Million Dollar (veggie)Baby ?

I'm going to go ahead and assume that those of you out there who may be reading this have at the very least heard some mumblings/reporting/rumors/bloggerspeak of the Terri Schiavo case which is unfolding (but not unplugging) in Florida. Ooops, was that offensive? Stupid maybe? I guess I've just fallen victim to the outbreak of stupidity that seems to have stricken a certain and growing segment of our population....

Last week a California man offered Michael Schiavo $1,000,000 to relinquish custodial rights to his wife's parents. But wait, the stupidity doesn't stop at the "I want to buy the rights to your wife so that I can give them back to her parents" bit (which can stand on its own leg of idiocy). Oh no, everyone's favorite California business man explained that the reason for his offer was a newfound sense of "hope" he had for her after seeing a video of her and the life she leads (la very exciting one at that, what with the eating through a tube and the other vast enjoyments that come with being in a persistent vegetative state-PVS). Apparently this man, in all his vast scientific endeavors, has "seen some miraculous recoveries occur through the use of stem cells" which have otherwise been kept entirely secret from the medical community. While this man’s proposal is a bit despicable, and his knowledge of science more than lacking, it is really only a small example of some of the strange issues that are arising from this unfortunate case.

Not to be outdone by a mere businessman, members of the Catholic Church are also now weighing in on the issue, and in doing so, have opened up an entirely new forum for stupidity to be spewed and misconceptions to be had. Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, the Vatican’s chief bioethicist, has been quoted as saying that removing her feeding tube would be the equivalent to euthanasia. Statements such as this have riled up ranking members in the lower echelons of the church, leading to statements today by an Arch Bishop in Pennsylvania likening the cessation of feeding of Mrs. Schiavo to the Holocaust, and those who provide said “service” to be invoking an American Final Solution. I’m not sure if further comment on that is really necessary….

So what’s the point you ask? Why the diatribe on stupidity? Perhaps to illustrate that while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, taken in the context of healthcare they have real consequences. Perhaps instead it’s to spark some conversation about PVS as it’s an all too common condition that can be more easily dealt with if you have some of your own, informed notions of what it is. Or, it could just be let everyone know that if I’m ever the unfortunate soul in PVS, go ahead and play my Clint Eastwood – and if you can get the cool mill for it first enjoy yourself.

See the links below for any further information about the Schiavo case.

EMO

Timeline for Events in Mrs. Schiavo’s life - http://www.miami.edu/ethics/schiavo/timeline.htm

Additional links - http://www.miami.edu/ethics/schiavo/Schiavo_links.htm