Decrepit Old Fool

I’ve been ignoring the Terri Schiavo case for a while now, but since the feeding tube was removed on Friday, it has come to a head.  Congress is holding a special session today – well, the Right wing of congress, anyway – to consider her case and try to get the feeding tube inserted. 

What is it about her that tugs at their heartstrings so?  Or is that what’s happening?  After all, Texas has a law, passed by gov. George Bush, that says if you can’t pay, and Medicare won’t pay, no feeding tube for you.  Not to mention… the “presumption of favor” for life doesn’t seem to extend to possibly innocent death-row inmates.  What’s going on?

Well first of all, let’s be honest about this:  Terri (who, like the rest of us, consists of her cerebral cortex – the center of conscious thought) is already gone.  She’s an organ-bank in a bed, so that’s not what they’re fighting about.  There’s no chance she’ll recover and everyone except her poor, distraught, exploited parents knows it.

No, it isn’t Terri, so something else is going on.  And that something is precedent law.  By exploiting her case, the NeoCons hope to set a precedent that human tissue can have protection of law with or without the hope of consciousness.  It’s all part of a long-term strategy against abortion. 

I’m not keen on second-guessing other people’s motives but in this case it’s so transparent that it’s just unavoidable.  It is not about Terri because there’s no one by that name living there anymore.

There are two terrifying aspects of this case:

- Federal intervention in state issues
- Federal intervention in personal issues

NeoCons like to complain that governments over-regulate big business, and they’re mostly right about that.  But they want to have that cake and eat it too, where it means over-regulating individuals.  No one’s asking, Who the hell asked them to step in my most personal decisions?!!

Imagine: from conception to grave, decisions about your very existence will be made by remote interests in Washington.  No matter what your religious convictions, that should at least give you a cold shudder in the night.  Brr!

I know many people who live in fear of being “hooked up to machines” and Terri’s situation is the reason why.  One guy had “Do Not Resuscitate” tatooed on his chest, and who can blame him?  How many different ways do we need to say; “I would rather die than live like that!”  Do we have to put it in smaller words?

Notes:
Image swiped from Pharyngula kind of says it all. 

Go read PZ Meyers’ analysis there if you want to know what the image means to someone who knows a lot about brains.

Majikthise: Lies Terri Schiavo’s parents told me

Dispatches: on Terri Schiavo

Reason and Liberty: Schiavo and the meaning of a government of laws

I was hoping ***Dave would weigh in on this and he did not disappoint, making the best comment so far:

…if I were to lapse into a Persistent Vegetative State, I would trust my wife — hell, I would trust my previous wife — to choose the best course for me, both per se and far, far, far more than I’d trust Bill Frist or Tom Delay or George Bush (or anyone of either party living part-time in Washington)…

Update on Tuesday: Congress passed a law that proclaims “We are all politically spineless jerks who couldn’t give a damn about separation of powers, and president Bush signed it.”  So far it looks like federal judges are refusing to overturn Florida’s ruling, however.  More details as they come in.

Wednesday:  it looks like despite Congress’ illegal $35m session and Frist’s & Bush’s grandstanding, that the federal courts are refusing to reverse the decision of the Florida courts.  This is as it should be. 

Hopefully it will be over soon.  Rest in peace, Terri.