Office of the Press Secretary
March 17, 2005
President's Statement on Terri Schiavo
"The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues. Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern. It should be our goal as a nation to build a culture of life, where all Americans are valued, welcomed, and protected - and that culture of life must extend to individuals with disabilities".
This is a short post and a personal one about a public issue of ethics, both medical and legal. It is about the civilized ability of the horribly damaged person to seek their own cessation or their closest representative to make the decision for them. Until today I had not paid a lot of attention to the Terri Schiavo case. It was merely another piece of "Pro-Life" nonsense from a basically evil place like Tampa. But today I read my electronic copy of the Miami Herald and found a poor woman, brain dead or suffering FOR 15 YEARS in my dear - but not humane - Florida.
In April I make another trip to the excellent Baptist Hospital in Miami. They have kept me alive far beyond my expectation (or that of my New York cardiologists') when I became ill over 10 years ago. Yet, one day, the medications and machines and surgeries will not solve the still terminal problem of congestive heart failure. That is why this is a personal note. I died in 1994 in the hospital in New York. The fine staff did their thing and brought me back.
Was I happy about that? Not at first. Death had been so peaceful. There was no body to be poked with tubes and needles, no electronic monitors, smells, beeping, waving lines, no oxygen tubes. Coming back was just that. A return. If the six members of the resuscitation team had not looked so expectant and then so proud of themselves; I might not have thanked them for their efforts. Or, perhaps said, "You are all wondering why I called you together?", laughed heartily and probably checked out again.
OK. Now I am pleased with over ten years of extra explorations and pictures and affections. Life has it positive notes. But I was never a vegetable. I was never brain damaged or brain dead. There is a difference. I was not forced by politics to live or half-live in a limbo between worlds.
Article comments
1 - David Flanagan
Francisco,
I agree with you wholeheartedly that everyone should have a living will. I have one, so does my wife, and we have all kinds of legal contingencies laid out in detail in case one or both of us were incapacitated or not in a sound state to make such decisions. I feel very good about the fact that this has all been spelled out in advance down to the last detail.
Where I disagree with you is over your blanket judgements regarding Terry. How do you know that her life is a misery? You have only speculation to go on. There are many clear cut cases where we know of horrible suffering that is being prolonged artificially by machines that won't let someone pass as they normally should have.
In Terry's case, all she needs is a feeding tube. Other than that, she breathes on her own, her heart pumps on it's own, she shows some signs of responsiveness to stimuli, and some doctors who have examined her feel that more efforts should have been made to rehabilitate her.
What really smells about this incident is the fact that Terry spent 8 years tending to Terry and never uttered a word about her ever claiming that she would want to die if she were in this kind of situation. It was only AFTER he won a million dollar court settlement that he then declared that she was no longer there and that she had once claimed she would rather die than remain in this kind of state.
Now, what Michael has said might be true, and in Florida, all it takes is a word of mouth declaration of intent from the legal guardian, but why wait 8 years and then, only after winning a huge court settlement, which was awarded, I might add, to provide funds to see to Terry's care.
But since then, the money that Michael won has not been used to take care of her as far as I know. Instead, he's been trying to get the feeding tube removed so that she could die.
As I said, this case smells... Really bad!
Finally regarding unborn children who you would rather see aborted than be born and not wanted... I don't know of any child in this country that needs to live as an "unwanted waif." My wife worked for an adoption agency for a time and there are literally hundreds of thousands of parents who would gladly and eagerly take any unwanted child to be their own.
There are couples who are literally in despair because they are so desperate to have a child. So desperate that they will take a special needs child in a heartbeat, they'll fly anywhere in the world and jump through any hoops just to have a child to raise. And they will, and do, adopt multiple children from multiple countries, even at times with multiple special needs.
They don't care, they just want to love a child. So, you can argue the right to abort, but please don't use the lame excuse of the child being "unwanted." At least in this country, there never has to be such a thing as an unwanted child ever, because there are always families out there who DO want them.
Thanks,
David
2 - David Flanagan
Oops, sorry for the long comment. I didn't realize.
David
3 - francisco68
David. A long and well-reasoned comment is always welcome when it is a question of ethics and discussion and not rancor or prejudice. I react on a personal level. However my wife and I have gone around some of the same questions today: is she brain dead or does she have a chance. I did not mean to simplify overly much. These are questions of high emotional intensity and decision-making. My plea is for the person to make their own choice ahead of time, for the President to mind the country; and, yes, I am pro THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE abortion as an alternative. It is again my usual plea for the freedom of the individual to make their own choices that govern their lives (and deaths).
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment -- in agreement or not.
4 - Maurice
David,
I read your entire post and I don't think it is too long. Great thoughts expressed well.
M
5 - mpho
Franciso, thanks for your creative input about a subject that has everyone spinning in their wheels. It's complex, no doubt. Other than being polite, I don't know how to respond to arguments such as David posited. Context and circumstances do color the situation, but should they? Money is often the bottom line in our culture. Having said that, I hate to think that this is Shiavo's husband's motivation. At the same time, even if it is, we shouldn't let it obsure the real issue. David is right--we don't know if Shivo's life is a misery. I guess I try to put myself in that situation. It's entirely conceivable that maybe she experiences more joy in her condition than I do in mine, but I have a hard time with that. Nor would I voluntarily swap places. And that's where I easily place myself in the right to choose camp. Unless I'm causing the direct detriment of others, I should be able to make my choices and live (or die) by them. But even without a living will (thanks for the reminder, Francisco), we, as a society, have to figure out some way create moral parameters that are inclusive not only individuality but of also of what is humane. Maybe that's where we need to start. What *is* humane?
6 - francisco68
MPHO (I read your blog and couldn't find a more personal name). Thanks for the sensitive comment. Yes. America needs to find ways to deal with complex issues in a "humane" way with reason and discussion. It may not be humanly possible with the current nature of the human condition. I do know that hospitals are not pleasant places. I do not know the parents nor husband. Still, comments in another post on the topic devolved into whether a writer should or should not have a daughter. That is not reason and discussion. Further, I was drawn to the case partly because I was born and bred (and escaped from) Tampa. When I was a boy it was against the law in Florida to date a person of a different shade of skin. At least this judge in Tampa seems to be trying to find a way to deal with a problem with which the nation has not been able to deal.
Also, I enjoyed your blog.