Pro-Life Corner

Pat Gaummer
April 2005

The early spring of 2005 will be remembered for the story of Terri Schiavo’s tragedy. For weeks, the story dominated the news, talk show hosts of every persuasion bantered it about, and newspapers headlined the details of the event over and over. During this time I compiled as much information as I came across to try to help me sort it all out. Well, it’s been over a month now since Terri died, killed by her husband in the sense that he chose to deprive her of food and water, an act supported by what many are calling a culture of death.

In gathering the information about Terri’s plight, I heard one of the best commentaries I’d heard done by Rosalie de Rosset. Roset is a frequent guest commentator on Christian radio. I heard her on our local station out of the quad cities, WDLM 89.3. Her commentary was titled Death by Language. She feels that one of the issues that has gotten too little attention is that this crime against Terri was assisted by the distortion of language. This is a moral problem, she says, that George Orwell predicted a long time ago in his well-known novel 1984 calling it “new speak”.

One very blatant error that the media kept reporting was the portrayal of Terri’s poor physical condition. At the time of this final tube removal, Terri was NOT in a coma. Medical experts confirmed that 41 year old Terri was aware of her surroundings. She was a healthy individual with a disability, she breathed on her own and her body operated normally. Terri also responded to the people around her. She could have lived for years if given sustenance, as we all live because we eat and drink. Pretty basic isn’t it? Rosalie quotes Rich Lowry, editor for National Review Online as saying “We cannot “pretty up” this killing”. Those in favor of ending her life say she was being “allowed” to die. No, I say she was made to die! Here is a huge difference in the use of words blurred by the misuse of language that I alluded to earlier. If we did the same to the people across this country in hospitals, mental wards, and institutions for the severely disabled, people would mortified. We wouldn’t call it “allowing” we would call it “criminal neglect”.

I ask you now, who are the next victims to fall prey to this warped thinking? Those with Alzheimer’s? Those with incurable cancer? Those who are paraplegic? Terri’s lawyer, George Felos, said ”I firmly believe in the right of individuals to make their own medical-treatment choices”. Terri didn’t make her own medical choices; choices were made for her without any legal foundation but just on hearsay. She signed no will stating her desire to be starved to death. How her injury occurred remains a mystery. Her parents offered her home and care at no expense to anyone than themselves. Interesting that Terri’s husband refused to divorce her but was overheard to say he wanted her dead. Strange that he said nothing about wanting her to die until seven years into her disability. For the past 14 years he had denied Terri any therapy. Thirty allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation were filed in court by the Florida Department of Children and Families. That all seemed to be clearly stated and easy to understand. But the judges disregarded all of it.

Then there is the misuse of words again that were directed at the Republicans and conservatives that they weren’t respecting the sanctity of the Schiavo’s marriage. What marriage? Michael Schiavo long ago abandoned Terri and moved in with another woman with whom he has had two children. That’s not a committed marriage partner that’s called an adulterer! Language games to avoid guilt and personal responsibility have been around since the Garden of Eden when Adam blamed Eve for his failure, and then she turned around and blamed the serpent. The rest is history and humanity has been affected forever. The playing of these word games has the potential to take us very quickly down the already slippery slope we are on. The Bible is full of references to the power of the tongue-“It is like a sharpened razor”. It is capable of bringing about death and life. Our language is a precious gift that must be used honestly and correctly but just as importantly heard carefully.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, aunts, stepmothers, nieces, and Godmothers and sisters.