Culture of LifeHypocrisy

[merlinofchaos]

"Today millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo. ... I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected.

"Especially those who live at the mercy of others. The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life."

Unless you're poor. Or gay.

Comments

[evilmagnus]

Or Tom Delay's dad with a generous life insurance policy.

I'm not saddened. She doesn't affect me in the slightest.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Me either. Except for being vaguely appalled that the best we could do for the woman was let her starve to death. That seems barbaric.

[evilmagnus]

Not really - remember, she died of a heart attack 15 years ago. We've just been keeping the organs alive since then.

[merlinofchaos]

It'd be barbaric except that with no consciousness, there's no suffering involved in starving. Her body slowed down and stopped. It's safer for everyone than any kind of artificial method of killing her.

I find it's very hard to understand that she feels no pain, beyond reflex actions, but I accept that this is the case.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah. It just *seems* barbaric...

[karjack.livejournal.com]

It does. People talk about how she's not really alive, that she can't feel anything, etc. and for the most part I believe that is true.

However, she is not the only one affected. While being allowed to die with dignity might be the best possible option for her in this instance (whether that is the case is going to end up being a matter of opinion no matter which way you slice it) people seem to forget that this 'sack of meat' had a family and people who knew her.

I may not agree with the way her parents have handled the situation, but in their minds, their daughter died a brutal and cruel death. It's not her suffering that makes it seem barbaric but rather theirs. It's easy to say 'oh well she was dead anyway' when it's not your daughter. When you're convinced you see a glimmer of your child in those eyes. Even if you logically understand the science involved (which they don't seem to) it's still an emotionally charged situation. Death is hard on the living. She may not have suffered, but I'm sure these past days have been agonizing on her loved ones, even the ones who wanted this for her.

It does seem barbaric, yes. Because human beings are designed to be empathetic to a certain degree, and that empathy doesn't always or even often draw the line at cold logic.

I'm thankful it's over so that the living can get on with their lives. It's ludicrous the way this situation has been used politically, but that's a rant for another time.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

If it were my daughter, I hope I'd've let her go at least a decade ago.

[karjack.livejournal.com]

Same here. It wouldn't be easy though.

[senatorhatty.livejournal.com]

"the presumption should be in the favor of life."
Unless you're poor. Or gay.

Or collateral damage

[karjack.livejournal.com]

No, no. We're liberating them. From the scourge of breathing, apparently.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

The presumption should be in favor of life. The life of those already living, not the theoretical life of those unborn or the equally theoretical life after death. Pity the alleged pro-life crowd can't see that.

[merlinofchaos]

Wouldn't it be hilarious if we missed the second coming because some poor scared girl had an abortion? Bahahaha. ahem.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

I think we're much more likely to miss the second coming because the messiah will decide to be born as a girl, and nobody will pay Her a blind bit of notice.