Terri

Several years ago, when the fight over Terri Schiavo had reached its climax, I remember having strong feelings of anger, desperation and sorrow. I did not want Terri's feeding tube to be removed and could not see Michael Schiavo's actions as anything other than pure selfishness. I thought I knew, absolutely, who was wrong and who was right.

Which is why after reading "Fighting For Dear Life" by David Gibbs (which told the Schindler side of the story), I was very reluctant to read "Terri: The Truth" by Michael Schiavo and Michael Hirsh. I thought it would cause the same feelings of frustrated sadness I used to experience when people would say to me, rather flippantly, "Well if I was Terri, I wouldn't want to live." As if they had the right to express the life-and-death wishes of a woman who could not speak for herself.

Anyways, I'd formed a very negative opinion about Michael Schiavo's character and motivations; and I assumed that reading his book would only increase my animosity. Quite to my surprise, however, Michael's book has served to teach me a thing or two about loving others. Don't misunderstand me - there are several points on which I believe Michael was wrong: he should never have entered into a relationship with Jodi Centonze while Terri was still alive; and his reasons for removing Terri's feeding tube (Terri was not going to improve and she would have wanted the tube removed) did not justify his actions. Michael writes, "The Vatican statement appears to diminish the critical importance of this medical determination (i.e., removal of the feeding tube) and the related ethical issues by stating that the value of the life of a PVS (Persistent Vegitative State) patient is the same regardless of the irreversibility, or permanency, of the condition. In other words, the Vatican again takes the strong, hard-line stand that all human life is equal, under any and all circumstances - from procreation through birth to death, regardless of the medical condition of the patient, no matter how extreme. It is an ethical position out of the mainstream of the ethical-medical-legal dilemmas of contemporary society." Michael does not value all human life equally, as God does and as I believe we should.

But before I pat myself on the back for agreeing with God, I'm stopped in my tracks. Because valuing all human life does not only mean defending those whose lives are threatened. It also means valuing those with whom I disagree, those whose actions I cannot condone, those who I might, at one time or another, be tempted to term my "enemy." During the fight for Terri's life, there were many so-called Christians who placed the lowest possible value on Michael Schiavo's life - and the lives of his loved ones, for that matter. What can justify Michael's innocent children being labeled bastards? Or how can a person, claiming to know the love of God, send hate mail - and death threats - to Michael and his family? In all the hundreds of people loudly protesting at the hospice where Terri spent her last days, how many thought to be still and offer a prayer not only for Terri, but for Michael as well?

Loving our enemies doesn't mean lying down and letting them walk all over us. We need to take a stand for what we believe is right. But we've got to remember how much God loves every person he has created. We need to focus on seeking God, on letting His love spill out to all people. All people includes Michael Schiavo, who needs God's love just as much as the rest of us.