"Who Will Be Next?"

From the pages of Life Matters! . . .

"The courts have ruled again and again," Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, reminds us in his latest statement in defense of life, but "the deadline for the removal of the tube delivering food and water to Terri Schiavo is quickly approaching."

Without the tube which is providing life-giving hydration and nutrition, Terri Schiavo will die...a horrible and cruel death....She will have death inflicted upon her over a number of terrible days—even weeks. How can anyone who claims to speak of the promotion and protection of human rights—of human life—remain silent?

Not even a bishop.

How is it that this woman, who has done nothing wrong, will suffer a fate which society would never tolerate in the case of a convicted murderer or anyone else convicted of the most horrendous crimes? Again, it is an issue of human rights. It is an issue of the right to life, and as I stated earlier, no one can be the arbiter fo life except God Himself!

Has disability become a capital crime? If so, is anyone safe for long?

If the feeding tube is removed and Terri is forced to die this slow, terrible, painful death, we must ask ourselves, "And who will be next?"