Terri's death
When I finished my shift this morning, Terri was still alive. I believe she still is as I write this. An hour, a day from now, who knows?
There is a Talmudic view that preventing a dying person from dying is in contravention of religious law. The other side of that argument is: anything done to hasten a death is murder.
In hospitals, we make hard decisions about life and death frequently. They are often agonizing decisions, for both the families involved and the professionals who implement them. They are made with as much input as can be gathered. Where they are known, the wishes of the patient involved are given the most weight. Lost in the fog of this battle is the truth of what was in Terri Schiavo's head, let alone her views on assisted nourishment. I will now regret that I didn't travel to Florida to beg an hour or two's observation of this woman, in order to bring the impartial weight of 33 years of medical experience to bear on the issue.
On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year, observant Jews fast completely from sundown to a short while after the following sundown. No food, water, any gratification for the body. It's a tedious and uncomfortable fast that many observe. For Terri it has been 6 days now, without even water. In her debilitated condition, there will be no coming back. Try starting such a fast, right now. How long would you last? Now imagine being aware of this distress, and unable to help yourself out of this agony. This is Terri's slow murder.
There was in recent history a nation that institutionalized such murder. They began with the mentally ill, the nursing home 'vegetables', then the social undesirables. They ended with Europe in flames and rubble. We have now started down that same slope. What will happen when a judge, supported by doctors and lawyers of dubious character and credentials, decides that your life is no longer worth maintaining, for whatever spurious reason? "....when they came for me, there was no one left.......".
Have your living will/advanced directives prepared. Try to surround yourself with family and friends who are willing to fight for you. Nationwide legalized euthanasia has arrived. It only remains to be seen how far we fall.
There is a Talmudic view that preventing a dying person from dying is in contravention of religious law. The other side of that argument is: anything done to hasten a death is murder.
In hospitals, we make hard decisions about life and death frequently. They are often agonizing decisions, for both the families involved and the professionals who implement them. They are made with as much input as can be gathered. Where they are known, the wishes of the patient involved are given the most weight. Lost in the fog of this battle is the truth of what was in Terri Schiavo's head, let alone her views on assisted nourishment. I will now regret that I didn't travel to Florida to beg an hour or two's observation of this woman, in order to bring the impartial weight of 33 years of medical experience to bear on the issue.
On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year, observant Jews fast completely from sundown to a short while after the following sundown. No food, water, any gratification for the body. It's a tedious and uncomfortable fast that many observe. For Terri it has been 6 days now, without even water. In her debilitated condition, there will be no coming back. Try starting such a fast, right now. How long would you last? Now imagine being aware of this distress, and unable to help yourself out of this agony. This is Terri's slow murder.
There was in recent history a nation that institutionalized such murder. They began with the mentally ill, the nursing home 'vegetables', then the social undesirables. They ended with Europe in flames and rubble. We have now started down that same slope. What will happen when a judge, supported by doctors and lawyers of dubious character and credentials, decides that your life is no longer worth maintaining, for whatever spurious reason? "....when they came for me, there was no one left.......".
Have your living will/advanced directives prepared. Try to surround yourself with family and friends who are willing to fight for you. Nationwide legalized euthanasia has arrived. It only remains to be seen how far we fall.
posted by Author "B" at 3/24/2005 11:40:00 AM
2 Comments:
Rabbi,
Bless you. Everything you said is true. Lok how the murder underserving patients in the Netherdlans. That is the slippery slope we are spiralling down
What especially bothers me is that Michael Schiavo sued Terri's doctors for malpractice for not diagnosing her bulimia. How did HE not know she was bulimic? I have known many people with eating disorder, and it is quite obvious.
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