Forget Right to Live, what about Common Sense?

I would like to speak just a moment, if I could, on Terri Shiavo. If you have not heard of her by now, you can catch up on the news here.

My colleague, Mr. Heath, has mentioned this situation on occasion, saying that it is an issue of her Right to Live. I do not disagree, but there are many who will say she has no Right to Live, so I would like to look at it from another perspective.

First of all, let us pretend that Terri really is in a deep coma like her husband says. Video tape certainly suggests the opposite, and these tapes are readily available online. But even if we concede that point to him, I think common sense tells us he is wrong.

We do not know what Terri herself would want should she fall into a coma. Her husband says that they spoke about it, but he is at best unreliable (see below), and there are no written instructions on her wishes.

We know what her husband wants to do; he wants her to die. But this doesn’t seem to be a case of him wanting her to die with dignity or anything of the sort. He is living with a new girlfriend, and he wants to get married. Getting married would be quite a bit easier if his current wife was dead. He would not have to go through a divorce, and it would certainly be cheaper to be a widower than a divorcee (as in, he wouldn’t lose half of his stuff). Therefore, his motives are hardly above reproach, and it is difficult to believe that he has Terri’s interests in mind.

We know what her parents want; they want her to live. There does not seem to be any advantage for them in keeping her alive except that their daughter will be alive. They can count on no financial support from her husband, and caring for her will certainly not be cheap. It will be a difficult a painful life for them, but they have asked for that life only so their daughter might live.

Forget "Right to Live" for a moment. After simply looking at the situation, the right thing to do is obvious. How many people would want their life decided by a spouse who is not only planning to divorce you, but is already living with another woman?

If you side with the husband, I would really like to know why. Give us an e-mail and try to explain the logic in it. Frankly, I don’t see any.

-Paul Lytle, Primum Mobile Magazine

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