Excellent post at Lean Left
pointing out that, yes, sometimes there is a point when you have to say
that further care is futile. George W. Bush may very well have been
right to sign that bill back in 1999. It was, after all, crafted very
carefully and even the pro-life movement signed on to it and agreed to
a reasonable standard of medical futility. "Killing patients to save
money" is an oversimplified description of this law.
So maybe I was too hasty in my condemnation of Bush for signing that bill into law. On the other hand, it makes me even more annoyed with him for turning his back on reason now.
Excellent analyses of this case can also be found at Obsidian Wings and Alas, A Blog.
If you've heard that Terri Schiavo
shows some signs of being responsive, you might want to listen to this
NPR interview with a doctor who was briefly appointed as her guardian
a few years ago.
Finally, if your family is having the same kinds of discussions ours is, you probably want to check out this Findlaw page about medical directives...
Edited
to add: since I promised myself I wouldn't post any more entries about
this case, I'm adding this excellent link here. It debunks many of the
myths about this sad story.
