March 18, 2005

Life and death

I've been totally self-absorbed this week (as opposed to those weeks where I'm only moderately self-absorbed, or perhaps the rare day when it's down to maybe 25% self-absorption), but I just noticed skimming headlines that there's yet another reversal in the Terri Schiavo case.

This has been like a ping-pong match, and in no way do I mean to take away from the gravity of it by saying that. The whole thing is so horrible, I struggle looking for something good. (The one thing I can find, maybe, is that people will realize the importance of writing down their wishes and appointing someone they trust as a proxy for medical decisions. This shouldn't happen to another family ever again. I found forms for medical directives for Maryland online; I'm sure other states have them as well.)

I have a thought, a question, that may seem irreverent, but it isn't. I honestly don't understand this from a religious/faith persepective. Why is it so bad if Terri Schiavo dies?

I really thought the whole point of Christianity is that the good part is what comes after we escape this mortal world. I understand not killing...I'm not saying sending somebody home to Jesus justifies taking his life...but if the circumstances leave you unable to survive without extraordinary measures, wouldn't it make sense that Heaven might be the more desirable alternative?

I can understand that a family's grief and desperate hope of a miraculous recovery might make them say no. I wonder about the motives of some of the others, though.

Posted by Nic at March 18, 2005 04:06 PM
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