I don’t really know much about the Terry Schiavo case. There is a situation very close to my family where the life of a brain-dead person was prolonged artificially for many years against his own explicit wishes, causing terrible pain for many in the family who knew his wishes and wanted them respected, so I am not in any position to form any kind of unbiased opinion on the case and haven not been focusing on it.
Here is the obligatory critique of the right-wing propaganda machine’s soundbite barrage. (Via Puddingtime.) Take it for what it’s worth. I can’t vouch for it but it sounds reasonable to me.
The interesting thing about the whole thing to me is a comment a friend made on a mailing list I’m on, which was that the Schiavo case has given us the strange spectacle of all the Republican leaders insisting loudly that people have a right to medical care.
Hey, that’s cool. If they can expand that to the notion that people who aren’t persistently vegetative have a right to medical care, there’s some hope for the soul of this nation.