Robert Schindler, Sr., RIP

Yesterday, the father of Terri Schindler Schiavo, Bobby Schindler and Suzanne (Schindler)Vitadamo passed away. He and his wife, Mary, went through so much trying to save Terri. I was priviledged to have met him on several occasions during that time and my deputy press secretary was even loaned out to them for a little while to help handle all the press they were getting.

The blessing is that, while he will be missed, he is finally with Terri and I’m quite sure he is rejoicing at the reunion. In fact, I’m surprised we couldn’t hear it.

May God bless the family during their grief; my prayers are with them.

Apologies and More

My apologies for not posting before today--I've been busy writing exams for my students. In addition, because of problems with the computer network at school, I've had limited access to the internet.

Some sad news coming out of Montana as well as Luxembourg on the issue of euthanasia.

I will try to post more in the coming days.

The Pope on Euthanasia

First off, let me apologize for not posting for almost two weeks. I have discovered that trying to keep up with lesson plans and all of my writing projects isn't going as smoothly as I would have hoped. I hope to fix this problem soon.

Pope Benedict today spoke about the need to allow for a natural death. Euthanasia has been a huge issue in Europe and his comments were in direct rebuttal of the trend. MSNBC reports:

In his homily, the pope said the ill should pray to find "the grace to accept, without fear or bitterness, to leave this world at the hour chosen by God." The Vatican vehemently maintains that life must continue to its natural end.

Praying that his words provide encouragement for those suffering in their last days.

Charlotte Allen on "Good Death"

Charlotte Allen, who by the way is a very funny writer even when the subject is depressing, wrote an excellent opinion piece on living wills for the Washington Post this past weekend.

I wholeheartedly agree with her but I would go one step farther, if you are thinking about signing a living will, please visit the National Right to Life homepage at http://www.nrlc.org/ and search for the Will to Live Project. National Right to Life lawyers spent ages constructing these documents so that they conform to the requirements of living wills for each state but with one major difference: the Will to Live makes an assumption for life in its wording. In other words, it assumes you want to live unless you specify instances where you do not want extraordinary measures taken. A living will on the other hand often makes an assumption of death unless you list situations where you want to live. Even so, many states, such as Virginia, allow doctors and hospital ethical committees to override a patient's or family's wishes so be aware of what your state laws are. Even with a advance directive, you may find that your wishes will matter little.

"In the Blink of an Eye"

Canadian disability rights activist Mark Pickup (www.humanlifematters.blogspot.com) was sent a link to one of the most moving videos I’ve seen in a very long time. Dr. Rachamim Melamed-Cohen was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease 14 years ago and, at the time, was told he had 3-5 years to live. The video, In the Blink of an Eye, can be found at http://www.aish.com/movies/blinkofeye.asp

Since his diagnosis, Dr. Melamed-Cohen has written 9 books—six of them just by moving his eyes. Dr. Cohen is a vehement opponent of euthanasia and “mercy killing.”

In 2002, on Torah.org, Rabbi Yisrael Rutman profiled Dr. Melamed-Cohen and quoted him as saying,

"What is mercy-killing?" he asks. "For whom is the mercy? Is it for the person with an illness? Or is it for the family, so that they should not have to suffer? For the medical establishment, to reduce expenditures? For the insurance companies? Mercy means helping others to live, and with dignity. Helping people to cut their lives short cannot be called mercy."

All the best to Dr. Melamed-Cohen and may God grant him many more years.

Kevorkian Says "No" to Future Assisted Suicides?

Besides the obvious love Mike Wallace apparently has for Kevorkian (two-thirds of the way through the interview Kevorkian had to ask Wallace to get tough with him), the 60 Minutes interview on Sunday was probably the most positive portrayal of assisted suicide I've seen in the mainstream media in a long time.

Kevorkian went to prison because of Thomas Youk. Youk, who had Lou Gehrig's disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS), had written to Kevorkian asking for his "help" and, because of his condition, Kevorkian decided that Youk should be the test case for active euthanasia. Kevorkian gave Youk a series of injections: first Seconal to knock him out, then one to paralyze his muscles (so he couldn't breathe) and then a third, potassium chloride, to stop his heart.

Of course Wallace painted all of this in the best possible light. Kevorkian comes across as the long-suffering hero, the compassionate murderer to paraphrase Wallace. Even Youk's family is grateful to Kevorkian for his services.

I don't disagree that Thomas Youk had advanced in his condition to the point where he had difficulty with controlling his muscles and was afraid of choking to death because he couldn't swallow. But where was his physician in all of this? Did 60 Minutes even contact his doctor to get his opinion of Youk's condition? What about the many people with ALS who lead very full lives even up to the end?

Youk, like many other Americans with debilitating, chronic or terminal conditions, was likely depressed. But because he wasn't twenty and perfectly healthy, he was automatically a candidate for euthanasia.

Kevorkian has vowed not to assist in any more suicides as part of his probation but he's promised before not to do them so we'll see whether he keeps his promise this time.

The Specter of Euthanasia

A Spanish woman died Wednesday night after requesting that her ventilator be removed by doctors . Inmaculada Echevarria (no relation that I know of), 51, had been on a ventilator 10 years and had suffered from muscular dystrophy. EiTB24, the Basque News and Information Channel, reported that Echevarria was moved to a state run hospital because nuns running the hospital where she had lived on a respirator for 10 years did not want to remove her from the ventilator.

Understandably, the nuns recognized that removing Echevarria's ventilator was a overt act that would have assuredly cause her death. However, Spain has been doggedly following The Netherlands in the battle over legalizing euthanasia and the state had no such compunction. As EiTB24 put it, "Spain's Socialist government, which has accelerated the country's transformation from a conservative, Catholic nation to one of the most liberal in Europe, wants to legalise euthanasia. The government has already legalised gay marriage and reduced the influence of the Catholic Church by cutting state subsidies and its role in education."

Sadly, Echevarria will likely be seen as a victim of her disease and her death an act of compassion. But as we have seen both here in the U.S. and abroad, euthanasia is never limited to those who are terminally or chronically ill with the capacity for decision making. Euthanasia expands increasingly to encompass those who are somehow determined to be unfit, "disabled" or drains on personal and/or public coffers.