Monday, April 25, 2005
Schiavo Round Up For The Week
It is amazing to me how rapidly this story has faded into the sunset. Links and stories are getting harder to find. Pro Life Blogs and Blogs For Terri remains great places to go for info on other individuals that find themselves in circumstances similar to Terri.
I have to be honest; however, we lost on Terri and we will lose on other individual cases as well unless we get busy changing laws and judges. Here's the round-up.
MEDIA
I've had it with lousy push polls. Bottom line, the numerous and very fine distinctions in an end of life situation make living wills nearly impossible. When confronted with the actual circumstances, family member never know how they will react.
Now the Brits are getting in on the act. Can you say Groeningen Protocol?
THEOLOGY
This WaPo piece is somewhat disgusting and somewhat truthful. The piece opines that the battle is not really between Christianity and secular humanism, but between left-wing and right-wing Christians. There is no question that there is a battle between left and right in the church, no question, and it is a discussion that we must have.
We have to be very careful though. As a member of one of the mainline "liberal" denominations, I am pretty tired of being told I am not a "real" Christian because I don't worship at "Sam's Club on the corner." I could rant for days about the mega-barn independent church movement, and it's failings as well (and I have). Inside the church, we have got to tone down our rhetoric. We need to seek unity on the issue and we need to allow for the differences in worship style, etc.
LEGAL
The current filibuster fight over judicial appointment's in the Senate remains the best currently available response to Terri's death.
I also ran across this very good summary of all the legal wrangling surrounding Terri. It's a great reference piece.
ETHICS
It was all Terri's fault now. The discussion of Terri's eating issues is something I find really disturbing. It's as if "lifestyle disorders" (obesity, anorexia, smoking...) make us somehow less human, more deserving of suffering. That is a place we just cannot afford to go in this society.
Don't believe in slippery slopes? Check this out.
I have to be honest; however, we lost on Terri and we will lose on other individual cases as well unless we get busy changing laws and judges. Here's the round-up.
MEDIA
I've had it with lousy push polls. Bottom line, the numerous and very fine distinctions in an end of life situation make living wills nearly impossible. When confronted with the actual circumstances, family member never know how they will react.
Now the Brits are getting in on the act. Can you say Groeningen Protocol?
THEOLOGY
This WaPo piece is somewhat disgusting and somewhat truthful. The piece opines that the battle is not really between Christianity and secular humanism, but between left-wing and right-wing Christians. There is no question that there is a battle between left and right in the church, no question, and it is a discussion that we must have.
We have to be very careful though. As a member of one of the mainline "liberal" denominations, I am pretty tired of being told I am not a "real" Christian because I don't worship at "Sam's Club on the corner." I could rant for days about the mega-barn independent church movement, and it's failings as well (and I have). Inside the church, we have got to tone down our rhetoric. We need to seek unity on the issue and we need to allow for the differences in worship style, etc.
LEGAL
The current filibuster fight over judicial appointment's in the Senate remains the best currently available response to Terri's death.
I also ran across this very good summary of all the legal wrangling surrounding Terri. It's a great reference piece.
ETHICS
It was all Terri's fault now. The discussion of Terri's eating issues is something I find really disturbing. It's as if "lifestyle disorders" (obesity, anorexia, smoking...) make us somehow less human, more deserving of suffering. That is a place we just cannot afford to go in this society.
Don't believe in slippery slopes? Check this out.
A 78-year-old stroke victim was shot to death in her hospital bed, apparently by her husband, who was killed by police at his home later in the day when he ignored warnings to drop his gun, authorities said.What we do as a society can have very grave, even if unintended consequences. If you don't think this man was prompted, to some extent, by Terri, you have another thing coming.
