PrintSteyn on Terri
As is nearly always the case, Mark Steyn writes eloquently, this time about Terri Schiavo. What a gift we have in Steyn!
After 15 years, for the courts to treat her like a Death Row killer who's exhausted her appeals is simply vile.
There seems to be a genuine dispute about her condition —— between those on her husband's side, who say she has "no consciousness," and those on her parents' side, who say she is capable of basic, childlike reactions. If the latter are correct, ending her life is an act of murder. If the former are correct, what difference does it make? If she feels nothing —— if there's no there there —— she has no misery to be put out of. That being so, why not err in favor of the non—irreversible option?
If I take on a new wife (in all but name) and make a new family, I would think it not unreasonable to forfeit any right of life or death over my previous wife...She is, de facto, his ex—wife, yet, de jure, he appears to have the right to order her execution. This is preposterous...The legal deference to Mr. Schiavo's position, to his rights overriding her parents', is at odds with reality.
Thomas Lifson 3 27 05
