So I’m breaking my poliblogging hiatus for one post to discuss the name that has become a symbol of what’s everything wrong with government, no matter who’s in charge: Terri Schiavo, or rather, Terri Schiavo’s corpus.
Truly the situation has made many a philosopher out of all us (including myself) and questions over the matter of souls, and minds, and rights to life, and human killing… it’s all become white noise to me at this point. Here, from the Wolfson Report (prov: John Cole) , is what strikes me most important:
Theresa’s neurological tests and CT scans indicate objective measures of the persistent vegetative state. These data indicate that Theresa’s cerebral cortex is principally liquid, having shrunken due to the severe anoxic trauma experienced thirteen years ago. The initial oxygen deprivation caused damage that could not be repaired, and the brain tissue in that area continued to devolve. It is noteworthy to recall that from the time of her collapse, and for more than three years, Theresa did receive active physical, occupational, speech and even recreational therapy. There is evidence early in her records of care that she said “no†during physical therapy session. That behavior did not recur and was not further referenced.
In recent months, individuals have come forward indicating that there are therapies and treatments and interventions that can literally re-grow Theresa’s functional, cerebral cortex brain tissue, restoring part or all of her functions. There is no scientifically valid, medically recognized evidence that this has been done or is possible, even in rats, according to the president of the American Society for Neuro-Transplantation. [...]
I, for all my talk of being a recovering Catholic, do not believe in something called a “soul,” if such a soul is that eternal thing that persists after death that carries with it the consciousness of the person. I believe there is such as a thing as a “mind,” and that mind is the sum total, and the gestalt, or totality, of brain activity in a human brain.
The Terri Schiavo corpus has none. As far as I have seen from the facts at hand—and from reports of doctors who have examined her—that… thing in a Florida hospital is a mindless shell bereft of any humanity.
Here’s the kicker: since that Terri Schiavo corpus is a living shell but has no humanity left, I find no moral objection to her parents keeping her alive. If they want to take care of what’s left of their daughter, for whatever reason, fine. I am not one to deny people of any sentimental attachments to family members. Heck, I love my mom too; if this happened to her, unless she wrote a living will expressing her wishes, heck, I would keep her corpus alive too. Terri Schiavo’s corpus is not aware of where it is, or what is happening to it. It’s just… THERE, and it’s so hard, even for me, to wrap my fingers around that concept.
Let us note that legally, it is not the parents’ call who decides to keep the walking corpse. That is the husband’s right, and the Republicans who are moving Heaven, Earth and all nine circles of Hell are making a few big mistakes here. As much as I don’t trust the husband, no legal challenge proving malice in his part has stood the test.
The same Republicans who beat their chests on the sanctity of marriage and the size of government have engaged in the most sincerity-driven hypocrisy I have ever seen in my life. The Democrats yet again have shown that they will say only what their focus groups say is the politically fortuitious thing. These two parties disappoint me today beyond all belief, and I’m not the only one.
On the basis of the evidence at hand, the Terri Schiavo corpus is what it is: a shell, a living, mindless shell and the right to decide over what happens to it belongs to the husband. Should that right be transferred unto her blood family, I see no wrong in maintaining it, as I see no human mind suffering and trapped in a body like that one.
And if there’s something heartfelt that I should be saying, don’t hold your breath. This problem was all because of heartfelt shit, and I’m done “feeling” about this issue. Let’s leave that to our politicians who left their brains at home.
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