Terry Shiavo

I actually wrote this several days ago when Terry Schiavo was on day six of living without her feeding tube. As of today, she's on day eleven...
I am not politically driven, nor am I particularly well-read when it comes to politically charged issues. My reading of the LA Times on Sunday is usually limited to the inserts and the Calendar section (if I don't just throw the whole thing away after pulling all the coupons out), and my daily dose of current events comes from the LATimes.com and the NYTimes.com while sitting at my desk each day. I have been following this case, however, for a couple of years. I'm talking about the case of Terry Shiavo in Florida, the woman whose husband is successfully fighting to have her life-sustaining feeding tube removed, allowing her to die within days. It is not in my nature to agree with George Bush, of whom I am NOT a fan. But in probably the most intelligent statement he has made in the last five years, the president suggests that we err on the side of life, and I must agree. In this case, we have one side led by Terry Shiavo's husband (!) removing her feeding tube and letting her die by starvation. On the other side, her parents, who for obvious reasons will do anything they can to keep their daughter alive. These are the people who have cared for her for the last 15 years since she's been in this condition and although they are not her legal guardians, I believe they have a sincere and vested interest in keeping her alive. Mind you, this is not a woman on any kind of life support - no breathing machine, nothing to keep her heart pumping - she IS NOT brain dead. There are doctor's who will argue that she is in a "persistent vegetative state," while others argue that she is not. A group of doctors who have recently examined her for the Florida courts have labeled her "irredeemably brain damaged" (Excuse me?), while Jeb Bush has recently brought forth a neurologist who claims that Terry has been misdiagnosed. The LA Times reports today that the neurologist from the Mayo clinic, who previously thought her to be in a "persistent vegetative state" has changed his diagnosis, saying that she's capable of feeling and responding to emotions and pain. The lawyer for Terry's parents has filed an affidavit saying that it is "no longer equitable for her to be starved to death." No longer equitable? In legal-ese, "equitable" means that justice has been served. Does anyone mistakingly think that justice has ever been served here? Does it not make sense to all of the courts who have heard this case that we JUST DON'T KNOW? We just don't know how cognizant she is, if she can understand what is going on around her, if she wishes to die. We just don't know if she feels physical or emotional pain. We just don't know how the physical fatigue of being starved and dehydrated is affecting her after six long days. I'm disgusted by the fact that Jeb Bush has the authority to stay the execution of serial killers, an authority which he has exercised, but does not have the authority to keep Terry Shiavo's feeding tube in place. Clinton had the authority to pardon Patty Hearst, whose innocence is doubtful, but Bush cannot step in to fight for an innocent and helpless Terry Shiavo.