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Is It "Murder" to Pull Terri's Feeding Tube?
by Dr. Patrick Johnston
22 March 2005
Although
no one can doubt the sincerity of the pro-life community that his risen to
the occasion to defend Terri's right to life, I believe that some of the
bad arguments that are employed weaken the defense of Terri Schiavo.
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Is it "murder" to
withdraw artificial means of sustenance that were employed contrary to the
patient's wishes? Not necessarily.
Let me explain with a hypothetical, yet likely scenario. A man tells
his wife that should he have a severe accident, and cannot eat and drink
on his own and is unlikely to recover, he would not want to be kept alive
by artificial means. Should a severe accident occur, his family and
physician should respect his wishes. If he cannot eat and drink on
his own, is unlikely to recover, and a feeding tube is withheld -- because
he didn't want one -- and the patient subsequently dies of malnutrition,
he did not die of murder. The patient succumbed to a complication of his accident.
No one has the right to force a competent person to undergo surgery contrary
to their wishes. Not even a government official or a physician may
kidnap and imprison an innocent person to force them to have surgery and
take medicine explicitly contrary to their wishes. Liberty is more valuable
than health. Physicians do not have a right to tell a competent patient
that they must receive a surgery and succumb to artificial means of force-feeding
them when the patient has clearly refused such extraordinary measures.
How many times have I seen a competent elderly patient whisked off to a surgery
that they didn't want because their family feels inclined to do "everything
they can" to save their life, when all that happened was that they exhausted
their funds and prolonged their misery. It is not murder to withhold
a potentially life-saving procedure from competent patient who doesn't want
surgery or medicine, and it is not suicide to refuse what may be a life-saving
procedure or medicine. Some patients actually read the fine print at
the bottom of the page they ask you to sign before you are taken to surgery.
Surgery and medicine can and do kill many! The treatment for some ailments
may shorten the lifespan and lessen the quality of life much more than if
the ailment followed its natural course. Side effects and complications
from surgery and medicine can be drastic, and they are expensive and can
deplete of lifetime of resources that one may wish to be given to family
and loved ones instead.
Although no one can doubt the sincerity of the pro-life community that his
risen to the occasion to defend Terri's right to life, I believe that some
of the bad arguments that are employed weaken the defense of Terri Schiavo.
Withholding the feeding tube of a patient who is unlikely to recover and
who didn't want one in the first place is not murder. Loving husbands
remove feeding tubes from beloved wives who have suffered tragic accidents
every day, and they do not commit "murder" when they do so. No court
or loved one has the right to force a competent patient to be held against
their will and to receive surgery, a feeding tube, and artificial means of
sustenance contrary to their wishes. If Terry Schiavo said that she
wouldn't want to be kept alive through artificial force-feeding through a
tube in her belly, her husband hasn't murdered her by respecting her wishes.
The courts have assumed that the husband knows best what the wife would have
wanted, and wants what is best for her. Nevertheless, a just judge
should be able to weight the evidence to discern malicious intent in Mr.
Schiavo's dealings with his wife, and come to defend her God-given right
to live.
Respecting a patient's wishes and withholding artificial means of nutrition
through a surgically-inserted tube in the abdomen is not murder.
This confusion and bad argumentation emboldens the Left in this debate.
Many pro-lifers propose the wrong remedy for Terri Schiavo's crisis because
they have made the wrong diagnosis. They know that something is wrong
with this scenario, but unable to think biblically, they resort to remedies
that are almost as bad as the malady.
If Terri wouldn't have wanted to be kept alive through a tube through a hole
in her belly, then feed her by mouth! What's the worst that could happen?
Death? Here's where the confusion enters the picture. The physicians
won't allow Terri Schiavo to be fed by mouth because she might aspirate and
choke to death. They'd rather starve her than give her something to
eat and risk her choking to death! See, if Terri's loved ones fed her
and she aspirated and died, then the physicians could be sued in a court
of law for allowing her to be fed by mouth when it was unsafe to do so.
It'd be an easy victory -- the malpractice insurance company would probably
settle out of court. To justify feeding Terri by mouth, the physicians
must order and the patient must pass a swallowing study to demonstrate that
she can take food safely by mouth without aspirating it into her lungs.
Well, how has Terri done on her swallowing study? Has she had speech
therapy to improve her chances of passing a swallowing study? Has she
had occupational and physical therapy, which drastically improves the course
of such illnesses?
The following is found from terrisfight.org:
The
courts had only allowed removal of Terri's feeding tube, not regular food
and water. Terri's husband illegally ordered this. The law only allows the
removal of 'life-prolonging procedures,' not regular food and water.
(According to) Florida Statute 744.3215: 'Rights of persons determined incapacitated:
(1) A person who has been determined to be incapacitated retains the right
to receive necessary services and rehabilitation.' This is a retained
right that a guardian cannot take away. Additionally, it does not make
exception for patients (in a persistent vegetative state). Terri has illegally
been denied rehabilitation - as many nurses have sworn in affidavits.
Terri
has not had a swallowing study, nor appropriate speech therapy, physical
therapy, and occupational therapy! According to video footage I have
witnessed, and according to the accounts of many physicians who have examined
her, Terri is not in a persistent vegetative state. It is amazing that
she is not, having been so deprived of the standard medical care that she
should have received for the past dozen years.
According
to her website, "Terri's behavior does not meet the medical or statutory
definition of persistent vegetative state. Terri responds to stimuli, tries
to communicate verbally, follows limited commands, laughs or cries in interaction
with loved ones, physically distances herself from irritating or painful
stimulation and watches loved ones as they move around her. None of these
behaviors are simple reflexes and are, instead, voluntary and cognitive.
