Food for thought (no tube pun intended)

Keep in mind this lady is writing for www.slate.msn.com, a fairly "liberal" perspective.


Not Dead at All
Why Congress was right to stick up for Terri Schiavo.
By Harriet McBryde Johnson
Posted Wednesday, March 23, 2005, at 4:50 AM PT

The Terri Schiavo case is hard to write about, hard to think about. Those films are hard to look at. I see that face, maybe smiling, maybe not, and I am reminded of a young woman I knew as a child, lying on a couch, brain-damaged, apparently unresponsive, and deeply beloved—freakishly perhaps but genuinely so—living proof of one family's no-matter-what commitment. I watch nourishment flowing into a slim tube that runs through a neat, round, surgically created orifice in Ms. Schiavo's abdomen, and I'm almost envious. What effortless intake! Due to a congenital neuromuscular disease, I am having trouble swallowing, and it's a constant struggle to get by mouth the calories my skinny body needs. For whatever reason, I'm still trying, but I know a tube is in my future. So, possibly, is speechlessness. That's a scary thought. If I couldn't speak for myself, would I want to die? If I become uncommunicative, a passive object of other people's care, should I hope my brain goes soft and leaves me in peace?

My emotional response is powerful, but at bottom it's not important. It's no more important than anyone else's, not what matters. The things that ought to matter have become obscured in our communal clash of gut reactions. Here are 10 of them:

1. Ms. Schiavo is not terminally ill. She has lived in her current condition for 15 years. This is not about end-of-life decision-making. The question is whether she should be killed by starvation and dehydration.

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2. Ms. Schiavo is not dependent on life support. Her lungs, kidneys, heart, and digestive systems work fine. Just as she uses a wheelchair for mobility, she uses a tube for eating and drinking. Feeding Ms. Schiavo is not difficult, painful, or in any way heroic. Feeding tubes are a very simple piece of adaptive equipment, and the fact that Ms. Schiavo eats through a tube should have nothing to do with whether she should live or die.

3. This is not a case about a patient's right to refuse treatment. I don't see eating and drinking as "treatment," but even if they are, everyone agrees that Ms. Schiavo is presently incapable of articulating a decision to refuse treatment. The question is who should make the decision for her, and whether that substitute decision-maker should be authorized to kill her by starvation and dehydration.

4. There is a genuine dispute as to Ms. Schiavo's awareness and consciousness. But if we assume that those who would authorize her death are correct, Ms. Schiavo is completely unaware of her situation and therefore incapable of suffering physically or emotionally. Her death thus can't be justified for relieving her suffering.

5. There is a genuine dispute as to what Ms. Schiavo believed and expressed about life with severe disability before she herself became incapacitated; certainly, she never stated her preferences in an advance directive like a living will. If we assume that Ms. Schiavo is aware and conscious, it is possible that, like most people who live with severe disability for as long as she has, she has abandoned her preconceived fears of the life she is now living. We have no idea whether she wishes to be bound by things she might have said when she was living a very different life. If we assume she is unaware and unconscious, we can't justify her death as her preference. She has no preference.

6. Ms. Schiavo, like all people, incapacitated or not, has a federal constitutional right not to be deprived of her life without due process of law.

7. In addition to the rights all people enjoy, Ms. Schiavo has a statutory right under the Americans With Disabilities Act not to be treated differently because of her disability. Obviously, Florida law would not allow a husband to kill a nondisabled wife by starvation and dehydration; killing is not ordinarily considered a private family concern or a matter of choice. It is Ms. Schiavo's disability that makes her killing different in the eyes of the Florida courts. Because the state is overtly drawing lines based on disability, it has the burden under the ADA of justifying those lines.

8. In other contexts, federal courts are available to make sure state courts respect federally protected rights. This review is critical not only to the parties directly involved, but to the integrity of our legal system. Although review will very often be a futile last-ditch effort—as with most death-penalty habeas petitions—federalism requires that the federal government, not the states, have the last word. When the issue is the scope of a guardian's authority, it is necessary to allow other people, in this case other family members, standing to file a legal challenge.

9. The whole society has a stake in making sure state courts are not tainted by prejudices, myths, and unfounded fears—like the unthinking horror in mainstream society that transforms feeding tubes into fetish objects, emblematic of broader, deeper fears of disability that sometimes slide from fear to disgust and from disgust to hatred. While we should not assume that disability prejudice tainted the Florida courts, we cannot reasonably assume that it did not.

