934 A Living Will Won't Settle It

There are two articles in the print Wall Street and one in the on-line version about Terri Schiavo today, all from a different view point. The editorial points out that this is a much larger issue than just Terri's right to live, supporters of Terri are stomping on another favorite cause:

"The "right to die" has become another liberal cause, part of the "privacy" canon that extends through Roe (abortion) and Lawrence (homosexuality) and the Ninth Circuit's views on assisted suicide that the Supreme Court is taking up this year. Of course, it gets a little messy when someone is actually being killed, and a husband with a conflict of interest is the one who claims she wanted to kill herself, but the left apparently believes these are mere details that shouldn't interfere with the broader cause. Thus the discovery of federalism."

Taranto at "Best of the Web" (on-line): "The grimmest irony in this tragic case is that those who want Terri Schiavo dead are resting their argument on the fiction that her marriage is still alive."

What isn't on-line is James O. Wilson's article. He points out the flaws in the hope that a DNR or "living will" will solve future cases. He says these are often ignored because situations or technology are unknownable. He recommends a durable power of attorney. He also has little faith in the courts.

"The moral imperative should be that medical care cannot be withheld from a person who is not brain dead and who is not at risk of dying from an untreatable disease in the near future."

The Netherlands model, he points out, has resulted in over 1,000 doctor-induced deaths among patients who had not requested assisted suicide.

So, regardless of what your opinion is of states' rights, these are issues that need to be out in the open. Also, if you are a Democrat, watch your back.