"No one can be the arbiter of life except God himself."1
America suffers from the rule of judges supplanting the rule of law and the will of the people. Men in black robes, rather than legislators, are making and repealing laws. Man's laws and natural laws are being undermined not by legal reasoning but fiat.2
Let us look at the judicial homicide case of Terri Schiavo.
In 'virulent judicial activism,'3 Circuit Judge George Greer of Pinellas County, Florida has recently stated he is no longer "comfortable" in granting Terri Schiavo another 'stay of execution.'
And so, activist Judge Greer next issued a court order mandating that on March 18, 2005, Terri's palliative care, which is ordinary 'nutrition and hydration' (also crudely known as a 'feeding tube') will be removed, commencing her most painful death by starvation/dehydration.4
It is important to understand that a person's 'nutrition and hydration,' whether they are sick or dying, is palliative [normal] care. It is certainly not extraordinary care, as many 'right-to-die' left-leaning judges, attorneys, and the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops wish us to believe. Contrary to what Terri's own Bishop Robert Lynch5 falsely teaches, the Vatican teaches that 'nutrition and hydration' can never be withheld [see Pope John Paul II teachings below].
Earlier this year, in a 27-page brief, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, on January 21, 2005, asked the U.S. Supreme Court justices to review and reverse the Florida Supreme Court's Sept. 23 ruling that struck down Florida's "35E Bill - Terri's Law" as unconstitutional. Bush's attorneys argued that the lower courts had denied federally protected rights to due process and equal protection.
Three days later, the nation's nine top justices declined to review the Florida Supreme Court's rescission of "35E Bill - Terri's Law." Gov. Bush vows to continue pursuing all legal options available to him before the March 18 death knell.
Activist Judge Greer has subverted the law by rejecting mountains of evidence and medical information that would have saved Terri from husband Michael and attorney George Felos' suspicious quest to have her murdered. Under Greer's liberal judicial rulings, Terri has been denied her Constitutional right to life and lawful due process.6
Subsequently, Judge Greer, the evil facilitator, wrongfully serves as 'God' and arbiter of Terri's life and death.
Is it possible that a criminal case can be made against Michael Schiavo, Attorney Felos, and Judge Greer for 'conspiracy to commit murder?'
Concerning the decades-long despotic exploitation of power by activist judges supplanting the will of the people, outspoken and fearless Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote:
"The Court must be living in another world. Day by day, case by case, it is busy designing a Constitution for a country I do not recognize."7
Justice Scalia, a Roman Catholic, whose jurisprudence emphasizes the original meaning of the Constitution and its literal wording of statutes, calls himself a Constitutional 'textualist.'8 He recently said his colleagues might soon discover a right to assisted suicide between the lines of the text of the Constitution:
"We're not ready to announce [euthanasia] right now. Check back with us," he sarcastically warned.
Another [former] judge who also advocates original or textual interpretation of the Constitution is former U.S. Solicitor General9 and U.S. Attorney General Robert H. Bork. In his new book, Robert Bork, describes the judicial oligarchy10 enforcing a new ideology that he calls "lifestyle socialism."11
"We are increasingly governed not by law or elected representatives, but by unelected, unrepresentative, unaccountable committees of lawyers applying no law other than their own will. ... What judges have wrought is a coup d'etat - slow-moving and genteel - but a coup d'etat nonetheless."
Recently, Roman Catholic Robert Bork wrote in the Wall Street Journal:
"The Supreme Court has created a more permissive abortion regime than any state had enacted; prohibited any exercise or symbol of religion touching even remotely upon government; made the death penalty extremely difficult to impose and execute; disabled states from suppressing pornography; catered to the feminist agenda, including outlawing state all-male military schools; created a labyrinth of procedures making criminal prosecutions ever more difficult; used racial classifications to exclude children from their neighborhood public schools; perverted the political process by upholding campaign finance limits that shift political power to incumbents, journalists and labor unions; licensed the advocacy of violence and law violation; and protected as free speech computer-generated child pornography. These decisions are activist, i.e., not plausibly related to the actual Constitution."12
World moral leader Pope John Paul II declared recently that withholding 'nutrition and hydration' is "euthanasia by omission" and is forbidden.13
"No matter how sick a person is, he is and will always be a man, never becoming a vegetable or animal," said the Holy Father. Thank God, the ailing Pope does not reside in Pinellas County.
