terri schiavo

One can hardly be an American these days without weighing in on the Terri Schiavo mess. Here's what I think:

The lives of all human persons are holy and should be preserved if possible. It is not obvious to me, though, that Terri Schiavo is a living human person. If she is, then it would be wrong to end her life. But if her soul has already left her body, then I don't think it would be wrong to discontinue the processes that keep her body "alive." Because the case seems murky, I think that society, her family, etc. are obliged to err on the side of caution and not to discontinue her feeding and what not.

On the other hand, it is obvious that this whole thing is a sad, sad mess. And the right thing to do in this case is difficult to discern because the facts are not empirically discernible. Its very unfortunate, however you slice it. We should pray for Terri Schiavo's soul and for her husband, her parents, and the litigators involved in the all of it. Pray that life may be preserved, that grace may operate, that wisdom may be exercised, that sins may be forgiven.