Hiding Behind the Legislators' Skirts?

Ron Panzer
Copyright March 17, 2005
Reproduced with Permission

It is clear that Governor Jeb Bush and President Bush are hoping that the Legislators will take the "hot potato" issue of Terri Schiavo's life, off their plate. If they act in their capacity as chief executives, they will be vilified by the Left for "interfering in the personal matters of a family" and "imposing their religious values" upon the family. I have heard repeated, ad nauseum, the Left's commentators and elected officials who vilify the Legislators who are trying to save Terri.

And on the other hand, if the chief executives do not intervene, they are, and already are being, vilified by the Right for not intervening, and accused of being phony prolifers. It is clear that no matter what they do (or the Legislators do), either side of the political aisle will condemn them.

It is ironic that the party of human rights, always talking about individual rights, civil rights and so on, has nothing to say about the rights of Terri Schindler Schiavo, a victim of multiple crimes over more than a decade, to live. They say nothing about Terri's right to have rehabilitation or proper care. The party that champions the right to divorce at will (the Democrats) refuses to consider Terri's right to divorce Michael. The party that champions the right of women to live independently of domination by men, is actively pushing the right of Michael Schiavo, a man, to treat Terri like property and discard her, denying her any rights at all under the law, as a human being.

Why is that? It is because the Democratic leadership accepts, for the most part, a secular vision of life. A vision that views Terri as "nonhuman" because of her brain injury.

When a man beats the ____ out of a woman, wife or not, the feminists are out there screaming about women's rights. Where are the feminists in this case? Nowhere to be seen! For the most part, those who are opposing any current legislative intervention to save Terri, are Left leaning Senators and Representatives. I find this so astounding, as the Democrats are always talking about patient rights, human rights, women's rights. They favor the "privacy" right to kill oneself by refusing "medical treatment" (also known in this case as food and water).

While I believe one has the right to refuse medical treatment, this case is completely based upon transparently fabricated testimony. It is not believable that Michael Schiavo is telling the truth when he never mentioned Terri's so-called "wish to die under the circumstances" to the courts until years after he had received over a million dollars. It is not believable that Michael Schiavo is telling the truth when he swore under oath back in the early 1990s that he would care for Terri "forever." It is not believable that he forbade nurses from providing even the most basic nursing care to Terri. Any "loving" husband would want his wife to be well-treated and to receive the very best care under any circumstances.

It is clear to me that the Democratic party is the party that wishes to promote universal health care (as if it will be a dreamlike delivery system without flaw). One has only to travel to the United Kingdom or Canada to hear horrible tales about the government's health program, with NO recourse to go elsewhere, no other option available. When I read the "Health Security Act of 1993," also known as "Hillary Care," I was stunned to see that it would be a FELONY for any nurse, doctor or any provider to provide any services not approved beforehand by the government. Socialized medicine promises to reach out to all, but again, because of its expense, is also sure to make abortion and euthanasia universally "available." "Available" to many whether they wanted to be killed or not.

Aborted babies' right to refuse the "treatment" of abortion is never honored. Aborted babies' right to choose life is never honored. And vulnerable patients, whether they are elderly, disabled or chronically ill, are hauled off to be killed within health care systems without having their "choice" of life honored. This is the reality in the Netherlands where euthanasia has been legalized. It was revealed by the government-sponsored report of the Netherlands' government in its official report, the Remmelink report back in the early 1990s.

Socialized medicine is a huge expense for any government that has embraced that form of health care delivery system, and the tendency to provide free access to abortion and euthanasia comes along with it.

Now that I've got the left-leaning readers up in arms, let's look at the other side, the Right.

The Republicans say they are prolife, yet they have allowed massive numbers of patients or residents to be starved or dehydrated to death without intervening. Where? In the nation's nursing homes, in every county, in every state. Corporations that make profit off of the residents of nursing homes are the rule rather than the exception in the USA. The financial incentives to let some die (there is always another victim ready to enter the nursing home) are overwhelming to those who place the wishes of stockholders over the welfare of the residents served.

