Schiavo

I've been putting this post off for weeks. Perhaps Talcott is correct and the silence has gotten deafening in the HBC on the topic. In any case, since I've already insinuated my position in Jake's comments, here goes:

I'm NOT campaigning to kill her, the whole mess is tragic, and I feel horrible for her family. I just think that she isn't a good candidate for martyrdom and extraordinary measures.

1. Legal Issues.

The evidentiary hearings seem remarkably through and extensive. This puts my mind almost completely at ease with regards to David's (an many others) concern that this will lead to a slippery slope of euthanizing the disabled. The precedent from this case is that a vast area of high quality brain scans, combined with a very solid majority of qualified neurologist testimony convinced a competent legal trier of fact. The hearing commentary and opinions seem brutally clear that if Terri had even a remote chance of recovery the outcome would be wildly different. Courts make life or death decisions all the time, and if one is comfortable with capital punishment, especially in states that historically screw it up, I don't see why one cannot trust this precedent.

2. Medical issues.

I REALLY hate the taped clips one sees on the news. I think they are wildly misleading, and cherry picked for emotional manipulation. As others have said, one has to either argue that the CAT scans are faulty, or that consciousness can occur without a cerebral cortex to make a argument for any actual thought or mental activity AT ALL. If a strong argument can be made for the first, I would be interested to hear it, and change my position on this topic entirely. If an argument can be made for the second, I would be dumbfounded.


Similarly, I dislike comparisons to cases where people miraculously awake from comas, "locked-in syndrome" and various neurological conditions. Those folks had a cerebral cortex of some sort. People seem to be using "miraculous" when they really mean "extremly unlikely but physically possible within the known laws of science".

3. Ethical Issues

Euthanasia.

I can respect, and find it logically coherent that some people believe in a sanctity of life approach that makes any attempt to remove life support, ever, unacceptable. (I do find some slight incoherence in objecting to the legal system making determinations in end of life issues while supporting capital punishment.) I don't happen to believe that myself, and to be brutally honest, I have several family members who have personally participated in what could be harshly called physician assisted suicide. I am NOT talking about Kevorkian like stuff, more the very, very rare prescribing of a on demand Demerol drip that crossed LD-50 but would still be inadequate to cover severe, terminal, cancer pain after discussing the issue with a conscious, and rational and coherent patient. I'm OK, if not comfortable with that, and very much OK with living will=removal of support situations.

Miracles.

There is no doubt that Terri’s family, and a great number of Americans are holding out for a miracle. God could make it happen. Her brain could regenerate overnight, and poof, she wakes up asking for a McGriddle. The same could be said for the cancer patient discussed above though or for anyone on life-support. I'm personally willing to let some chances for such miracles pass in the interests of preventing suffering. With all possible respect for people's opinions, I find it logically incoherent to believe that Terri should be kept alive at all costs hoping for a miracle if one doesn't do the same thing across the board with ALL end of life issues. From my perspective, if the CAT scans/interpretation is solid, a miraculous recovery is no more likely than it is that she'll live for 40 years without feeding.


4. Final Thought

I hate the whole business. I hate that millions of Americans have seen the tapes, and are emotionally pushed to positions they don't really want to hold. That's true on both sides, since a large number of us who make the no cerebral cortex=braindead connection are more or less forced to argue for killing her. I hate that I cavalierly discussed the odds of miracles above. I hate that by posting this, I will inevitably become classified as some sort of cold, utilitarian, progressive liberal. I hate the fact that Michael Schiavo may indeed be an evil asshole and completely made up everything about Terri's wishes. I hate the fact that her parents, IHMO, have been given a great deal of false hope. I hate that this seems to bring out everyone's irrational sides, mine included (yes, the tapes can make me emotionally react "oh crap, she's trapped in there"). I hate that some really, really bad law is likely to come out of this. I hate that a pretty decent sounding judge is being completely demonized. I am VERY willing to say that the world would be a better place if Michael Schiavo had been less stubborn or more greedy and simply took the cash and ran. Not because of ethical or medical reasons, merely so the whole damn mess would stop.