Other Columns by Barbara J. Stock
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Has anyone noticed that Terri does not drool?

I have heard people say everyone has the right to refuse medical treatment. This is true. However, the law clearly states that minors and those who cannot speak for themselves are protected and if those in charge of their care refuse treatment for them, the state makes that child or person a ward of the state for treatment.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in blood transfusions. If the child of a Witness member is brought to the emergency room hemorrhaging and the parents refuse a transfusion for that child and that child will die without a blood transfusion, a judge will issue a decree making that child a temporary ward of the state. Every ER in America has a judge on speed dial for just that reason.

Why has Terri not been given the same protection under the law? Because the man appointed to be her guardian has decided he wants her to die. For reasons that simply cannot be explained, the legal system turned Terri's fate over to the two men who stood to benefit from her death. George Felos has benefited financially in the litigation involved in killing Terri. It has been reported that as much as $600,000 of Terri's money has been paid to George Felos and his staff. Judge Greer even allowed Terri's money to be spent by Felos to "deal with the media." Michael Schiavo reportedly spent most of the money that he was awarded on personal expenses, impressing a long string of girlfriends, and in his quest to kill his wife. He certainly didn't spend much of it on Terri. The taxpayers have been paying her bills for the last five years.

Judge Greer waved off all the sworn statements from people claiming that Michael Schiavo had told them he didn't know what to do with Terri because they had never talked about dying. Instead, the mantra has become, "This is what Terri wants." Greer ignored the bone scan riddled with healed fractures and numerous claims of spousal abuse. Greer just didn't care.

With that slogan in hand, those who support euthanasia had a poster child. "Terri wants to die" was what everyone heard. A lie repeated often enough will eventually be believed. In truth, no one knows what Terri wants. When she was finally asked what she wanted, the same judge that condemned her to death decided that her response was not "credible." He took nearly an entire day to issue a rejection he probably knew he would issue after five minutes. Did he hope she would die and save him the trouble? Why did Judge Greer never go sit by Terri's bed and observe the woman now dying because of his order?

People must understand the goal of those who support the euthanasia of human beings. They are not talking about the terminally ill. Those people have been allowed to leave this earthy plain without intervention for a long time. The "Right to Die" supporters want the legal right to "humanely kill" anyone disabled or infirm that is deemed a burden or that is "suffering" because of their condition. If Grandma is a little senile and no one has time to take care of her, just go to court, say that Grandma didn't want to live this way, and legally dispose of her. It will all be neat, tidy, clean, and legal. No muss, no fuss. Will Grandma be starved to death like Terri? Of course not, since in a year or two, that also will be deemed cruel. No, it will just be a quick lethal injection and a then off to the crematorium for Grandma. The slogan of "Right to Die" should be "Right to Murder." That would be the correct description.

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