Terri Schiavo's Autopsy “Conclusions”

 From WorldNetDaily:

The autopsy report concluding Terri Schiavo suffered no trauma prior to her collapse under disputed circumstances in 1990 has no bearing on the moral evaluation of the high-profile "right-to-die" case, stated clerics and leaders of faith-based groups responding to the findings.

The Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner in Florida yesterday concluded Schiavo's brain was about half of its expected size.

"This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons," said Jon Thogmartin at a news conference.

There are two facts of life I have come to realize: 1. Doctors will always pretend that they know more than they really do, and 2. There is no limit to the ability of the human mind to rationalize atrocities for the sake of convenience.

There is no way they can know that Terri didn't suffer, based on an autopsy. These people murdered her, and want to rationalize it away and go on with their lives. Picture the scene from Schindler's List where the German's in their nice clothes walked along ignoring the slow falling ash from the nearby extermination camp. Some even acted as if it were snow. This autopsy is no less ghastly.

From the Baptist Press:

Neurologist Stephen Milton said that persistent vegetative state is a clinical diagnosis and that the autopsy could not solve the debate over Schiavo's diagnosis. But he did say that there "was nothing in the autopsy that is inconsistent with persistent vegetative state."...

Bobby Schindler, Jr., Terri’s brother, said the autopsy report is little comfort to a family that wanted to take Terri home and care for her.

“We weren’t surprised the medical examiner said Terri’s brain was damaged,” Schindler told the Florida Baptist Witness after the autopsy report was released. “The fact that the medical examiner ruled out bulimia and ruled out a heart attack, without a doubt, adds more questions.”

Finding out why Terri collapsed will be even more elusive now, since only Terri and Michael knew what happened that night, Schindler said. “He killed a person that was disabled.”

The case, Schindler said, raised an important question: What happens to disabled people when they are no longer wanted?

“This goes back to the whole quality of life issue,” Schindler said. “Are we going to decide when it’s okay and not okay to kill people? This doesn’t change the fact that we are starving and dehydrating human beings to death.”

From LifeNews:

"Her physical injuries and disabilities never made her less of a person. No amount of brain injury ever justifies denying a person proper humane care. That includes food and water," said Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life.

“A person with a 'profoundly atrophied' brain needs profound care and love," he said. "Terri did not die from an atrophied brain. She died from an atrophy of compassion on the part of her estranged husband and those who helped him to have her deliberately killed.”

Anther thing to remember, is that in spite of the fact that hundreds of millions of people world-wide have witnessed Terri Schiavo tracking the movement of an object passed in front of her, the coroner had the arrogance to claim she was blind. I think it's pretty obvious who is blind.

I'd also like to add that as I read through the various posts across the blogosphere, I'm saddened to see so many “Gosh sheriff, I didn't know this'd actually be tough. I just joined the posse cuz I wanted to look like a hero. I wanna go home now,” type responses. It's easy to pretend Terri was brain dead (an invented term) and go on with your life, but the reason America is America is because a handful of people didn't go the easy route. They sacrificed for what they knew to be the right thing. The reason America will cease to be America is because too few of us are left that are willing to make sacrifices for what is right and too many are willing to pretend wrong is right. It was wrong to kill Terri Schiavo. It was wrong to allow it to happen when you had the power to stop it. Jeb and George Bush both still have to answer for their inaction. So do the rest of us.

Coverage: Captain's Quarters, Outside the Beltway (also here), La Shawn Barber, WizBang, Patterico, HyScience, Blogs for Terri, The Anchoress, The Wide Awakes, Original Musings, Media Culpa (also here), insignificant thoughts, Teknosis

Posted by Danny Carlton at June 16, 2005 07:01 AM