Terri Schiavo’s Death Was Wake-Up Call: Euthanasia Benefits No One

Opinion   |   Suzanne Schindler   |   Apr 4, 2012   |   5:35PM   |   Washington, DC

We must never forget Terri and the premature, unthinkable death she endured. Last March 31st was the seventh anniversary of my sister, Terri Schiavo’s death.

Terri was starved and dehydrated to death by those who value killing the innocent ahead of preserving life, and who put God second to the powers of a corrupt legal and government system—or leave Him out of the equation, entirely.

Terri never wanted to die, and in fact told us just the opposite—that she wanted to live. As we look back on all she endured, we realize that Terri did not die in vain. For years the “death cult” lurked in the shadows. Now, through the media coverage and public outcry surrounding Terri’s tragic ordeal, the evil of imposed death on the innocent and vulnerable has been exposed.

Our family learned, in the most painful way possible, of the existence of this “pro-death culture,” as we fought to save Terri. Please listen carefully when we say that there is a nationwide movement under way to promote a so-called “right to die,” with the ultimate goal of legalizing involuntary euthanasia.

Terri’s Execution Was a Wake-Up Call: Who Benefits from Euthanasia?

Ethicists and economists are questioning whether the long accepted “spending mindset” is best for the financial future of programs such as Medicare. Estimates show that about $88 billion of Medicare’s annual budget (10/18/06 – USA Today) goes to care for patients in their final year of life. Private medical insurers also have a vested interest in “cost containment” as health care costs continue to spiral and our population ages. As retirees live longer, the drain on Social Security has the potential to deplete the already jeopardized fund.

The same scenario applies to the medical profession, forcing doctors to decide who lives and dies based not on the value of every human life, but on the value of the almighty dollar.

Under IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) 15 politically appointed members will make vital decisions on Medicare which removes the doctor patient relationship in determining what is best and will ultimately lead to countless cases of premature termination of life sustaining care for the elderly, disabled and those deemed as “too expensive”.

But don’t take our word for it, just read what Stanley Kurtz, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center wrote about the IPAB, “…the elderly will be unable to obtain many kinds of care, or will experience de facto rationing via long treatment delays and sharp declines in the quality of care.

He continued, “Rationing, death panels, socialism, and deception. It’s all there. When Sarah Palin first raised the “death panel” issue, she was referring to end-of-life counseling. But IPAB is the real death panel (as Palin herself later noted), a body of unelected bureaucrats with the power to cut off care through arbitrary rules based on one-size-fits-all cost calculations, just as in Britain.”

Terri’s tragic story has proven that it is no longer safe to assume that the courts and the medical community have the best interests of your loved ones at heart… or even that you can trust your medical professionals to err on the side of life. Just look how the medical profession has created and now uses a diagnosis that studies have shown is wrong almost half the time – the persistent vegetative state (PVS). Yet they are using this diagnosis as a criterion to kill those with brain injuries just like they did in Terri’s case.

Sadly, a “quality of life” ethic has hijacked the profession, leaving very few doctors and nurses who are willing to stand up and fight for the lives of the most vulnerable among us. The “death cult” has no regard for the sanctity of life or compassion for the disabled.

LifeNews Note: Suzanne Schindler is the sister of Terri Schiavo and the Executive Director of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network.