Killing Terri Schiavo/Saving Terri’s Life

For a long time, I have been concerned about the disabled that many deem 'not worthy' of continuing life due to a misplaced 'compassion' that says "I would not want to live like that!"
Long ago, in my youth, a young woman about my age was found comatose, and for a long time was on 'life support'. This meant a respirator/ventilator.

Mar31, 1976
New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that coma patient Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan, who remained comatose, died in 1985.)
(Karen was born Mar 29, 1954, collapsed and was comatose since April 17, 1975)

As a young nurse working in a hospital, I understood what was meant by 'life support' and 'extraordinary means'. Her parents were simply asking to have nature take its course, instead of keeping her on the machine that assisted her breathing forever. In order to do this, they had to go to court, because at that time, people began to realize that a ventilator could keep someone's heart beating and lungs working long after the person would have naturally died had these machines not been invented. It began a series of decisions that have gone further from the objective her parents had at that time to where NOW, basic food and water can be considered 'extraordinary measures' in many people's minds, depending upon how that food and water gets into the body.

Karen Anne's parents did not want to kill their daughter, they simply wanted nature to be able to take its normal course. Food and water was NEVER considered to be part of that case. Karen, in fact, lived about nine years after the decision was made, and was also tube-fed, if I remember correctly. She was weaned off of the respirator, not abruptly taken off of the machine. She continued to breathe on her own with no distress, and lived without the machines for the rest of her life, until God called her Home.

But this is when terminology truly began changing. As a student nurse in 1971-72, and as a Nursing Assistant before that, I was taught that 'quality of life' meant that we allowed the person to do for themselves what they could do, and then, did what they could NOT do for themselves to IMPROVE their quality of life. Suddenly, it became a judgement of why that person no longer had any value, why that person would not want to live, why WE thought that person should die.... "WHAT KIND OF QUALITY OF LIFE DO THEY HAVE, ANYWAY???" One can hear the judgement in the question.

"Death with dignity" as a student/new graduate meant that we cared for that person, cleaned, washed, turned, lotioned, changed them as needed, offered food and fluids as they could tolerate and kept them comfortable including Spiritual help if needed until that person's last breath. Today, it means ... kill them or give them something to kill themselves.

We went on, and in time, we have had more court decisions, going down the proverbial 'slippery slope' from Nancy Cruzan to the present case of Terri Schindler Schiavo. The only 'life support' that either of these two women and others like them who have died as a result of those court decisions was a simple tube that gave them nourishment. They were NOT on respirator/ventilators and did not need IV fluids, etc. Just food and water, delivered in a different way than with a spoon or fork.

They are children of God, just as you or I are, with a right to live until He determines it is time to die, naturally. Terri is disabled, not dying. Terri is no different than the young "developmentally/cognitively disabled" children that I often care for, some tube fed, some fed by spoon, some by hand over hand method. Are we to also kill them?

Terri laughs. She recognizes her parents and siblings and priest. Many of my patients do little more than smile and coo, even at 15. But they are alive. And they teach US to love unconditionally. There is not one person born who is not known by God, and He has a purpose for every person whether WE know in our infinite 'wisdom' what that purpose is.... or whether we cannot even begin to understand. He does. No one is an accident. As long as there is life, there is hope.

Good articles to read...

Schiavo, Reeve, and the "right" to die

Killing Terri Schiavo By Rev. Robert Johansen

Saving Terri’s Life My Journey With The Schindlers By Father Robert J. Johansen