Though Terri has limitations, she does interact purposefully with her environment."
Her chances of improving are very good if she receives typical medical care,
and she would be a lot better right now if she had received good care.
Many have blamed Mr. Michael Schiavo -- Terri's husband -- and the judges
who have ruled that she should starve to death, but few have indicted the
medical community for their complicity in the crime. Physicians have
an obligation before God to care for their patients as they would want to
be cared for, to do unto others as they would have others do unto them, all
the court orders in the world notwithstanding. There is a God who will
hold the rich accountable for how we treat the poor, the strong accountable
for how they exploit the poor, and the educated accountable for how they
mistreat the infirm. But we have abandoned God's absolute standard
of right and wrong for the arbitrary man-made standard of situational ethics
and relative morality. American physicians are directly responsible
for slaughtering one-third of our population through abortion. We are
bringing God's wrath upon our nation and upon ourselves. Oh, that a
remnant of physicians would rise up to defend the innocent and defenseless
in our nation!
The judges also have an obligation before God to do justice. The laws
of man take precedence over the man-made laws and statutes of any human government.
Judge Greer and the other judges who have not done justly in this case will
stand before God and give an account for their sin. Any just man can
weigh the evidence and see that Mrs. Terri Schiavo is not "brain-dead" or
in a persistent vegetative state, and that Michael Schiavo has malicious
intent against his wife. Judge Greer is hastening God's wrath upon
our nation and upon himself.
The following is also taken from the website:
In
1992, Terri was awarded nearly one million dollars by a malpractice jury
and an out-of-court malpractice settlement which was designated
for future medical expenses. Of these funds, less than $50,000 remains today.
The financial records revealing how Terri’s medical fund money is managed
are SEALED from inspection. Court records, however, show that Judge Greer
has approved the spending down of Terri’s medical fund on Schiavo’s attorney’s
fees -- though it was expressly awarded to Terri for her medical care. Schiavo’s
primary attorney, George Felos, has received upwards of $400,000 dollars
since Schiavo hired him. This same attorney, at the expense of Terri’s medical
fund, publicly likened Terri to a 'houseplant' and has used Terri’s case
on national television to promote his newly published book.
Michael
Schiavo has failed his obligation to provide for his wife's care. He
has exploited his wife's tragedy to rake in a million, and has not cared
for his wife as he was obligated to do. She has been denied the standard
of care! Michael Schiavo wants her dead. Several years ago he
became engaged to another woman with whom he lives and with whom has two
children!
It is becoming oh so clear that Mr. Schiavo doesn't have Terri's interest
at heart. He doesn't want her to improve, he doesn't want her to have
physical, occupational and speech therapy, he doesn't want her to have a
swallowing study, he doesn't want to provide comfort measures to her, he
doesn't want to let Terri's parents take her home and take care of her until
she dies, as many loving Hospice families do. Michael Schiavo wants
his wife to die because he wants to keep the money intended to provide Terri's
care and he wants to marry his adulteress, and he has found a judge to serve
as his accomplice in this crime.
I have heard pro-lifers suggest that Mr. Schiavo divorce Terri so that Terri's
parents can take care of her. This is precisely the kind of nonsense
to which I was referring when I said that the pro-life community's remedy
for what ails the Schiavo family can be almost as evil as the malady!
Whatever happened to "What God hath put together, let no man put asunder?"
Why won't we open up God's Word to discern what His opinions are on this
matter? Do we think that we, with all of our compassion and enthusiasm
to help Terri, can invent better means to do righteousness and justice than
what God's Word has declared? In our attempt to condemn Terri's assailants
for mistreating her contrary to God's law of love, do we condemn ourselves
for violating that very standard?
God said that those who attempt to kill an innocent person should be put
to death -- those who kill an innocent person and attempt to kill an innocent
person are guilty of the same crime and merit the same punishment.
(Click here for a more thorough handling of this subject.)
God's Word also forbids adultery. In His economy, it was not just a
sin, it was a crime with a severe civil sanction. (For a more thorough
handling of this subject, click here.)
As long as the salt has lost its savour, the salt will join the nation down
the path of corruption to tyranny to judgment (Matthew 5:13). We have
dulled the two-edged sword of the Spirit to delight the deniers of God for
so long, that we find ourselves emasculated in battle and powerless to offer
a remedy that God can bless. In our proposals to help Terri, we strip
ourselves of the only weapon that can defeat God's enemies and bring down
God's power. In condemning those who violate the Sixth Commandment
that forbids murdering Terri, we condemn ourselves as we reject what God's
Word says should be done to murderers. Thirty-five hundred innocent
people just like Terri Schiavo are slaughtered every day in the name of "choice"
and the church is either silent, or complicit, continuing to cast their lot
with politicians who perpetuate the child-killing. Justice has fallen in the street, and truth has been rejected for the commandments of men.
"Will ye pollute Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces
of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save souls alive
that should not live...?" Ezekiel 13:19
God's Word is clear: we have brought the curse of innocent bloodguilt upon
our land, and this bloodguilt can only be cleansed by the blood of him that
shed it. Let the lesser magistrates rise up to win God's favor by defying
tyranny and doing justice in the land! Let mercy triumph over judgment
in Florida, before it is too late and God's gavel falls upon us.
Dr. Johnston practices family medicine in Zanesville, Ohio, and is Vice Chairman of the Constitutional Party of Ohio. His ministry is Where the Truth Hurts.
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