Government reports and investigations have conclusively proved that at least 1/3 of all nursing home residents suffer serious abuse or neglect within the nursing homes of our nation. Felony crimes are routinely committed in many nursing homes and charges are rarely leveled against the staff or owners who perpetrate those crimes.

Corporations that intentionally understaff (and I've worked for some of them over the years) know that patients will be abused, neglected or even be directly harmed as a result of that understaffing. With decades of periodic hearings in the Congress, the complaints about the abuse and neglect of the elderly is well known and undeniable. Is it morally superior to let the elderly and disabled in nursing homes slowly starve to death because the corporations are understaffed (and the owners are millionaires)?

Let's be real here: whether one openly endorses the killing of the vulnerable elderly, disabled and chronically ill, or, one just lets them rot to death in some hellish nursing home, the result is the same. The person dies a miserable death. Which of the two is preferable is a debatable question. Which political party is preferable is debatable. They both have been negligent in the extreme when it comes to the treatment of the vulnerable.

The problem for the "rulers" of our nation, our elected officials, is that society is split down the middle on these issues. There are many religious people who still say, "I wouldn't want to live that way," and there are non-religious agnostics or atheists who agree. The elected officials, being political animals, want to appear "caring" and "compassionate" to voters on both sides of the issue. How many are consistent in their efforts to protect the vulnerable? Whether they save Terri or not, they are guilty of abandoning the millions of vulnerable in our society.

EVERY Senator or Representative at the state or federal level is aware that when the elderly, ailing or disabled die, the budget becomes easier to balance. They don't talk about it, but there was an Attorney General in California who admitted that the savings were significant.

The Schiavo case is all about making hospice a killing field where the "unwanted" can be killed off. "Unwanted" why? Almost always because of money to be gotten, money to be saved, power to be retained or achieved. Any doctor, official or ethicist who denies these realities is either a fool or a liar, hiding the truth from the public so that the agenda can be pushed forward onto the naive, gullible public.

If this case was about "love" for Terri, there would be NO hesitation to provide testing to make sure Terri's condition truly prevents any future recovery. If this case was about "love" for Terri, there would be no hesitation to let her swallow by mouth, get rehabilitation of all sorts, to see if there was any hope for her. If this case was about "love" for Terri, she would never have been placed in solitary confinement, isolated for over 10 years. If this case was about "love" for Terri, she would have been allowed every opportunity to grow, to interact, and every dime would have been spent on HER, not on Michael or his live-in "girlfriend."

Anyone who has looked at this case and all the evidence, knows that there are all sorts of questions swirling around Michael Schiavo. Why did Terri suddenly "collapse" after a huge fight that night back in 1990? Why does she have neck injuries consistent with strangulation? Why does her bone scans show multiple broken bones which have never been explained? Why did Michael Schiavo conceal Terri's DAMNING medical records from her family and the public for more than a decade? What is he so afraid of? Why is Michael so determined to NEVER allow an autopsy to examine Terri? Why is the court so determined NOT to allow free access to the public, the media and others to see Terri? What do they have to hide? If they had Terri's welfare at heart, they would allow free access to the public, the media and others and it would be clear to everyone that Terri was as they say she is. The truth is, however, the exact opposite of what Michael Schiavo and his right-to-kill attorney George Felos say.

So, the President and the Governor of Florida both know that the budget is being balanced when people like Terri die. They don't and WON'T talk about that, but I will. If they intervene, will it cause more expenses by keeping people alive who have been being killed all along? Of course it will. So, they're in a difficult position in a way. To be a "good leader" they should be balancing the budget, or at least appearing to care about balancing the budget.ΚΚ

And if the government steps in at the federal level, we'll have a states' rights vs. federal rights controversy raging, just like the battle over the Oregon Death at Will Act (Death with "dignity" Act). Speaking about Oregon, I do not wonder why the state of Oregon hides the data about who is being killed, what circumstances were involved, whether the so-called "safeguards" were ever followed or not. I know that if they hide the data, it is certain they have a good reason to do so: they know the data would show the failure of the safeguards and the victimization of vulnerable patients.

