Is It "Murder" to Pull Terri's Feeding Tube?
Is it "murder" to withdraw artificial means of sustenance that were employed contrary to the patient's wishes? Not necessarily.
Let me explain with a hypothetical, yet likely scenario. A man tells his wife that should he have a severe accident, and cannot eat and drink on his own and is unlikely to recover, he would not want to be kept alive by artificial means. Should a severe accident occur, his family and physician should respect his wishes. If he cannot eat and drink on his own, is unlikely to recover, and a feeding tube is withheld - because he didn't want one - and the patient subsequently dies of malnutrition, he did not die of murder. The patient succumbed to a complication of his accident.
No one has the right to force a competent person to undergo surgery contrary to his or her wishes (inserting a feeding tube is a surgical procedure). Not even a government official or a physician may kidnap and imprison an innocent person in a hospital bed to force them to have surgery and take medicine explicitly contrary to their wishes. Liberty is more valuable than health. Physicians do not have a right to tell a patient that they must receive a surgery and succumb to artificial means of force-feeding them when the patient clearly expressed their desire to refuse such extraordinary measures when they were competent.
Although no one can doubt the sincerity of the pro-life community that his risen to the occasion to defend Terri's right to life, I believe that some of the bad arguments that are employed may weaken our defense of Terri Schiavo. Withholding the feeding tube of a patient who is unlikely to recover and who didn't want one in the first place is not murder. Loving husbands remove feeding tubes from beloved wives who have suffered tragic accidents every day, and they do not commit "murder" when they do so. No court or loved one has the right to force a competent patient to be held against their will and to receive surgery, a feeding tube, and artificial means of sustenance contrary to their wishes. If Terry Schiavo said that she wouldn't want to be kept alive through artificial force-feeding through a tube in her belly, her husband hasn't murdered her by respecting her wishes. The courts have assumed that the husband knows best what the wife would have wanted, and wants what is best for her.
Nevertheless, a just judge should be able to weight the evidence to discern malicious intent in Mr. Schiavo's dealings with his wife and therefore mistrust his recall of what Terri would have wanted. A just judge should be able to weigh the evidence and defend Terri's God-given right to live against the abuse and mistreatment of Michael Schiavo. This dimension of this case is what has not made it into the newspaper headlines or the prime-time newstories, and this is the very factor that determines whether the courts should side with Mr. Schiavo or Terri's parents.
If Terri wouldn't have wanted to be kept alive through a tube through a hole in her belly, as her husband testifies, then why isn't she being fed by mouth! That is the question that no one is asking. Why isn't she being fed by mouth? What's the worst that could happen? Death? Here's where the confusion enters the picture: the physicians won't allow Terri Schiavo to be fed by mouth because she might aspirate and choke to death. They'd rather starve her than give her something to eat and risk her choking to death! See, if Terri's loved ones fed her and she aspirated and died, then the physicians could be sued in a court of law for allowing her to be fed by mouth when it was unsafe to do so. It'd be an easy victory - the malpractice insurance company would probably settle out of court. To justify feeding Terri by mouth, the physicians must order and the patient must pass a swallowing study to demonstrate that she can take food safely by mouth without aspirating it into her lungs.
Well, how has Terri done on her swallowing study? Has she had speech therapy to improve her chances of passing a swallowing study? Has she had occupational and physical therapy, which drastically improves the course of such illnesses?
The following is found fromhttp://www.terrisfight.org/. "The courts had only allowed removal of Terri's feeding tube, not regular food and water. Terri's husband illegally ordered this. The law only allows the removal of 'life-prolonging procedures', not regular food and water. (According to) Florida Statute 744.3215: 'Rights of persons determined incapacitated: (1) A person who has been determined to be incapacitated retains the right to receive necessary services and rehabilitation.' This is a retained right that a guardian cannot take away. Additionally, it does not make exception for patients (in a persistent vegetative state). Terri has illegally been denied rehabilitation - as many nurses have sworn in affidavits."
Terri has not had a swallowing study, nor appropriate speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy! According to video footage I have witnessed, and according to the affadavits of many experienced neurologists who have examined her, Terri is not in a persistent vegetative state. It is amazing that she is not, having been so deprived of the standard medical care that she should have received for the past dozen years. According to her website, "Terri's behavior does not meet the medical or statutory definition of persistent vegetative state. Terri responds to stimuli, tries to communicate verbally, follows limited commands, laughs or cries in interaction with loved ones, physically distances herself from irritating or painful stimulation and watches loved ones as they move around her. None of these behaviors are simple reflexes and are, instead, voluntary and cognitive. Though Terri has limitations, she does interact purposefully with her environment." According to the affadavit of a nurse who cared for Terri, she has deteriorated considerably as a result of neglect and lack of appropriate care.
Many have blamed Mr. Michael Schiavo - Terri's husband - and the judges who have ruled that she should starve to death, but few have indicted the medical community for their complicity in the crime. Physicians have an obligation before God to care for their patients as they would want to be cared for, to do unto others as they would have others do unto them, all the court orders in the world notwithstanding. There is a God who will hold the rich, educated, and privileged accountable for how they treat the poor, the helpless, and the infirmed. The medical community has largely abandoned God's absolute standard of right and wrong for the arbitrary man-made standard of situational ethics and relative morality. American physicians are directly responsible for slaughtering one-third of our population through abortion! We are bringing God's wrath upon our nation and upon ourselves. Oh, that a remnant of physicians would rise up to defend the innocent and defenseless in our nation!
