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The lengths to which those who wish her slow death by starvation have gone are truly appalling. They have, at various times; refused medication for routine infections which could prove fatal if untreated; withheld dental and gynecological tests and treatments for periods of up to seven years; restricted visits from her family and worse, visits by her parish priest, even refusing to allow him to administer the Host during the Last Rites the last time her tube was removed, claiming it would constitute 'sustenance'.

That this case, if carried to its most ghastly conclusion, will become a legal precedent is as disturbing a tragedy as the execution of Terri herself. Worse than merely representing a culture of death begun by the abortionists; euthanasia, along with cloning and embryonic research, represents a belief that certain humans should control the making and taking of innocent life.

There are thousands of people with brain-impairments of varying degrees alive today around the world and I'm willing to bet that the great majority of their loved ones cherish every day they've been allowed to care for them. Some people cannot understand that what would be an unbearable burden to them is a blessing to others.

One wonderful woman who recently passed away devoted most of her life to the home-care of her severely impaired fifty four-year old son rather than leave him in an institution. Another family lovingly rotated monthly care of their brother until his death at the age of eighty-one.

Such devotion to and belief in the sanctity of all innocent life is at the core of the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case and those who wish her death this week know it. This is a fight that has been coming for some time that will shape the future of our country in as profound a way as we have ever known and one that should be fought fiercely.

Those who think that man should be an architect of life and an arbiter of death are using a disabled woman's plight to foist their notion of 21st Century morality on the rest of us. The fate of Terri Schiavo will be a measure of their success or failure. It is tragic that freedom is now on the march all over the world yet here at home, the most basic of all human rights may be lost.

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Lisa Fabrizio is a columnist who hails from Connecticut. You may write her at mailbox@lisafab.com

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

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