10. Despite the unseemly Palm Sunday pontificating in Congress, the legislation enabling Ms. Schiavo's parents to sue did not take sides in the so-called culture wars. It did not dictate that Ms. Schiavo be fed. It simply created a procedure whereby the federal courts could decide whether Ms. Schiavo's federally protected rights have been violated.

In the Senate, a key supporter of a federal remedy was Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a progressive Democrat and longtime friend of labor and civil rights, including disability rights. Harkin told reporters, "There are a lot of people in the shadows, all over this country, who are incapacitated because of a disability, and many times there is no one to speak for them, and it is hard to determine what their wishes really are or were. So I think there ought to be a broader type of a proceeding that would apply to people in similar circumstances who are incapacitated."

I hope against hope that I will never be one of those people in the shadows, that I will always, one way or another, be able to make my wishes known. I hope that I will not outlive my usefulness or my capacity (at least occasionally) to amuse the people around me. But if it happens otherwise, I hope whoever is appointed to speak for me will be subject to legal constraints. Even if my guardian thinks I'd be better off dead—even if I think so myself—I hope to live and die in a world that recognizes that killing, even of people with the most severe disabilities, is a matter of more than private concern.

Clearly, Congress's Palm Sunday legislation was not the "broader type of proceeding" Harkin and I want. It does not define when and how federal court review will be available to all of those in the shadows, but rather provides a procedure for one case only. To create a general system of review, applicable whenever life-and-death decisions intersect with disability rights, will require a reasoned, informed debate unlike what we've had until now. It will take time. But in the Schiavo case, time is running out.

Harriet McBryde Johnson is a disability-rights lawyer in Charleston, S.C. Her memoir in stories, Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from a Life, will be released in April.

Looking for Giraffe people...

"Do you have a long neck?
Please email a pic.
Serious inquirees only."

So read my most recent campaign for attention from single ladies on the infamous Personals section of the underground classifieds on craigslist.org Washington DC.
No long neckers have responded yet.

And don't ask me why.
It seemed ridiculous at the time. Seemed innocent next to all the other "Free Dirt" ads on the men seeking women section. It may be odd, but in context it is kinda funny.


I have quite an invitation to extend to all those bored enough to be scanning the archives of manvilletabletalk.
What are you doing three summers from now?

Hopefully Macey will be gainfully employed - or finishing up some overdue paper for the previous semester's graduate class.
Hopefully Sleuth will be a partner in that law firm he is singlehandedly running right now. Thankfully it will be summer and he will not have an excuse to still be taking college classes.
Hopefully Straw will have married that girl out in California and will have kicked all his renters out, forcing Macey to get a job.
Hopefully Rob will have bought an ugly house and fixed it up. Maybe all the renters could move in there. Then Rob could complain to Sleuth if Sleuth tried to eat his eggs.
Hopefully Paige will have paid off his leased truck. I have money on he and Paige uniteing legally into Dave Paige and Paige Paige.
Hopefully Borger and his wife (currently to be) will be very very happy and have some money to spend on a vacation.
Hopefully Swanson will be found or will have changed his voicemail from "Leave me a message and I will call you back" to something more truthful like, "Leave me a message - I may never call you back."
Hopefully Noel and his wife will have proven good matchmakers for all the single men of manhouse.
Hopefully I will have forgotten nobody and those I have forgotten will also forget about me.. and the time I... ah, forged about it.

But more important than all that, hopefully some of you, the forementioned, will accompany me on a trip of grand heights, great sights, under German city lights.

Right now tickets are on sale for World Cup 2008 Germany.
Many of us will be attending the World Cup Qualifiers in Birmingham next week.
But how about the chance to go see World Cup games and to travel Germany three summers for now? Consider the possibilty of watching the USA win the entire thing (as has been secretly planned for the last ten years as part of project 40?)

Tickets are only on sale through the end of this month.
Check out the link:
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/tickets/venues.html

If you have other plans, the Germans have a phrase for you: "forged about it."

To employ a guilt-imposing selling line by Dr. K that also seems to me to rule out reason, "say yes unless God closes the door."

I will be awaiting close to 10 replies from giraffe people on this site. Be sure to send a pic.

The Soccer Skinny for the Salubrity of your Soul

Men of Manville,

This blog has been dormant for far too long. I realize we are trying to make the transition to the more formal Monthly Journal via snail mail, but for the sake of all that is cyber space, I will post this letter, which most of you should be receiving shortly.


