The Right to Kill: from Sackett to Schiavo

By Ken Concannon
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 3/10/05)

There’s a very pro-life line in the movie "Seabiscuit" that came out a couple of years ago which, for me anyway, sets that film far above most of what has come out of Hollywood lately: "You don’t throw a life away just because it’s banged up a little." The line is used by two different actors, first in reference to an old horse and later in reference to Seabiscuit’s jockey. Though probably not intended, it flies in the face of the "quality of life," utilitarian ethic that is at the heart of the Terri Schiavo case.

Terri Schindler Schiavo is the brain-damaged Florida woman whose continued existence is the subject of an ongoing court battle that’s lasted more than a decade. At issue is the feeding tube that keeps her from starving and dehydrating to death. Her husband, Michael, wants the tube removed, claiming that she would not have wanted to be kept alive in this manner. Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, claim that she never made any such statement, and that their daughter has a strong will to live and could be significantly rehabilitated with aggressive therapy, something that has been denied her ever since she collapsed in her home in 1990. More than a dozen physicians, therapists and speech pathologists support the Schindlers’ claim.

Although there is no living will, or any other corroborating evidence to support Michael’s claim about her wishes, the obstacles faced by those attempting to thwart Terri Schiavo’s execution are considerable. They are up against an unfortunate merger of two collaborating evils: the malevolence of Terri’s husband Michael, who very much wants her dead; and the dark side of the so-called "right-to-die" movement.

The right-to-kill mentality of the right-to-die movement in this country first came to light in the late 1960s in, of all places, Florida. A retired doctor and Florida legislator named Walter Sackett proposed the first ever right-to-die legislation in this country in 1967 and soon became a media darling, appearing on several television talk shows to explain why there needed to be such legislation. While promoting the right-to-die concept, Sackett let it slip that he believed that retarded people and other taxpayer burdens living in Florida institutions should be euthanized.

Fast forward 38 years to the present and we find the Sackett mentality supporting the claims of the malevolent Michael Schiavo who, having won a $2 million malpractice lawsuit in 1992 ($600,000 awarded to Michael, $1.4 million to Terri) refused to spend any of the money on Terri’s rehabilitation, even though her doctors recommended it and most of the award was for her rehabilitation. Instead of sending his wife to a rehabilitation center for further treatment, Michael has persistently ignored the wishes of Terri’s doctors, her family and the court that awarded the money. As Terri’s guardian he has placed her in nursing homes, not rehabilitation centers, and finally in a hospice, even though she’s brain-damaged, not terminally ill. He has put a "do not resuscitate" order on her care and even refused her treatment for a potentially fatal infection.

Michael’s claims that his wife would not want to live in her current condition were not voiced until after he received the $2 million malpractice award, the bulk of which Michael promised the court to apply to her medical care and rehabilitation. These claims are, in addition to being unsubstantiated, inconsistent with Terri’s religious beliefs. She is Catholic.

According to the Schindlers, approximately $400,000 of the $2 million awarded and controlled by Michael have gone to Michael’s attorney, euthanasia activist George Felos. Felos, who is apparently very good at what he does, has managed to convince the jurist responsible for overseeing the Schiavo case, Judge George Greer of Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit, that Michael isn’t a liar, and that Terri Schiavo is in a permanent vegetative state (he has publicly described her as a "houseplant"), even though several doctors appointed by Judge Greer have testified that she isn’t.

Judge Greer, like Felos and Michael Schiavo, has apparently bought into the idea that the brain-damaged Terri Schiavo needs to die. As he said a couple of weeks ago: "I don’t want anyone feeding that girl … the rule of law is that this girl must die." To this end he has dismissed a number of motions designed to spare Terri’s life, among them a motion that would allow Terri to divorce Michael (thus removing him as her guardian), a reasonable request considering that Michael is living with another woman he calls his "fiancée"; they have two children.

Why the judge is so convinced that Terri Schiavo no longer has a right to live is anybody’s guess, because his rulings have had little to do with Florida’s "rule of law." Why Michael Schiavo and his attorney want Terri dead is easier to explain.

When Terri dies, Michael’s legal bills stop, and he gets to keep whatever is left of the $2 million malpractice award. Even more important, whatever caused Terri’s collapse and subsequent brain damage has never been adequately explained. Terri has been, so far, unable to explain what happened to her. The Florida Department of Children and Families is currently investigating an extensive number of allegations of abuse by Michael, which is why Terri’s starvation/dehydration has been delayed until March 18.

If Terri dies by court order, George Felos, the ethical heir of Walter Sackett, will have enormously advanced the cause of euthanasia in this country. The precedent-setting case will demonstrate that the normal rules of jurisprudence do not pertain to people who cannot speak for themselves. It will establish as precedent that living wills need not be written, or hearsay testimony (e.g. Michael’s version of Terri’s wishes) corroborated.

It will, in effect, create a right to kill for guardians of the disabled who need the care of others.

Concannon is a freelance writer from All Saints Parish in Manassas.

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