"A strange brotherhood"
Another insightful report from PCA pastor David Bayly, who is keeping vigil outside the hospice where Terri Schiavo is being starved to death by judicial fiat.
Before other observations, we must start with the grave observation that Terri has now been deprived of nutrition and water--has, in a word, been starved--for over three full days. This is incipient murder. No opinion poll, judge, politician or law on earth can make it anything else. May God have mercy on America for this blot upon our national conscience. Judges of America, there is a higher tribunal, a bar before which you will one day answer. But just as Daniel includes himself in his prayer of repentance for the national sins of Israel, so all Americans must seek God's forgiveness for this sin WE are committing.
Bayly observes: "A strange brotherhood of Roman Catholic believers and Reformed Protestant believers has developed at the site." He speaks admiringly of the Christ-like character evident in some of the protesters, such as this man:
David Gibbs, the Schindler's attorney, has a brother who pastors a Baptist church in this area. Members of the church have been wonderfully faithful in demonstrating for Terri. One young father, (what was his first name?) Adams, was exceptional last night. He witnessed with such kindness for hours to the lone anti-Terri protestor (actually, just a hurting young man) that by the end of the night the protestor was saying that he supported Terri and wanted to see her fed.
In an earlier entry, Bayly gives a report from the Federal courtroom in Tampa. Michael Schiavo's attorney is arguing that the law passed by Congress is unconstitutional. Gibbs must file a brief in reply, and it has to be thorough enough to respond to the judge, but ready early enough to help save Terri. For whatever reason, the judge has not granted injunctive relief to keep Terri alive while arguments are heard.
In case you're wondering, yes, Federal Judge James D. Whittemore is a Clinton appointee.
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Ah, yes. Let's blame Bill Clinton for letting Terri Schiavo die.
What a crock.
Incidentally, the judge that struck down the California law that outlawed gay marriage was a Republican appointee.
So ... does that mean you'll abandon both political parties, Michael?
Wow, are you actually blaming Terry Schiavo on Clinton? That is...wow. I mean, it's been five years already -- let it go.
I'm not going to say whether or not Schiavo should be kept alive or not, because I'm not a doctor and I'm not her legal guardian. I will say this: the laws of this country currently support (and have for the last 15 years) that Michael Schiavo is the legal guardian of Terry Schiavo and that he has the right to choose whether she should be kept alive.
Is Mike the best guy on earth? Not really. But the law supports him and I think (here's where my opinion comes in) that changing the law to stop the death of one of the thousands of people currently in a "persistant vegitative state" is political grandstanding, no matter who is behind it.
If our lawmakers are really interested in a culture of life, then I suggest they start worrying about all the people who are fully aware and capable who keep getting killed.
Yeah, I am concerned that the hype over Terri Schiavo is missing the broader reality. Hundreds if not thousands of people are disconnected from life-support in this manner every year. Some are aware, many are not. Just last week, a six-month-old baby in Texas had his respirator removed because his mother could not pay for care, authorized by a law signed by (since we are pointing such things out) George W Bush. The child had a terminal illness, but he was awake and aware, and his mother did not wish to see him die.
That baby is just one of many. All this fuss over Terri Schiavo is great for Terri and her parents. It's not so great for the thousands of other patients in a similar condition who are being hung out to dry by the political opportunism going on here.
I don't blame Slick Willie for letting Terri Schiavo die. I DO blame Slick Willie for wringing his hands while hundreds of thousands were slaughtered in Rwanda in the mid-1990's.
I've got to give him some credit, though. He was very proactive in bombing that aspirin factory, which served as a fairly effective diversion from his dalliances in the Oval Office. What a tool!