It’s sickening – the way that the terri schiavo case in the states is being used for political posturing by republicans trying to pick up extra votes amongst the right wing demographic. a human being incapable of conscious thought is being pulled back and forth like a chew toy between two dogs.

Shrub says we must err on the side of life. Make no mistake – machines can keep the body from growing still, but they cannot bring back one’s mind.

Is that life?

they can create artifical intelligence and organs, but they cannot imbue them with the essence of what it means to be human. no matter how often the plastic heart beats, without a conscious brain to go with it, is that life?

and even with a conscious brain, and a heart that rhythmically contracts of its own accord: without the ability to experience the things that make us ourselves, or to participate fully in our own chosen existence – i would argue that’s not life either.

there are plenty who disagree with me. because the bottom line is, we each define for ourselves what makes each day worth getting up for, and we each set our own criteria for what keeps us going. how can you decide what validates another person’s existence?

Yet this is exactly what our government is trying to legislate. they can’t even decide who won the 2000 election, yet they are entrusted with deciding this woman’s fate?

The idea of being kept alive against my will is terrifying for me. To be stripped of my ability to control my mind, and exert any last act of independence, would, if I were aware of it, be a horrific nightmare. I believe thought, emotion, memory and personality combine to make up a person’s soul – once these have left the building, the orchestra hall is empty, and it would disturb me greatly to know that the shell of my body was standing in as a poor substitute for the real me. And parts of my body could still serve to keep alive people who are truly *alive*. To miss that opportunity is a far greater tragedy than turning off the machines that give false hope in the imitation of life.

All of which underscores the importance of a less-than-pleasant task: identifying a health care proxy, whilst still healthy and sound of mind. Given how strongly I feel about quality of life and right-to-die issues, I did this a while ago. If I were ever in a state where I was unable to make my own medical decisions, my mum knows and has the power to decide what I would want done on my behalf. And she’ll probably stay my health care proxy, even though I have a husband now, as Jonno has said he might not be able to make the decision to pull the plug, should the need ever arise. As much as I love him and trust him, I need to know that someone would be willing to do for me what I could not do for myself, no matter what their own feelings.

Grown up enough for ya?

Grim topic, I know, but as this case has shown, to *not* think about it, or pretend it can’t happen to you, is to trust your fate to strange doctors and the highly imperfect legal and political system. Put my trust in the governement? Huh -uh. I like to think I deserve better than that. Terri schiavo certainly does.

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