Fr. Rob Johansen asked four neurologists to review the audio tapes of Terri Schiavo and her father posted online this week and they came to the conclusion that she is not in a “persistent vegetative state.” He also posts Terri’s “exit protocol,” a document prepared by the hospice where she’s staying, that outlines her treatment after she was removed from the feeding tube.
Two things leap right out. First is the acknowledgement, despite all those who say that starving to death is painless, that Terri will require pain medication. Second is that they will perpetrate the illusion that Terri is slipping away peacefully, applying ointments to skin that is cracked and peeling from dehydration, lip balm to keep the lips from cracking, a saliva substute to prevent the mouth from ulcerating, and so on and so forth.
Everything surrounding this case seems to be building up a house of lies. This is evil in its purest form and we can’t even see it for what it is. Is this how good people felt in Germany in the 1930s?