March 8, 2005

Friends, countrymen, chosen from among the not chosen,

The smell of a freshly cut pitch.
The touch of the ball on your feet.
The rush of adrenaline as you warm up in anticipation of the next 90 minutes of your life.
The sound of a roaring, raucous crowd of multiple soccer moms.
The Soccer.

6 games in two days.
The showdown of the century – the rematch with team Mexico.
The chance to represent your country and pseudo-country in an international competition second only to the World Cup.
Beer with lemonade after the game – like they do it in England.
The Tournament.

A weekend getaway with 11 of your closest friends.
A roadtrip that’ll bring you back to those carefree days of college.
Memories that will last a lifetime.
The time Matthew Gillikin crashed his car, Korbin Parker was demolished by a 200 pound Jamaican, and Peter Brinkerhoff was interrogated as a possible terrorist suspect.
When “el Gordo,” the goalie for Team Mexico, actually ATE the soccer ball.
Short-Shorts, Headbands, Noise Makers/Shakers and Mesh Hat Mania.
The Fellowship.

As I’m sure you are well aware, what I’ve described above are some of the sweetest sensations and experiences known to all of mankind in, well, pretty much ever. And, if you’re like me, any opportunity to live any one of those experiences would be phenomenal – to experience them all in one weekend would be the chance of a lifetime.

The fact that you hold this letter in your hands is proof that we here at the St. Elmo Short-Short Society for the Advancement of Man-thigh (the “Thighs”) believe that YOU share with US our passion for these three staples of human existence – Soccer, Tournaments, and Fellowship, and we want to give you that once in a lifetime chance. That is why we have specifically chosen to extend to you an invitation to be a member of this year’s Team South-USA-Scotland (“SUS”) that will compete in the annual Columbia International Soccer Tournament (the “Tournament”).

For the sake of brevity, I will postpone any discussion of the fabled tradition and history of the Tournament, as well as Team SUS’s two previous successful trips to the Tournament. Let me get straight to the heart of the matter.

Enclosed for your signature and return to the Thighs is a Letter of Intent, signifying that you are interested in being a part of the excitement, passion, and excellent winning tradition of Team SUS. We are looking to solidify our team roster within the next two weeks, with an anticipated “official Signing Day” of March 19, 2005.

Other important information:

Dates: Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1, 2005

Location: Columbia, South Carolina

Times: Our first game is usually Friday night, so we would be leaving in a carpool caravan early Friday afternoon.

Cost: The entry fee is yet to be determined, although in prior years it has worked out to about $10-15 per person. We also intend to get jerseys, we would split the cost of gas, and if the Luther family houses and feeds us as has been the case in prior years, we would hope to pitch in a little for the cost of feeding our group. All in all, we anticipate the costs to be between $25-$40 for the weekend.

Who: Just the name SUS should get your heart pumping. In case it doesn’t, rest assured that the core of the team includes the Thigh’s Board of Directors and selection committee, the names of whom are listed at the end of this letter.
Deadlines: Because this is an 8-a-side tourney, space is limited to about 10-12 players, so your prompt response is critical. Due to the logistical details, signing day will be March 19, 2005. You may send your Letter of Intent any time before then.

Other details: The Tournament is hosted in conjunction with the annual Columbia International Festival. Recognized among the Top 20 Events in the 10-state Southeastern Region by the Southeastern Tourism Society, the Columbia International Festival showcases the music, culture, food, and performing arts of the various cultures, nationalities, races, and language groups represented in South Carolina. The event brings all of the area's international communities together to build better community/race relations between various ethnic/cultural/language groups and with the South Carolina community at large. Estimated attendance for 2004 was over 20,000. The Tournament brings together the area international communities as a playground to showcase the sport of choice for the entire global community (i.e. soccer) as well as an opportunity for us to prove that despite the diversity of cultures, nationalities, races and language groups represented in the Festival and the Tournament, the SUS culture is still superior. Also, that we have mad soccer skills. And sweet bowstaff skills.

But I digress. What matters is that we want you for our team. Please contact the Selection Committee at the address or phone number on the above letterhead, any of the contact information listed below, or you can email us. An email response with your filled out NLI is sufficient.

We look forward to hearing from you and the opportunity to call you teammate.

Long live excitement,


Sleuth I
Chairman, Soccer Selection Committee




Board of Directors, The Thighs

Macey, Founder of the Thighs
Sleuth, Chairmen
Noel, V. Chairmen/Secretary
Straw, Treasurer
Page, Resident Nurse
Borger, Audio/Visual
Elissa, Pres. Of Soccer Moms