(This is part of a comment I made on another blog about the Schiavo case. But I want to say it here too. Deep breath…)
Let’s be clear. Administering food and water is not a treatment. It is a necessity, It is in the same class as the air that Mrs Schiavo breathes. The fact that it is administered through tubes doesn’t change anything. It is simply another kind of “spoon”. People who advocate euphemistically the removal of her “treatment” are advocating cruel starvation. They might as well argue that it is kind to remove her access to air. There are plenty of pillows that could be used for that purpose in the corner.
Shocked? I hope so. We live in days of muddled humanistic, godless thinking. Occasionally it bursts out in the horrors we are seeing in Florida. In the coming days I expect we will see more cases like it, and society will become desensitised. And the sad thing is we have people who are called ministers of the gospel in support of it.
Doggie's Breakfast 
Actually, and although I don’t support withdrawal of feeding as a method of euthanasia, they aren’t equivalent. There is the question of what the patient can do unaided, and there is always the question for doctors of when treatment is no longer necessary.
For Christians, death is not the ultimate evil. We do not put extending life as the ultimate good. Doctors, in our culture, are often expected to extend life as far as clinically possible, when it might be better for the patient if they didn’t.
I rather like a couplet from the 19th century, from a “New Decalogue” by AH Clough:
Thou shalt not kill, but need not strive
officiously to keep alive.
Originally intended ironically, it actually has some merit when assessing medical treatment.
pax et bonum
Stephen, I linked to your blog, so I thought I’d pop in and say hello. I believe I followed your link from EC-Not. I have enjoyed reading your thoughts from the few articles I have read, and look forward to reading more. I’m always surprised when I find people who believe and think the same things I do. Blessings.
Hi Donna!
Good to hear from you. Thanks for dropping by. I’ve added you to my blogroll too. I look forward to reading your blog.
Best wishes to you and yours!