Without Food, We All Would Die
March 17, 2005 Posted by Amy Hall
An article on the impending removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube contains this paragraph:
“The $1 million received by her and her husband, Michael, in a medical malpractice case in 1993 is nearly gone, attorneys say, spent on her care and the husband's legal quest over the past seven years to stop her artificial feedings so she can die.”
It's not so she can die, it's so she will die. Saying “so she can die” implies that she is in the process of death and is being sustained by a medical device. She is not, however, in the process of dying from any illness. She merely needs a feeding tube to receive food (this is because her husband won't allow her to have the therapy that could teach her to swallow).
Saying it's so she can die is similar to this: Imagine you're paralyzed and in a wheelchair. You live in a room where the food is kept too high for you to reach. Every day I come in, take the food down from the shelf, and give it to you. Then one day I decide my bringing you food is merely an extra measure keeping you alive, so I'll mercifully stop so you can die. You can see how the word “can” is ridiculous since there is no cause of death existing before my decision. Instead, it is my ceasing to give you the food that will be the very cause of your death.
This, like Terri's situation, is very different from an instance in which a person has a serious illness and refuses medical attention to prolong her life. In that case, the death would be a natural result of the illness. But Terri's only “illness” is mental retardation and a dependence on others to bring her food. For this, we will condemn her to death?
If you look through Terri's website, you will see that she is not lying unconscious. She is reacting to people and living her life even though she is severely mentally disabled. When her husband finally succeeds in denying her access to food, she won't die from any illness. She will die from starvation.
Related posts:
- Free Food (for thought)!
- Christ-Like Leadership And The Gender Debate
- Death Penalty Saves Lives
- Defending Life
- 24 Ethics
Posted in Amy's Posts, Ethics, Main Page
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