Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Schiavo case: 11th hour, again

In a case that has seen years of twists and turns, observers think today's ruling might not be the last.
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE, Times Staff Writer
Published February 22, 2005

A lawyer for Terri Schiavo's husband said Monday the feeding tube that has kept the brain-damaged woman alive for 15 years will be removed at 1 p.m. today - unless a court stops him.

But after a chaotic round of legal jousting Monday, the only certainty by day's end was uncertainty, and no one knows if a court will step in to prevent an act that could end Schiavo's life within two weeks.

David Gibbs III, an attorney representing Schiavo's parents, said he is still optimistic he will find a way to thwart efforts to end Schiavo's life and saw no need for the courts to rush to do it.
Sentenced to an agonizing and horrible death, and deprived of legitimate due process, many prayers are needed fot Terri, her "husband" and "guardian", Terri's family, and for our country.

I have often wondered, if the intended slow and insidious murder were to begin, if one would be morally justified in recruiting a "rescue team" to remove her from her chamber of death? It seems to be morally repugnant to do nothing. What kind of person would do nothing, seeing an animal being systematically starved to death? Would he not be obliged to call the authorities or, in a dire circumstance, rescue the animal himself? And this would be for a creature which has no "rights". Is it not obligatory that one do the same for a fellow human being when the murder is occurring before our very eyes? Is it not even more pressing when legitimate authority has abandoned its duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves?

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