The President and Governor, if they were people of character, would step in and investigate the crimes committed against Terri. They would expose the corruption of the Greer court and the violations of federal and state law by just about everyone involved in the judicial system, the Sheriff's department and other government officials. They would take Terri into protective custody and arrest those who have conspired to kill an innocent women. There is little time left. If the President or Governor have good character, they will act to protect the vulnerable.

They may be hoping that the Legislators take care of this "hot potato" issue, but this case is boxing them into a corner. We will know, without a doubt, whether they honor life or not. If the Legislatures fail to act, any inaction on the Governor's or President's part will undeniably indicate a fraudulent prolife stance on their part. I can understand that they may wish to let the Legislators handle this, but we are at the end. They need to act and show their cards. Are they men? Or are they hiding behind the skirts of the Legislature?

I cannot get beyond the realization that men of good character would long ago have ordered the arrest of those who harmed Terri by violating numerous laws, would long ago have ordered the full investigation into the corrupt determinations of "fact" by the Greer court, the fraudulent admission of Terri into a hospice when she is NON-terminal, would long ago have ordered a full investigation into the police/sheriff's departments that did NOT investigate the original trauma to Terri revealed by bone scans taken way back in 1991.

This case has nothing to do with honoring a woman's "privacy" rights to refuse "treatment;" it is all about an agenda foisted upon our American nation by those who wish to create a right to kill and eliminate those they deem not worthy of living. Glaring fact that the Florida legislator who helped pass the law making "food and water" into "medical treatment" sits on the board of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, a hospice willingly an accomplice in the conspiracy to murder Terri Schiavo and those like her! Glaring fact that the Sheriff's Department in Pinellas County never investigated the crimes against Terri while the Sheriff in the county is reportedly connected to Michael Schiavo through Michael's live-in "girlfriend."

The obvious wrong in this case is overwhelming. The corruption in this case is overwhelming. The horror of what they intend to do is overwhelming. As Jesus cautioned, as we treat the "least of these" among us, so do we treat Him.

But are our elected officials the only ones who are to blame, who are "guilty" here? The reality is that as a society, we demand that government provide so many services, but we don't wish to pay for those services (by paying more and more taxes). We complain about government, but we choose to have nuclear families. We value our independence. Sons and daughters move from one end of the nation to the other, leaving parents isolated in old age. While many care for their parents in old age, up to the very end, there are others who do not.ΚΚ

Are we willing to make the sacrifices necessary to care for each other within our own families? That is how the extended families used to function. Could both husband and wife continue to work if they are needed to care for an ailing elderly parent or child? Would the financial status of the family suffer if one took an elderly or disabled family member into one's own home? Those who have done so, know that there are serious sacrifices to be made. Many are not willing to make those sacrifices.

And because many are not willing to make those sacrifices, the government is called upon to step in. Are we not all responsible for the condition of our nation? Is it too easy to blame others for the evil we see within society? Are we responsible, even a little, for the horrible conditions within some of the nursing homes?

While there are so many who labor with great dedication in our nation's health care facilities, why do deplorable conditions continue to victimize so many? Have too many placed their own financial gain ahead of the welfare of those who now are dependent upon others for care? Is greed the ultimate reason that many live through abuse and neglect?

If the President or Governor "wash their hands" of the planned killing of Terri, they will, like Pontius Pilate, simply be remembered as men who were cowards, who could not, or would not, stand firm for what is right and protect the utterly innocent and vulnerable. Cowards? ... or "leaders" as they would have the nation believe?ΚΚ

They cannot sit on the fence any more. They cannot pretend to honor life and do nothing. They already have the legal authority to act to take Terri into protective custody (which has been well-detailed before by legal experts).

Will they hide behind the skirts of the Legislators? Or will they prove themselves to be honorable, in this case at least? I pray that they act honorably, now. I also recognize that each family is responsible for making choices about how they will or will not care for each other. We cannot just blame others. We must choose whether to honor every life before us, or not.

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