Terri Schiavo

Terri Schiavo was in an accident in 1990 following a heart attack. The resulting brain damage left her unable to care for herself. For the last 15 years, Terri's life has been sustained through a feeding tube. Terri was awarded a substantial medical malpractice settlement for the improperly diagnosed potassium deficiency that led to the heart attack. That money has been spent primarily on her care.

Doctors hired by Terri's husband, parents, and other doctors appointed by the courts have all agreed that Terri is in what's referred to as a "persistent vegetative state". Her cerebral cortex, the area of the brain where cognitive thought and feelings occur, is now just spinal fluid. Despite video of Terri, which depicts her acting as any other mentally retarded individual, that is not the case. According to doctors, those movements are merely involuntary spasms and do not reflect any cognitive thoughts or feelings.

Her husband, Michael, has fought for years and years to have her feeding tube removed. Terri's parents say that they do not want the tube removed and have fought Michael on this in the courts. 19 different judges in six different courts have ruled for Michael. The US Supreme Court refused to hear the case. It should have been done at that point.

Then, in an 11th hour vote, congress passed a law which allowed the case to once again be reviewed by a federal court judge. This, even after judge after judge has ruled that there is clear and convincing evidence to suggest that Terri would have wanted the feeding tube removed.

First and foremost, Congress has no place intervening in the private lives and decisions of Americans. This law is not sweeping reform for the entire way of handling people in a persistent vegetative state, it is a law aimed directly at intervening in one case: Terri's case.

So why should a spouse be the one to make this decision and not the parents? A spouse is a person with whom you decide to build a life, family, and home with. A spouse is someone you love, spend more time with than anyone else, and a person with whom you share the most intimate details of your life. Conversely, parents, as is nature's course, grow apart from their children over time. Also, parents often times reflect values of an older generation, values which are not shared by their children. Therefore, spouses are best suited to make these decisions.

Leave it to Congressman to use this case as an attempt to garner support from their constituents. Leave it to Americans to usurp the will of this woman, as is communicated through her husband, based solely on fifteen seconds of video. We have never met this woman. We didn't marry her, raise her, love her, do anything with her, but yet we know what's best for her. We pressure Congress to act. We try to save her-- just because it seems like the right thing to do. What we don't realize is that we are making a decision that isn't ours to make, and we are basing this decision on a very small sliver of the big picture.

I have yet to find anyone who says that if they were to be in Terri's shoes that they would want to be kept alive. Let me clarify that: I've yet to find anyone to say this AND have a good reason for it.

So, for now, those of you who think Terri can feel, then we are pulling out the tube that feeds her and plugging it back in time and time again. For those of you, as I do, who believe that Terri can't feel anything, then we are torturing a soul and a spirit by pulling the feeding tube in and out.

Good luck Terri. I'm sorry for the way we all have acted.

Steve Douglas

stevedouglasradio@yahoo.com

Steve Douglas can be heard on AM 850 KOA Radio in Denver, Colorado from 10pm to midnight Pacific Time. The show can be heard in 38 states, Mexico, and Canada, or on the web at 850koa.com.