They know not what they do

"Life is full of surprise and lightning-like lurches. The person in a coma today wakes up tomorrow and says, 'Is that you, mom?' Life is unknowable," writes Peggy Noonan, swept up in a religious fervor that blinds her to the medical and legal facts of the Terri Schiavo case and leads her to "write a sentence I never thought I'd write: Politicians, please, think of yourselves! Move to help Terri Schiavo, and no one will be mad at you" [via DrudgeReport]:

Politically this is a struggle between many serious people who really mean it and one, just one, strange-o [Terry's husband, Michael]. And the few bearded and depressed-looking academics he's drawn to his side.

At the heart of the case at this point is a question: Is Terri Schiavo brain-dead? That is, is remedy, healing, physiologically impossible?

No. Oddly enough anyone who sees the film and tape of her can see that her brain tells her lungs to breathe, that she can open her eyes, that she seems to respond at times and to some degree to her family. She can laugh.

We happen to believe that politicians in Washington have no business meddling in the Schiavo case, but the national hysteria is in full swing, and there's no turning back.  Feelings rule, and facts need not apply. In search of the facts, we went googling and found Florida law blogger Matt Conigliaro's "The Terri Schiavo Information Page," with a timeline, narrative and links to facsimiles of the various Florida court rulings through the years.*  A good place to get up to speed, whatever your philosophical position on the case:

I have created this page to help people understand the legal circumstances surrounding the Terri Schiavo saga. In my view, there continues to be a need for an objective look at the matter. There is an unbelievable amount of misinformation being circulated.

I sympathize with everyone involved. The circumstances here are tragic.

The courts -- not the husband -- determined time and again that Terri Schiavo would not have wanted to go on living as she is now, and the apparent responses to her family that Peggy Noonan wants to see in that video clip are not cognitive but reflexive responses that occur at random whether or not her family are in the room:

You're left with a woman who suffered a heart attack 15 years ago, who essentially died but was resuscitated, though not entirely. Her brain had suffered enormous damage from the heart attack. As time passed, her brain further deteriorated -- to the point where much if not most of her cerebral cortex (the portion of the brain that controls conscious thought, among other things) was literally gone, replaced by spinal fluid. Doctors hired by Terri's husband say the deterioration of Terri's brain left her without thoughts or feelings, that the damage is irreversible, and that Terri's life-like appearance is merely the result of brain stem activity -- basically involuntary reflexes we all have. An independent doctor hired by the court reached the same conclusions. Doctors hired by Terri's parents did not dispute the physical damage done to Terri, but they claim there are new therapies that could improve her condition. In two separate trials, the trial court found such claims of potential improvement to be without merit. Terri's body continues to function without her cerebral cortex. She is sustained by a feeding tube surgically inserted into her stomach. She cannot eat through her mouth without a strong likelihood of choking to death.

Following their conscience, well meaning people of faith like Peggy Noonan have rallied to the cause of prolonging Terri Schiavo's life, hoping against hope -- and against all evidence -- for a miracle.

Update:  'Just caught Virginia Postrel of Dynamist Blog on MSNBC making the point about congressional overreach and grandstanding.

*Note.  In further googling, we stumbled onto a Micky Kaus endorsement of the accuracy of "The Terry Schiavo Information Page."

Comments

[Christopher Rake]

Feelings rule, and facts need not apply.

You're kidding, right?

You're left with a woman who suffered a heart attack 15 years ago, who essentially died but was resuscitated, though not entirely. Her brain had suffered enormous damage from the heart attack. As time passed, her brain further deteriorated -- to the point where much if not most of her cerebral cortex (the portion of the brain that controls conscious thought, among other things) was literally gone, replaced by spinal fluid.

The extent to which Terri's brain has deteriorated is one of the key disputes here. The belief that her cerebral cortex "has been replaced by spinal fluid" is based largely on a CAT scan, which many neurologists believe is entirely inadequate for such a determination.

From NRO:

Terri’s diagnosis was arrived at without the benefit of testing that most neurologists would consider standard for diagnosing PVS. One such test is MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). MRI is widely used today, even for ailments as simple as knee injuries — but Terri has never had one. Michael has repeatedly refused to consent to one. The neurologists I have spoken to have reacted with shock upon learning this fact....

And when you say this:

The courts -- not the husband -- determined time and again that Terri Schiavo would not have wanted to go on living as she is now

I cannot tell if you realize how tenuous this claim is. Nobody ever heard of this claim until after Michael Schiavo had collected over $1 million in lawsuits. And after he had tried to prevent Terri from being treated with antibiotics to cure a urinary tract infection that otherwise would have killed her (there is no dispute about this part of the story--he admitted this in court:

Attorney: When you made the decision that you were not going to treat Terri’s infection and you were, in effect, going to allow her to die, did you think that you had any obligation to tell her parents?

Michael: To answer that question, I probably would have let them know sooner or later.

Then Terri's parents tried to have him removed as guardian, and, while trying to have the feeding tube removed, Michael declared in 1998 for the first time that Terri had expressed a wish to die in these circumstances.

The courts did not "determine time and time again" that Terri would want to die. Judge Greer held a hearing and believed Michael's story, which amounted to an alleged single comment by Terri when watching a movie (later "corroborated" by Michael's brother and sister-in-law).

Your heart's in the right place but this is not about emotions running wild (alright, I'll grant you--it's not only about emotions running wild.) The people who are burning the phones and wailing about injustice are doing so for very specific and rather detailed reasons.

Start here.