Schiavo: Hope versus Despair

I am not writing much about the Terri Schiavo case any more. Partly, this is because most people’s views about her death are now set in ten feet of concrete, and nothing I say or write will change it. And partly it is because there is so much about which to be concerned, that there just isn’t the time.

But that isn’t to say that the one year anniversary of her death by dehydration should be ignored. Today’s NRO has an interesting analysis by Father Robert J. Johansen that is worth reading. Father Johansen’s conclusion:

“It is clear now that the battle to protect the lives of people like Terri is best won at the very outset — by amassing the best scientific and medical evidence to support the position that even lives that seem profoundly limited are nonetheless worthwhile and human. Ultimately, this is a battle for people’s hearts and minds: Once people understand that there is hope in life, even when that life is limited or entails suffering, they will be unwilling to embrace death as a solution to problems. In the end, the struggle to protect the lives of people like Terri Schiavo is a battle of hope against despair.”

And lest cynics believe that only religious people opposed Terri’s dehydration, remember that the disability rights movement was deeply involved in trying to save her life. Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader both stood with the Schindlers. There were no dissenting votes in the United States Senate to the federal law that tried to save Terri’s life, and about 45% of the Democratic House Caucus voted for the bill.