The judges also have an obligation before God to do justice. The laws of God take precedence over the man-made laws and statutes of any human government. Judge Greer and the other judges who have not done justly in this case will stand before God and give an account for their sin and dishonesty. Any just man can read the affidavits from the plethora of neurologists and specialists who testified that Terri is not in a persistent vegetative state. Any just man can weigh the evidence that proves that Michael Schiavo has malicious intent against his wife. Judge Greer is hastening God's wrath upon our nation and upon himself.
Let us peruse some of the evidence of Michael Schiavo's malicious intent against his wife. The following is taken from http://www.terrisfight.org/: "In 1992, Terri was awarded nearly one million dollars by a malpractice jury and an out-of-court malpractice settlement which was designated for future medical expenses. Of these funds, less than $50,000 remains today. The financial records revealing how Terri's medical fund money is managed are SEALED from inspection. Court records, however, show that Judge Greer has approved the spending down of Terri's medical fund on Schiavo's attorney's fees - though it was expressly awarded to Terri for her medical care. Schiavo's primary attorney, George Felos, has received upwards of $400,000 dollars since Schiavo hired him."
To be precise, in 1992, two and a half years after Terri's accident, a total of 2.25 million dollars was awarded to Mr. Schiavo in a total of three suits. It was only then that Mr. Schiavo placed a "Do Not Resuscitate" order in his wife's chart and began to deny her therapy. He said nothing about Terri wanting to die until seven years into her disability. Thirty allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation were filed in court by the Florida Department of Children and Families. But Judge Greer and his cohorts in killing ignored all that.
Judge Greer also ignored an affidavit from a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) who cared for Terri Schiavo at the Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in Largo, Florida. She was very concerned about the neglect and lack of care provided to Terri Schiavo under the insistence of her Michael Schiavo. She documents Terri responding to her, laughing at jokes, speaking several words with appropriate contexts, and informing her of the presence and location of pain and when her diaper needed to be changed. This nurse made several positive comments in the chart about Terri's improvement, but those comments were always deleted from the chart. She noted that Mr. Schiavo would express glee over any illness that Terri suffered, hoping that she would die, and even once exclaiming, "I'm going to be rich!" He would gloat over all of the things he would buy when Terri died. He would order the nurses staff not to contact Terri's parents, and was very intimidating to the staff. The nurse documents strong evidence that Mr. Schiavo attempted to kill Terri by injecting her with insulin. Once he shouted to the nurses, "When is that b-tch gonna die!?" (This affidavit can be read at http://www.rense.com/general63/aff.htm and an interview with the nurse can be read at http://www.thedavidallenshow.com/guests/iyer.carla.20050309.)
Michael Schiavo has not only failed his obligation to provide for his wife's care, he has maliciously mistreated her, and possibly attempted to murder her several times before finally starving her to death in March of 2005. He has exploited his wife's tragedy to rake in millions, and has not employed this money to provide the care for which the settlements were intended. He became engaged to another woman in 1997 and he lives with her and has two children by her! He is an adulterer! This is wife abuse at its worst! Mr. Schiavo's ex-girlfriend testifies that Michael Schiavo lied about Terri's last wishes, evidence that Judge Greer refused to consider. Michael Schiavo doesn't want Terri to improve, he doesn't want her to have physical, occupational and speech therapy, he doesn't want her to have a swallowing study, he doesn't want to provide comfort measures to her, he doesn't want to be a faithful husband, he doesn't want to let Terri's parents take her home and take care of her until she dies, as many loving Hospice families do. Michael Schiavo wants his wife to die because he wants to keep the money intended to provide Terri's care and he wants to marry his adulteress, and he has found a judge and a doctor to serve as his accomplices in this crime.
If anybody should die in this case, it is Michael Schiavo and his accomplices - he, Judge Greer, and the doctor who refused to allow Terri to be fed by mouth should be put on trial before a jury of their peers for the premeditated murder of Terri Schiavo.
As long as the salt has lost its savour, the salt will join the nation down the path of corruption to tyranny and judgment (Matthew 5:13). We have dulled the two-edged sword of the Spirit to delight the deniers of God for so long, that we find ourselves emasculated in battle and powerless to offer a remedy that God can bless. In our proposals to help Terri, we strip ourselves of the only weapon that can defeat God's enemies and bring down God's power. In condemning those who violate the Sixth Commandment that forbids murdering Terri, we condemn ourselves as we reject what God's Word says should be done to murderers. Thirty-five hundred innocent people just like Terri Schiavo are slaughtered every day in the name of "choice" and the church is either silent, or complicit, continuing to cast their lot with politicians who perpetuate the child-killing (Click http://www.wherethetruthhurts.org/tractsbooksread.php?w=72 for more on this subject). Justice has fallen in the street, and truth has been rejected for the commandments of men. Who will pick up God's banner and victoriously charge the gates of hell?
"Will ye pollute Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save souls alive that should not live...?" Ezekiel 13:19
God's Word is clear: we have brought the curse of innocent bloodguilt upon our land, and this bloodguilt can only be cleansed by the blood of him that shed it. Let the lesser magistrates rise up to win God's favor by proclaiming the truth about Terri, defying the judicial tyranny, and doing justice in the land! A Sheriff, a Mayor, a City Councilman, a Legislator, a National Guard troop - ANYBODY! - walk into that Hospice and rescue her from her assailants before it is too late! Fear God more than man, risk the consequences, and win God's favor upon our land! Let mercy triumph over judgment in Florida, before it is too late and God's gavel falls upon us.