Schiavo Hysteria

Schiavo Hysteria By: Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com
Thursday, Mar 24, 2005 http://billoreilly.com/currentarticleFor those of you wondering why the Terri Schiavo story is receiving massive attention the answer lies deep within the culture war. Terri's sad saga is rooted in the battle over who has the final say on human life: the State or the Creator?

Followers of the secular philosophy believe that the government has the authority to terminate life in the womb and in the hospital. In Texas, for example, a 2003 law gives medical personnel the final say over who receives life-sustaining care and who doesn't. A few weeks ago, 5-month-old Sun Hudson died just seconds after being removed from a hospital ventilator in Houston. His mother desperately fought the hospital's decision but a Texas medical ethics committee ruled that the baby's lungs were incapable of growing and the condition was irreversible. Baby Sun died in his mother's arms.

People who believe in the Christian philosophy generally reject these man made life-death decisions. To them, all life is sacred because it comes from a higher power which has the ultimate say about who is born and when they die. Thus, abortion is rejected as is euthanasia. Christians and others of like mind are convinced that man should not have the power to take life unless it's a matter of self defense.

This battle between the two philosophies is never going to be settled. Emotions run high on both sides and Terri Schiavo was the fuse that reignited the brawl. At least the Christian side is focused about it. The Vatican released a statement that supported Mrs. Schiavo's life purely on theological grounds. The secularists are all over the place. They cite legalities, states rights, humane treatment and on and on.

But what it comes down to is a belief system. Who should control human life? The legal system or a higher power?

For those of us who realize that secularism must be the basis for common law in a democracy, the Schiavo case was especially frustrating. Both sides demagogued the issue and both sides are full of it. No third party really knows what Terri Schiavo wanted. Her court appointed guardians in Florida freely testified that her husband, Michael, had ulterior motives in the case. The guardians also testified that Terri's family grew to despise Michael Schiavo and much of the controversy was born from that hatred.

In a clear thinking world the solution to this terrible case would be obvious. Michael Schiavo would have dropped his litigation and allowed Terri's family to care for her. Mr. Schiavo could have made a statement that he tried to carry out his wife's wishes that she not be kept alive by extraordinary means, but for the greater good he would grant her family the right to keep her alive.

What is the downside to that? Who gets hurt with that solution? No one. According to doctors, Terri doesn't feel anything while on the feeding tube. So if the family wants her around in that state - why not? Her family could even raise private funds to pay for Terri's care, thereby taking Medicare out of it. But reasonable solutions and thought are rare in the battle between the secular and the religious. It is a titanic struggle and the culture of America hangs in the balance. I don't know who will ultimately win the struggle. I do know that everyone has lost in the Schiavo case.

O Reilly Is a prick!

I think there should be more studies before either decision.

OMG I LOVE O REILLY SO MUCH I JUST WANNA SQUEEZ HIM TILL HE TURNS BLUE AND DROPS DEAD.
http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=bill_oreilly

o'reilly is great.he tells is like it is and dosent let people pussy foot on issues.not all,but most people who dont like him have never watched his show and believe what they hear.once they do watch his show for a while they see they were completely wrong.

Living Wills folks
get one
you may need it someday if ya dont want to be a "veggymen"
or if your dont want to have your spouse let you die

all i can say is if she wanted to Not be done that way its terrible
if she wanted to be done that way(sustained) its terrible
i see both sides husband and parents
i feel for both,she may well have told him,,,hell no dont let me rot away like that
so put it inwriting somewhere if not offically at least in your own hand and sealed up and mailed to yourself and not opened,(better than nothing and letting others choose for you)im dam sure nobody wants starved,

they procecuted dr kavorkian for helping people die who wanted to die with dignity
i see them now Killing that woman by starvation,thats shamefull on all counts
least that dr ended it fast with a nice pianless cocktail of dope

sad story the goverment needs get its ass out of
unless its written down ,anyone can say you wanted anything
peace

i agree with you.this is a sad story.i dont have any position besides that.SAD!

Ive watched his show many many times. My dad watches it just to bitch at him the whole time =P. He is a prick (He was a much bigger prick before he was hosting his own show, now he's cleaned up his onesided act for telavision.) who can dish it out, but can't take it, remember when he walked off the set of NPR? Thats just the sort of shit he pulls, he insults people on a near constant basis, but then he can't have a resonable debate with someone who's just sticking to the facts.
If you think he's even a decent human being, why dont you check out this transcript of an interview he had on the Oreilly factor, with a man who's father died on 9/11.
http://www.oreilly-sucks.com/transcr...eillyglick.htm

If it is gods decision, why do we prolong it with machine? machines are not god, to take this literly then we would not allow abortion OR antibiotics or any medicine or ANY medical treatment.
I view it like this:
I beleive in Miracles, God gave us the miracle of machines. Use it wisely.