Mexican Living: A Disabled Man Speaks for Terri

I am an incurably ill American male forced to leave America to afford the medical care I needed. I live in Mexico. I now live in a country where "pulling the plug" for whatever reason is illegal!

I am not terminally ill. I have a lifelong disability that will never get better. I am much like Terri Schiavo, the woman who the State of Florida killed because she had a lifelong, incurable disability. Notice, like me, Terri Schiavo was not terminally ill but handicapped. There is a difference!

Every handicapped person in America has to ask, "Am I next?"

Am I the next disabled person about whom, at some point in the future, someone will make a claim that I said something about the issue of life-and-death and a judge will believe it without the benefit of due process? Will someone come along without a preponderance of evidence (And should not there be a preponderance of evidence and not the word of one individual?) and have some judge some court somewhere order my death by starvation--Or by whatever means that is convenient to the court?

I wonder what the criteria will be. Will the courts be the ones who now determine whether you serve some usefulness to society? Who will define usefulness?

Moreover, I wonder why someone was not asking these questions:

· Did Terri Schiavo tell anyone other than the man who stands to make a bundle of money from a malpractice suit that she did not want to be kept alive via a stomach tube? (He claims he has already spent the money on her care. I want to see that proof!)

· Why is the court taking only her adulterous husband's word on this issue of life-and-death? Is that a preponderance of evidence?

· Can't the court see that this man has some nefarious motives?

· Have the allegations of spousal abuse been investigated fully?

· Why didn't her husband allow Terri, ever, to have physical therapy that might have improved her state?

· Is any one aware that others, in so-called vegetative states, have awakened years later?

· Can science dictate morality? Though science sometimes can tell us why something is, can it tell us what is right and what is wrong?

Something smelled fishy in this entire thing-and it still does.

What is next? Will disabled Americans whose families tire of them be able to find a judge who will order their deaths too? On the other hand, perhaps we will be told too much money has been spent on us in disability pension payments and now it is time to check out of living.

You have used up your quota! Now it is time to die.

I do not offer this as an exaggeration but an honest question. Just what is next? Every disabled person should be asking this question.

I wonder if the judge who ordered Terri Schiavo's death forgot, or ever knew, the words of Hubert H. Humphrey:

"It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped."

My God, in heaven, what has America become?

Thank God, in heaven, I live in Mexico!

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico.

His new book Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/126241

---

Monsanto Terminator Seeds

How do you feel about Terminator Seeds from Monsanto? I... Read More

The Macedonian Lottery

Every conflict has its economic moments and dimensions. The current... Read More

Social Security Rant

As the Baby Boomer Generation continue to get older, one... Read More

National Security; College Campuses

I have witnessed a new era of security in the... Read More

Mexican Tariffs on American Goods?

Mexican has tariffs on goods, which come into its country... Read More

Are Social Security Private Accounts a Good Deal or Raw Deal for African Americans?

How many legs does a dog have if you call... Read More

Quality of Life and Freedom, Unilateral Discussion

City Governments is their quest for; "quality of life" often... Read More

Homeless, Trash, Drugs and Transient Issues

In Police Magazine I read a great article about transient... Read More

Oil Pipelines and Rates of Flow

How much oil can travel through a pipeline? It depends... Read More

Adolph Hitler

ADOLF HITLER:The common perception of Hitler being large and in... Read More

Road Map Wont Work Cause PA Are Liars

The US-backed Road Map peace plan had no real chance... Read More

Government Credit Card Abuse

Veterans Affairs Employees using government credit cards on personal items?... Read More

Pierre Dupont de Nemours

After arranging the Armistice that ended or settled outstanding issues... Read More

Immortality and Mortality in the Economic Sciences

Roberto Calvo Macias, a young author and thinker from Spain,... Read More

Great Melting Pot Indeed

An interesting conversation that I thought I must share with... Read More

Howard Deans Big Fat Mouth

"The only time I open my mouth is when I... Read More

3D Modeling for Healthy Forests

Forest Vegetation Simulations for Fire Prevention, Healthy Forest and Saving... Read More

Environmentalism and Roads in Our Forests

Many environmentalists are against roads through the forest because it... Read More

Shooting Around Corners with New Concept

Currently the United States has weapons, which can shoot around... Read More

Colonel Boyd on Limited War and Iraq Victory

In discussing the OODA Loop theory on Limited War by... Read More

Are We Really Getting Along?

When you look at the news, immigrants are dying trying... Read More

Democracy, War and the Media - Uneasy Bedfellows All Round

Recent international wars and the often spectacular ways in which... Read More

Stopping a Nuclear Bomb on a Hydrofoil

The US Homeland Security is worried about Hydrofoil or Skimmer... Read More

MORAL ARMORS Economic Warning for Americans

For years we've suffered under recession, prompting us to ask,... Read More

Are Illegal Mexicans Really Bad for America?

I've been thinking again. I know some of my readers... Read More

Fuel Prices at the Pump: That is not the problem, Natural Gas Prices are high too

The price at the gas pump is certainly on everyone's... Read More

Gun Control? How About Crime Control Instead?

The second amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every American... Read More

Treasury Department Falls Short on Blocked Persons List

I would like to discuss the blocked persons list of... Read More

Should Judgeships Be a Political Event?

Thought of the day; Questions about the judicial system. If... Read More

Government Backed Fraud in Academia

Contrary to the Hobbesian prediction of anarchy (freedom) and brutish... Read More

Protectionism in Russia

The new law "Special Protective, Antidumping and Import Compensatory Measures"... Read More

Between Hiroshima Japan 6 August and the NY 11 September!

Japan lit its candles of pure, "noble sadness" on the... Read More

Sweet Lies, The Aspartame Issue

Aspartame activists are constantly being attacked because all data are... Read More