The Pope also had a Feeding Tube
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer
March 31, 2005

One of the curious elements of the Terri Schiavo situation that is not being reported by anyone—at least I have not heard it presented in any form in the media coverage of Terri’s case—is that this wickedness is being perpetrated upon a poor, handicapped woman by powerful men. By “powerful” I am not primarily speaking about money and influence or political power. I am speaking of control. Control is power. Contrast the image of a woman who cannot speak, cannot walk, cannot act independently or even feed herself with the image of a physically large, independent, adulterous and spiritually haughty Michael Schiavo and his evil legal cabal, and you have the perfect picture of total vulnerability to power. Her parents wanted—begged—to give her loving care, but the male control freaks dominating her life would not allow it. Call it abuse, call it manipulation, call it injustice, call it what you will, but see it for what it is: the raw exercise of power over the weak.

For the past 15 years of her illness, and certainly for the past seven years of legal wrangling, Michael Schiavo acted as if he were a possessing demon. His control mechanisms asserted absolute mastery over every aspect of this poor woman’s life: medical care—or not, legal defense—or not, family visits—or not, food and water—or not, life—or not. The disgusting little fact of his having a concubine on the side should have disqualified him from legal guardianship or at least allowed him to “move on” with his life. We would all have accepted his renunciation of spousal responsibility and breaking of marriage vows if he had just honestly admitted that he did not want to care for her and let someone else do it. As reprehensible as that would have been in itself, at least it would have been preferable to what he actually did: he maintained demonic control over her to the bitter, bitter end. His control was so vicious that he even refused the family the final consolation of being with Terri at her time of death. Make no mistake about it—this was a deliberate act of exclusion for which he bears the deepest guilt.

But this killing was about much more than Mikey’s irresponsibility and manly needs. This was about his hateful campaign to control her, kill her and to blame Terri herself for the killing. What a perfect crime: the master takes possession of the victim, asserts—way after the fact—that she said she wanted to die, sticks her in a hospice to give the impression that she is declining, gets a bizarre occult-practicing lawyer to provide the legal rationale, finds an activist judge to nullify any semblance of compassionate response to her plight, and then just sits back and watches her starve to death carefully controlling all access to her, 24/7. Power. Control. Michael and the two Georges are the poster boys for the ultimate case of wife abuse.

Here’s another curious fact: The pope had a feeding tube inserted literally on the same day that Terri was put to death by judicial decree. Other powerful men too are in extremis at the same time: Prince Ranier of Monaco is on the point of death, and Jerry Falwell is in critical condition. While it is sad that these world leaders are all dying, there is another point which has to be made relative to Terri’s case: it is 100% certain that these three powerful men will not be put to death by any courts, wicked family members or activist judges. Why?

First of all, they are men; in fact, they are powerful, influential men, and the craven euthanasia lobby does not put these types to death. Second of all, these men have not been defined by others as insignificant, inconvenient or as too expensive to keep around. And even though they are vulnerable physically like Terri was vulnerable, no one would dare try to put them to death because they know that they would not get away with it. Third of all, they are all white males and it is not as easy to use the justification of “choice” for their extermination. Women have possessed the term “choice” for three decades and have used it to give cultural rationale to the most heinous forms of killing. Now that the term is being used to conduct a high profile killing of a woman, women are pretty powerless to stop it. Sleazy men take advantage of that as the “choice” mantra has been chanted ad nauseam throughout this whole affair. Why shouldn’t killing handicapped women be a matter of “choice,” right?

Keep in mind that what the pro-life movement has been saying for years has now been proven perfectly true in the case of Terri Schiavo: women and children—indeed, any vulnerable human beings of any category in any culture—are the victims of this culture of death wherever it may be found. Whether they are powerful, controlling spirits like Michael Schiavo and George Greer or powerful females such as the radical feminist extremists who run abortion mills, discrimination, power politics, selfishness, and outright hatred of the weak motivate the “choice” of these equal opportunity killers all over the world. The weak do not “choose” to die—they are killed, pure and simple.

And that is precisely why Christ and His Church always take the side of the weak. He is the ultimate Champion of the vulnerable who are targeted for destruction by the powerful of this world. He is the One who defends their cause against the cunning when in a worldly sense they have no other recourse to Justice. Does any person of faith doubt that Terri leapt into the arms of a waiting Jesus at the moment of her death? And that is also why the pro-life movement is predominantly Christian. Pro-lifers incarnate and express Christ’s perfect love for the poor. Future generations will judge our wretched, radical, perverted world as the most vicious of all killer cultures in history. We rightfully merit the pope’s term “culture of death,” and while the death toll mounts, the pro-lifers will be writing the history for that day when Nineveh will arise to condemn this generation for all the innocent blood on our hands.

But afar and beyond the legacy of death left us by Planned Parenthood, the Hemlock Society and Michael Schiavo, death will not have the last word. Life is too strong, too tenacious. Pro-life means pro-everything-good, and good cannot be definitively defeated by evil. The resurrection of Christ has shown us that. Mark my words: we will finally win this battle even though we may have to lose a few painful skirmishes along the way, and Terri will be a patron saint to intercede for us in the day of battle. Time and eternity will praise that precious beautiful woman who became the martyr of the vulnerable and showed us the light of hope shining out of a Pinellas Park hospice.