Typically, I like to keep my mouth closed regarding delicate situations like the Schiavo case, and especially anything that is somewhat politically charged. I've just had too many arguments for my own good. But it has become more apparent to me now more than ever that the world needs more people to stand up for what they believe. Today, so many people just swallow whatever the biased media feeds them. I will not be a sheep, nor will I sit by idly while other people perpetuate falsehoods and half-truths. The life of one person is just as important as the lives of twenty soldiers fighting in the war. None of them should die. Imagine the public outrage and the thousands of emotional articles that would come out if the US military purposefully killed one of their own troops because he had become wounded in battle.
As a Mormon and a Christian, I firmly believe that our Heavenly Father decides when it's time for us to go. But while he has a designated time and place, the agency that he's given us allows people to make horrible decisions and abruptly end the life of another person. If this were Terri's appointed time to go, she would go without the feeding tube being removed. As it has been stated by many, she is not on life support. She is merely receiving nourishment, exactly as a paraplegic would.
I had a talk with Stefanie, my wife, a few days ago. When we started talking, she seemingly was for removing the feeding tube. However, she was under the impression that it was a fact that Terri was in a permanent vegetative state, with no chance of improvement. After educating her on the case, and letting her know of the conflicting opinions and testimony, she changed her view. We discussed what we would want in that situation, and came to the conclusion that if something similar did happen to either one of us, that we would do everything we could to rehab, and that the decision to terminate life would be made by our maker. Call me a crazy religious zealot, but at least I have an identity shaped by deeply held beliefs. It's definitely more gratifying than letting the media decide what I should think and feel.
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