Top 5 Stories of 2005 - #5 - Terri Schiavo

#5 - Terri Schiavo

What We Should Have Learned

“It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself to resist invasions of it in the case of others; or their case may, by change of circumstance, become his own.”
- Thomas Jefferson

     I don’t want to be crass. I really don’t. I know this is a very touchy issue, and a lot of people feel very strongly about it. But, when looking back at 2005, The Schiavo debacle was certainly one of the biggest stories, as well as one of its biggest jokes. Now, before you start writing me angry emails, let me explain- I mean that only in the sense of what the government has become.
     For those of you who were out of the country, in a cave, or, luckily, avoided the media throughout March and April, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo for all the information you would need. I don’t have enough room to sum it up myself. All in all, it was a long battle that would have made for exceptional TV if it had been a scripted episode of Law and Order. Unfortunately, it was real.
     The lessons we should have learned come from the unfortunate involvement of religious politicians, seeing a chance to look compassionate and push their dogmas.

Lesson #1- Congress feels that it is above the law and can do anything it wants, including subverting the Constitution and the doctrines of separation of powers and separation of church and state, in order to preserve its religious-based moral beliefs. The Constitution that every politician must swear to uphold states that even if Congress thinks the courts are absolutely crazy, they do not have the authority to force courts to act or review any decision. Personal interest or not, Congress egregiously overstepped its bounds when it forced the courts to “ignore previous reviews,” and make a fresh review of the case. Second, and more legalistically, the Congressional act bestowed special rights on two specific people while denying the specific rights of another, without granting the same rights to everyone. This is a major no-no according to the Constitution and goes against the idea of equal protection under the law.

Lesson #2- Politicians can and will take away your freedom of choice if they don’t agree with you. We missed a couple facts in all of this. First of all, Terri Schiavo’s husband was given legal guardianship shortly after her accident, and Terri’s parents never argued, complained, or fought him for it. Congressional action on the behalf of Terri’s parents blatantly disregarded Michael Schiavo’s personal rights as the legal guardian of Terri. Second, regardless of anything- the husband’s intentions, the parents’ intentions, why it happened, who wanted what, who believes what, and what horrifyingly ridiculous steps were taken by politicians, the courts made the decision based on one thing only- what they determined Terri Schiavo wanted based on eighteen witness testimonies. Any actions taken by the religious leadership, therefore, for the behalf of Terri’s soul were done against the behalf of Terri’s wishes. Let us not forget this could happen to any of us.

Lesson #3- Video trickery and appealing to heartstrings works. MRI results of Terri’s tragically and completely destroyed brain, as well as the autopsy report, concluded that the portion of Terri’s brain responsible for sight were gone. Also destroyed were the centers of cognizance, recognition, speech, and the ability to respond to one’s external environment. That means that the ubiquitous video of Terri following a balloon or looking at a camera or responding to her parents were bunk; a blind woman that can’t respond or think simply can not do any of these things. It turns out they were just camera edits taken from over six hours of tape. But we were duped anyway and because of that, we almost handed our rights over. We must learn that, in battles between our hearts and our minds, our minds must win if the issue is rights.

     So, in conclusion, Terri Schiavo’s situation was a very unfortunate one, made unbearable by the undue weight the religious right, as well as others, placed on it. It was a terrible exercise in semantics, where people blurred the clear distinction between killing someone and letting them die. It was a travesty in many ways, both in terms of the government’s involvement, and the public exposure of a woman who, if anyone had truly cared about personal dignity, wouldn’t have been forced to die in the public eye and on camera in her state. Lastly, “Super Best Friends,” A South Park episode from 2005 that won the Emmy for “Best Animated Program,” is a must-view for anyone who was tugged by this issue.

Check back next week for issue #4 as well as a return to comedy/satire.