Alleba Politics

The removal of Terry Schiavo’s feeding tube has been hogging headlines in USA. It has opened a plethora of issues regarding the legality of assisted suicide or euthanasia. Currently, the biggest issue in US is the acceptability of state intervention in family porblems. There is an on-going fight between Terry’s husband and her family over the removal of the feeding tube.

Personally, I think that the real issue lies in what is the humane thing to do rather than what is legal. Although I believe that there are grounds for the legalization of euthanasia, I do not support the decision to remove Terry Schiavo’s feeding tube. There is a very big difference between removing the life-support system of a patient and removing his/her feeding tube. One entails the humane treatment of prolonged pain and suffering and the other one is simply inflicting pain and suffering upon a helpless patient.

Moreover, the morality of the person making the decisions is highly questionable. Obviously, her husband who already has a new girlfriend and children has minimal, or no concern at all, for Terry. How can the government continue to be blind to this fact? The US government should declare Terry’s husband as morally unfit to care for her.

One need not be a conservative or a Christian to realize that a great injustice and inhumanity has been done on a helpless human being. For as long as Terry Schiavo can breath and function on her own without life-support systems, every means possible should be taken to ensure that she continue to live.