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An article on Terri Schiavo recently asked what Terri's Law cost the Republicans in Congress. I wish these writers would get the issues straight. Terri Schiavo was not a political or party issue, although some did portray it as such. It was not a right vs. left or even religious issue. While Michael Schiavo alluded to the Right to Lifers in a Larry King Live interview, they were not the issue either. To be sure, they were involved, but Democratic organizations like George Soros and his OSI and the ACLU were on Michael Schiavo's side. It always was, and still is a value, a moral issue. This particular issue, putting a brain injured woman down, or euthanasia, is an ethical part of our lives. And many in the public do not understand the depth of ethics or ethical principles in our everyday lives, let alone the added ethical implications of causing death by pulling a feeding tube.
In spite of the fact that some in the media and legal profession made the argument this was their right to privacy and their self determination, euthanizing a family member is not a private matter. It is illegal. The right to self determination is not a green light to euthanize family either. The right to privacy and self determination is merely an excuse to push euthanasia on an unsuspecting public.
Based on the poll results during and after Terri's death, the public does not know much regarding ethics. This is not to say the public is stupid, rather just ignorant to the facts. We will not get the unvarnished facts from the media. The public spends a lot of time in front of the television for news, but they hear half truths, bias, and opinions. The news is not educational in any form or fashion.
What do people know about morals or ethics? Generally, it is a feeling of right versus wrong; basic principles that guide us through life.
In reality, ethics is the study of moral issues and primarily affects the fields of medical treatment and research. The professional fields which deal with ethical issues include medicine, nursing, scientific research, law, sociology, philosophy, and theology. Some specific types include genetic manipulation, stem cell research, human cloning, physician assisted suicide, euthanasia, abortion, contraception, artificial insemination, behavior control, and all manner of moral issues affecting life.
Today, medical ethics is recognized as its own discipline, even though ethics has always been interwoven in every aspect of medicine. Ethics traces its roots to several early codes of ethics such as the ancient Greek Hippocratic Oath, which required physicians above all to "do no harm", includes the first code of ethics established in 1846 by the founders of the American Medical Association, and reflects the Nuremberg Code for research on human subjects that was established during the war crime trials at the close of World War II.
Most agree, whether right or wrong, modern medical technologies represent some of the most interesting challenges for ethics and public policy. The key concept is not to lose sight of our moral clarity due to technological advances within medicine.
It is at this stage where Terri fell between the cracks of technological advances and challenges, and policy and laws. Why? Because euthanasia is illegal in this country, and recent policies made into law declared her feeding tube a method of life prolonging medial treatment. The Florida legislature is totally responsible for creating the dilemma Terri faced by virtue of changing the law.
Recently, the fields of law, religion and government have become involved in ethics and not necessarily by choice. Make no mistake; dilemmas abound in each and every profession involved.
Ethics impact our lives, whether we acknowledge and realize it or not.
Bioethics is not the same thing as ethics. Bioethics is actually a subfield of ethics. Bioethics is defined as an ethical theory and as such, takes a stand on what is right or wrong. The moral compass is an easy parallel to help pull it into perspective. Most people use ethics and bioethics synonymously, but they are not the same.
According to Dr. Diane Irving, bioethics as an academic theory of ethics was formulated for the first time in 1978 by a Congressional Commission in what is known as the Belmont Report. http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html That report identified three bioethical principles; respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
If you can convince me Terri's purposeful death via starvation and dehydration was respectful to her person, I may change my mind about euthanasia. Convince me her intentional death was a form of justice or an act of charity or kindness. The media was successful in convincing much of the public these principles existed. Public opinion polls tell us that. But the media failed to tell the truth and they failed to tell the complete story without interjecting personal bias.
Pertinent questions are rarely asked in polls. Questions are often indirect, omit key opposition choices, and begin with a small paragraph describing the situation, but the description of the situation is false or contains errors of fact.
If Republicans lost anything by their governmental interference in 2005, while trying to save Terri Schiavo from judicially ordered death, then common sense dictates Democrats lost something for interference or non interference, dependent upon their vote, in trying to save her life, or pushing to advance her death by euthanasia. Democrats were just as involved as Republicans. Do the Democrats not count? Instead, all we heard from the media is how wrong Republicans were for becoming involved. All we heard from Michael Schiavo was right wingers and right to lifers interfered with his privacy and self determination.
Politicians are not responsible for our morals, but they are obligated to enact legislation, and much of the time their bills contain ethical issues which impact us all. The media fails us here, as we are not aware of many bills up for debate, until after they are signed into law. If not an ideological bill or law that creates controversy, chances are we will not hear about it. And too, some laws are passed on the sly before the public has a chance to voice support or opposition.
The politicians who politicized Terri's case were the Florida legislators (the majority was Republican) who enacted legislation which classified feeding tubes as life prolonging treatment and redefined Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) at the state level. A Republican controlled legislative body with Republican sponsored bills enabled Michael to euthanize Terri. Yet, these are the same people he is vilifying for interference. At the federal level, Republicans were against euthanizing Terri. In Michael's eyes, the federal Congressmen and Senators were interfering. Now, he vilifies all Republicans, even the ones who passed the legislation allowing him to euthanize his wife. One would think he would be grateful to those Republicans who assisted him in his endeavor.
Morals greatly influenced Terri's case. It is no secret Right to Life defends the sanctity of human life. RTL and other organizations that value life defended Terri and her parents, and this should come as no surprise. Likewise, the ACLU and other organizations that devalue life and defended Michael should not be a surprise either.
Terri supporters did not politicize this case. They went into the cause with strong moral values. They championed and defended their cause. Their political affiliations crossed party lines.
Who really politicized Terri? Not the Schindlers family, as Michael and his attorney would have you believe.
The media was the single most grievous factor at fault for politicizing Terri's case more than anyone else. Without the media, the lawyers, the backers of both parties and those with agendas, and politicians would never have been given voice. Where the media failed was in their investigative reporting, as there was none. Most major media took the side of Michael, threw in their own personal bias and comments, and never told the truth about many of the facts and specifics regarding Terri. If medical professionals look at Terri's lab results, ascertain heart attack (MI) did not occur, yet the media continue to bray Terri did have a heart attack, then that is politicization. They also did not report the truth. By the same token, if journalists continually declare they would not want to live like Terri, that kind of bias is not reporting the news. Who really cares what they think? They are simply attempting to sway public opinion by repeating their opinion. And they were quite successful.
When journalists complain about Congress's involvement in Terri's case, they ought to complain about their peers and colleagues involvement by misinforming the public. When you are misinformed, you cannot formulate an opinion and therefore, cannot make sound decisions. There was no outcry when Florida legislators changed the law. The media was mute.
Do not fall victim to emotional partisan rhetoric from the media, politicians or special interest groups. You are either for euthanasia or against it. Your heart and your moral clarity lead you to your decision. Educate yourself to the moral issues facing our society. Ask questions. Become involved in the democratic process of our country. Only then will your voice be heard. Only then will you have the knowledge to make sound decisions that affect your life and the lives of others in this country.
Whatever the perceived political cost to Republicans and Democrats, they lost nothing compared to what Terri Schiavo lost. She lost her life. 12-25-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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