Hearings from the House
Sir, you have testified that
we must alleviate the suffering
of a woman you just said cannot suffer.
Sir, you have just said that
she was at 26 so sick
that she had a heart
attack, and yet,
after 15 years, the only way
this sickly woman will now die is to kill her.
In fact, sir, you’ll note that she is so frail, as
you say
12 days of starvation and dehydration
have not killed her. Healthy people
die sooner.
Sir, you have further testified
that she won’t suffer
yet you have this week given
her morphine
twice
for the pain you have sworn
she cannot feel.
If in dying she does not suffer
how then does she in living?
Or is it you who suffers?
Are you the one who needs
relief?
This is not a story about life.
It’s one of love.
The love of parents for their child.
The honor they give her by feeding her;
by trying to rescue her; to give her life
meaning, purpose, interest. Perhaps she
is oblivious. But who is harmed, if she is
in fact unconscious?
(Or to hell with their Catholic compassion?)
It is not a story about a husband who loves his wife
or her right to die. For we do not
know her wish; we only know his, which
took him years to tell us, and is different
than when all this began.
His wish is that she must die,
so he can get on with his life with
some other woman.
She would want that.
He says.
©Bill Gnade 2005/Contratimes - All Rights Reserved.
Related essays (at Contratimes): A Foolish Consistency, A Central (Yet Not Comedic) Irony
Related links: Terri Schiavo: A Life That Mattered And Still Matters
we must alleviate the suffering
of a woman you just said cannot suffer.
Sir, you have just said that
she was at 26 so sick
that she had a heart
attack, and yet,
after 15 years, the only way
this sickly woman will now die is to kill her.
In fact, sir, you’ll note that she is so frail, as
you say
12 days of starvation and dehydration
have not killed her. Healthy people
die sooner.
Sir, you have further testified
that she won’t suffer
yet you have this week given
her morphine
twice
for the pain you have sworn
she cannot feel.
If in dying she does not suffer
how then does she in living?
Or is it you who suffers?
Are you the one who needs
relief?
This is not a story about life.
It’s one of love.
The love of parents for their child.
The honor they give her by feeding her;
by trying to rescue her; to give her life
meaning, purpose, interest. Perhaps she
is oblivious. But who is harmed, if she is
in fact unconscious?
(Or to hell with their Catholic compassion?)
It is not a story about a husband who loves his wife
or her right to die. For we do not
know her wish; we only know his, which
took him years to tell us, and is different
than when all this began.
His wish is that she must die,
so he can get on with his life with
some other woman.
She would want that.
He says.
©Bill Gnade 2005/Contratimes - All Rights Reserved.
Related essays (at Contratimes): A Foolish Consistency, A Central (Yet Not Comedic) Irony
Related links: Terri Schiavo: A Life That Mattered And Still Matters
posted by Bill Gnade at 6:00 AM
2 Comments:
Did you ever read Deacon Fournier's "The Rule of Law, they cried, while Terri died"? It is as powerful as yours is.
http://tinyurl.com/ftrfg
I wish that I could write as effectively. You have a true gift.
God bless!
If I had those months, days, then hours to live over again, and thank God I don't, for that would mean Terri's suffering even longer, I would fly to Florida and storm that damned building and grab that helpless woman out of there. That is one failure I'll never forgive anyone, including the Church.
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