Skippy of the Day: Bob Schindler

Apparently, Mr. Schindler believes he shares more than a name with the man that Steven Spielberg made famous. Here's the quote:

Bob Schindler said his daughter's situation is "the inception of genocide". "What the Nazis were doing and what they're trying to do to Terri is the same thing," he said.

Where to begin? Let's start with Wikipedia:

"Genocide has been defined as the deliberate killing of people based on their ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, or (sometimes) politics, as well as other deliberate actions leading to the physical elimination of any of the above categories."

Terry Schiavo's case does not fall into any of those categories, and her situation cannot be described by any rational person as that of genocide. She is one person who has been proven to be in a vegetative state that will not improve to any significant degree. I can only imagine the grief of a parent in the position of Mr. Schindler and how that grief over a period of 15 years can affect rational thought. It is for this reason that I cannot really be angry at Mr. Schindler, despite his poorly thought out words.

I can, however, be very angry at Robert Herring, who last week offered Schiavo's husband Michael 1 million dollars to cease his efforts on ending his wife's life. First of all, it's incredibly insulting for Herring to accuse, not by words but by the offer itself, that Michael's motivations in this wrenching case could be simply bought off. Michael's efforts, which have gone unchanged throughout the media circus, are quite clear: he's doing this out of love for his wife and to bring some closure to a tragedy that has been permitted to linger far too long. Second, it's stupefying that Mr. Herring would use his fortune to save one person who has no chance of a meaningful life when he could more easily help thousands who do. Of course, it is his money to do with as he pleases, but I find his actions misguided to say the least.

It must come down to this: Are Terry Schiavo's parents keeping her alive for the sake of her or for their own sake. The entire issue is so fraught with emotion that no one seems to be thinking straight any longer. The cardiac arrest that changed Terri Schiavo's life forever ensured that there would be no happy ending for her, but there can be a resolution that enables all parties to move on with their lives.