Torts where state laws were passed to counteract an unpopular decision. It's appropriate in our constitutional system; it insures the checks and balances are maintained, and that no one branch of government becomes too powerful. But this isn't the case where the courts should be trumped for allowing Teri Schiavo to die. Being in a vegetative state is no fun. She'll never be normal again. She is better off dead, and I'll make no apologies for saying that here, in this page. I think this case was part of a much larger family battle...one that ended up in the halls of Congress needlessly. That is deplorable. To say that the Schiavo family shouldn't have done what they've done would be equally dumb. Misguided? Definitely. Politics is necessarily involved in the personal lives of we Americans; there's no reason why the Schiavos should have been denied the help of those congressman and the U.S. Congress. It could be any of us, trying to save the life of a loved one who has ended up in an unfortunate situation. And there's not a single one of us who would want our access to Congressional help abridged under such circumstances. This case offended sensibilities and galvanized this country. This is bad for those disabled. Deciding when to save a person's life shouldn't be a mere matter of capricious whim, and that's something that the courts seem to recognize well. To simply end up disabled if your life is saved shouldn't be the driving force in deciding who lives and who dies. It is when life has utterly no value if saved that I contend the medical profession shouldn't save a life. Defining that point where life is no longer a good is deeply personal and philosophical. As a nation and a people, we should always keep that debate in the forefront of medical ethics, in deciding when to end the battle to save a person's life. When a person would end up a vegetable, such that they couldn't even recognize their loved ones, then is the time to let the person die.
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What is most disturbing is that the Schiavos could get this much attention for a person who would never again live anywhere near a normal life. Given her state, far too much attention was given to her by a Congress that needs to pay attention to far more pressing problems. How nice it would be if you could get the Congress to go into special session to deal with such pressing matters as homelessness, unemployment, the minimum wage, affordable housing, crumbling schools, gang violence, excessive rents that can consume close to 80% of a worker's monthly wage packet, and any of a number of other urgently pressing problems this country faces...problems that threaten large numbers of Americans. Tens of thousands of Americans won't go off to college because of a President who sees fit to cut 300 million dollars in student Financial Aid (one of whom happens to be my wife, who was a nursing student at Northeastern University, before their refusal to grant her an OIL loan ended her education there.) (going into the merits or demerits of that will go in another commentary...). Instead, those damn fool Conservatives tried to use the Schiavo case as their pulpit to defend themselves and advance their own causes...causes that have utterly no regard to the welfare of the average American. The hypocrisy is sickening. Don't wonder why Bobby Fisher said something in favor of 9/11; the Schiavo case makes a person want to say such things as condoning violence from a country and race of people half a world away from us. Tom...There is a reason why people are going after your attitudes!! Were there a law prohibiting any person from holding public office if they held any bad will toward any group of persons or individuals in this country, fully 99.99% of our Congress would be unfit for office...just like they are now. You're under investigation for possible illegal activities, Mr. DeLay; the only thing standing between you and unemployment is a Republican controlled Congress that is coddling you. People like us have about had it with your inattention toward those who are in real trouble—and that's close to 50% of the population in this country. We're more than a little disgusted that businesses aren't being taxed half as much as they should be, and that you're not holding business accountable. You have far better things to do than convene in special session to keep Terri Schiavo alive, and I'd like to think there is still a majority of Americans who still recognize that...even if they did elect Bush to office yet again. If the Congress wants to really be useful, they need to hold special sessions until our most pressing social problems are solved. Invoking a special session of Congress to save the life of a woman who by all good rights should have died 15 years ago is more than a little offensive. I don't wonder why people are so tired hearing about Terri Schiavo. This wasn't the kind of subject the Congress should have paid that much attention to. It was the wrong battle to wage.

It's a good idea to express your wishes known on what you want for medical treatment, when you're faced with a situation where extraordinary medical care is needed to keep you alive. It's very difficult to make guides that covers every situation, but a general idea of what your wishes are would have gone a long way to avoiding this court fight and battle over Terri Schiavo. Now...you need to, because what of what is going on in this country. Because if you don't, you might find yourself in the middle of a court fight one day, as others try to figure out whether you would want to live or die after a tragic accident or occurrence claims your ability to speak for yourself.
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