Nonetheless, disregarding Terri's personal Catholic faith, the arrogant activist Judge Greer had twice before ordered Terri's 'nutrition and hydration' removed. The first execution was commenced in April 200l, whereas Terri suffered two-and-a-half days of starvation and dehydration. Again, another execution was commenced in October 2003.
Due to the 'special session' intervention of Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the Legislature on October 21, passed "35E Bill - Terry's Law," allowing Terri's palliative care resumed after six days of excruciating pain.
On May 6, 2004, liberal activist Judge W. Douglas Baird of Pinellas Circuit Court, ruled "35E Bill - Terri's Law" unconstitutional.
Terri Schiavo is non-terminal, non-PVS, she is not near death, she is not even sick. Terri can speak a few words and expresses joy and excitement at seeing her family. In fact, Terri can be trained from requiring the 'feeding tube.' Terri suffers from brain damage or cognitive disability, which can be treated and improved, although there are varying 'opinions' as to the degree of improvement expected. To date, her estranged, adulterous husband, Michael Schiavo, has curiously withheld this traditional, basic therapy from Terri.
The Catholic Church teaches that morally no one may remove 'nutrition and hydration' from another simply because they suffer from illness or are near death. If a person were near death, and Terri Schiavo certainly is not, compassionate caregivers and loved ones would not want to cause excruciating pain and agony due to withdrawal of food and water to a terminal patient in their last days. Nutrition and hydration should always be administered as humane, palliative, and ordinary care.14
Recently, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, spoke to Vatican Radio in an appeal to Judge Greer, Terri's husband Michael and Michael's 'right-to-die' attorney George Felos to save Terri's life.15
"If Mr. Schiavo succeeds legally in causing the death of his wife, this not only would be tragic in itself, but would be a grave step toward the legal approval of euthanasia in the United States.
"I would like to remind everyone in this connection, about all that the Holy Father has said in past days to the Pontifical Academy for Life, confirming that the quality of life is not interpreted as economic success, beauty and physical pleasure, but consists in the supreme dignity of the creature made in the image and likeness of God," Cardinal Martino said.
"No one can be the arbiter of life except God himself" [Pope JPII].
1 Pope John Paul II, 2/21/05, quoting from Pope Paul VI's 'Humanae vitae,' n.13, (l968); and Pope John XXIII encyc.'Mater et Magistra,' in AAS LIII (l961), p.447. [Back]
2 Natural Law is part of the eternal law by way of the creation of human beings who have intelligence and freedom and can cooperate in freely carrying out God's Plan, an expression of the Will of God. Natural Law is 'participation of the eternal law by the rational creature...External Law: the type of divine wisdom, which directs all actions and motions,' Aquinas, Summa, Ch. XVIII, Q. 90-94. [Back]
3 Quote taken from Judge Robert H. Bork's new book, "Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges." [Back]
4 Find Law News & Commentary, "Court clears way for removal of feeding tube," AP writer Mitch Stacy, 2/25/05. [Back]
5 http://www.dioceseofstpete.org/news.php?NID=9 Bishop Lynch wrongly advises using a 'Living Will' when in fact 'Living Wills' have become ineffective against activist judges. Instead, what is required is a "Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care." Contact American Life League for forms: phone 540-659-4171. [Back]
6 Constitution of the United States, Amendment V; Amendment VII; Amendment XIV, Section 1. [Back]
7 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the dissenting opinion, Board of Commissioners v. Umbehr and O'Hare, June 28, 1996. [Back]
8 Justice Scalia uses an 18th-century dictionary to make sure he understands just what the 1789 Constitution's words meant to the men who wrote it. A 'textualist' takes meaning from the Constitution "from its text and that meaning does not change." [Back]
9 Solicitor General is a traditional presidential cabinet position, and is that person who represents or advises the U.S. government, usually before the Supreme Court. The Solicitor General, when arguing before the Supreme Court, wears a 19th Century uniform, making him very distinct in the courtroom. [Back]
10 A form of government in which power is vested in a few persons. [Back]
11 "Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges, " 2002. The word 'bork' as a verb means to be roughly and unfairly treated, or borked, as in Judge Bork's confirmation hearings. [Back]
12 Robert H. Bork, "The Soul of the Law," The Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2003. [Back]
13 Pope JPII, 3/20/04, Vatican City address to international congress promoted by the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) and by the Pontifical Academy for Life, "Life-Sustaining Treatment and the Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas." [Back]
15 Zenit News, 2/24/05, "Cardinal Martino Appeals for Terri Schiavo." [Back]