Life-or-death matter yields varied reactions

Published March 23, 2005 - Glendale News Press - Los Angeles Time

IN THEORY

Life-or-death matter yields varied reactions

Q:

Is it right to keep Terri Schiavo alive with feeding tubes, or should she have a "right to die" based on what her husband says was her wish not to be kept alive artificially? Do you believe Congress was justified in intervening to keep Schiavo alive?

A:

The Terri Schiavo case is much more than an issue of a right to life versus a right to die. With her, we see our perceptions, our values and our sensitivity being violated, abused and destroyed.

It has been a slow process of desensitization over the years, but we have arrived: Life is measured by a heartbeat rather than a spirit. And government, rather than God, is allowed to determine its span.

When we speak of life, we have to include the words "dignity" and "respect" in any discussion of the topic. It is vulgar and irreverent to plaster Schiavo's picture as a poster child for one cause or another. We are violating her dignity while at the same time denigrating the value of life everywhere. This is not an issue for the courts, legislature or the president. God gives us life, and when it's time, we need to bow out gracefully and with dignity.

At this Easter season, with the promise of resurrection, the message of the Christian Church is one of victory beyond the cross -- beyond our agonies and sufferings. It is a triumph of spirit over body.

I trust we all pray for Terri Schiavo, her husband and family. More importantly, let us pray for ourselves that we can see that life is much more than flesh and bone, that there is no life without spirit. Happy Easter.

Fr. Vazken Movsesian

St. Peter Armenian Church

Youth Ministries' Center