I’m not going to rehash the arguments over the court decisions to let Terri Schiavo die. Like it or not, most of the court decisions were upholding the US laws, something we really want the courts to do. It’s a shame our laws cannot accomodate a mother that wants to care for her damaged child.
The initial finding by Judge Greer that Terri’s husband Michael showed “clear and convincing” evidence that Terri would not want to be kept alive artificially sealed Terri’s fate. All of the court arguments and procedures cannot overturn that finding, and it is the heart of the disagreement about whether Terri should be allowed to live or die.
The “culture of life” that President Bush urged during the campaign is so much better than the “culture of death” that so permeates our society. Terri’s death in the next few days will, and already has, opened the door to those discussions. I want to live in a society that, when in doubt, choose life over any death option. Abortion, euthanasia, life support, etc.
There are some excellent followup articles in OpinionJournal this morning. Terri Schiavo’s Legacy deals with the aftermath of how our views on the right-to-live will affect our nations laws and upcoming elections as Republicans stake out their territories, and how Republicans have already claimed the “right to live” positions. In SOlomon’s Absence discusses bad law and good politics, and how our nations laws prohibit families from living out their lives attending to the contant needs of their damaged children, even if that’s what they so deperately wish. And Terried Away give a schedule for roundtable discussions of the political consequences on PBS this weekend.
Chasing the Wind 
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