A Road Finally Ends On Terri

Terri’s parents finally ran out of legal remedy as the highest judicial body in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court once again dismissed their appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court just couldn’t reprove the findings of the lower courts in Florida and with this, Terri may really have to go in a few days from now.

We now see perhaps the end of the road for this decade long debacle to keep Terri alive and while she still breathes this earthly wind as we speak now, I can already hear the fat lady sing.

I could not already articulate so much farther into the detailed aspects of the Terri case because everything about it has already been discussed and scrutinized by lawyers, judges, doctors and congressmen to the hilt and yet it all those still come to the same boil, that is, whether or not Terri desire to live further or not.

If we asked: Would Terri desire to go on living tied to a bed and mostly unaware of her surroundings? We did not exactly hear any categorical answer from her (except for her husband’s pronouncement to this effect) but many of us have tried to answer this question for her. Some of us said that living in that condition is not living anymore and it would be better for her to die in dignity than prolong her sufferings. I do feel also at some point that death may give her a much-needed escape from this cruel ordeal. Some of us on the other hand said that Terri may not die on her own accord being contrary to her catholic background. I also believe that life is such a sacred thing that it shouldn’t be taken away unless all things fail.

We all have the answer for her yet we are not really certain what was in her mind, or what is in her heart right now. In fact, she may have no mind anymore as we speak.

I have read thoroughly the more salient details of the Terri case and to tell you quite frankly; the facts are so enormous that it wouldn’t fit into this blog page.

With the end closer at hand, I could not help but opined that the Terri case should have been a case for hope, hope of something positive to come, hope that she might still be rehabilitated fully or partially, hope that given a few more months to live something good might happen, hope that earlier diagnosis was a mistake after all, and even hope that miracles so happen. Hope is a good thing and in fact, without hope existence in this world is much lesser than what it is.

This may sound rhetorical at the most, but this is what’s seems to be left of what could be said and done about Terri.