Editor's Desk: Terri Schiavo Needs a Miracle

By Michael F. Flach
Herald Editor
(From the issue of 3/24/05)

The fate of Terri Schiavo still hangs in the balance, despite last-minute intercessions by President George Bush and Congress. The president signed into law on March 21 a bill that allowed a Federal court judge to hear a claim on behalf of Schiavo for violation of her rights relating to the withholding of food, fluids and medical treatment necessary to sustain her life. But U.S. District Judge James Whittemore on March 22 rejected the request by Schiavo’s parents to reinsert their daughter’s feeding tube.

"Judge Whittemore has engaged in a gross abuse of judicial power," said Burke J. Balch of the National Right to Life Committee. "Unless higher courts issue a stay on appeal, an innocent young woman will be denied what every mass murderer convicted in state court gets — her day in federal court."

"In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life," Bush said. "This presumption is especially critical for those like Terri Schiavo who live at the mercy of others. I appreciate the bipartisan action by the Members of Congress to pass this bill. I will continue to stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans, including those with disabilities."

Pro-lifers stormed Congress with thousands of emails and telephone calls last week to express their support for legislation that eventually was approved by the House and Senate and signed into law by Bush.

"The last 48 hours represent a remarkable effort on the part of members of the U.S. Congress to protect the life of a disabled but otherwise healthy woman in Florida," said Carrie Gordon Earll, Focus on the Family’s senior analyst for bioethics. "Congressional leadership is willing to do what Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer is not: meet Terri Schiavo face-to-face and investigate her situation with their own eyes. Through its recent actions, Congress has displayed more courage and diligence than Judge Greer and deserves our praise.

Greer’s initial order removed Schiavo’s feeding tube on March 18. The result of Whittemore’s March 22 ruling means that Schiavo will continue to suffer a slow, agonizing death through starvation and dehydration.

"A conscious person would feel (dehydration) just as you or I would," said St. Louis neurologist William Burke. "They will go into seizures. Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack. They may have nosebleeds because of the drying of the mucous membranes. They feel the pangs of hunger and thirst. Imagine going one day without a glass of water. Death by dehydration takes 10 to 14 days. It is an extremely agonizing death."

"The suffering Terri will experience throughout the remainder of her days on earth is completely avoidable, as is the suffering that her parents and so many others who respect Terri as a human person will continue to undergo," said American Life League President Judie Brown.

Although the situation looks bleak, Brown said we should not give up hope. "Now more than ever, all people of faith — most notably Terri’s own Catholic Church — must offer prayers for her survival," she said. "If we allow Terri to die in this manner, it will mark the beginning of the acceptance of euthanasia throughout the country. Every human person deserves respect, from fertilization until natural death. Terri Schiavo is no exception. We must pray for a miracle to save her life." — M.F.F.

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