Democrats need to wake from moral coma

Psst, hey Democrats, over here. Remember how you lost the election in November? Remember how all the pundits said it was because you didn’t have strong moral values? Well, here is a chance to reclaim your stake in morality — and you are missing it.

See this woman here? Her name is Terri Schiavo. She has been in a continuous vegetative state for 15 years. She can breathe on her own, her heart beats on its own and she can move her eyes, but that’s about it. Her doctors say she has no chance of recovery.

For seven years, her husband has been fighting to have the feeding tube keeping her alive removed. He maintains she would not have wanted to live this way. Her parents believe she can recover and believe that she has communicated to them that she wants to live.

The problem is Schiavo has no ‘living will,’ no ‘advance medical directive.’ We don’t know for certain what she wants. As a result, open season has been declared on whose values get to be imposed on her — instead of her own. Unfortunately, whichever side wins this battle will set a precedent and be more able to assert its values next time.

In a case as emotional and complex as Schiavo’s, one would think the country would be as divided and polarized as it was over the election. Yet polls have shown that 70 percent of the American public opposed Congress’ intervention on Schiavo’s behalf. The Republicans and the religious right are telling us why Schiavo should live; Democrats should be telling us why we should let her die.

Obviously, taking this position requires a delicate touch. Defending life does not take much justification, since most of us would rather live than die. And arguments such as ‘all life is holy’ are simple, dogmatic statements that are easy to digest and that work well as sound bytes.

Arguing to let Schiavo go is a much more in-depth and emotional endeavor, one that cannot be adequately expressed in one-liners on talk shows or in letters to the editor. Since dogma cannot easily justify such a position, any argument in favor of Schiavo’s death opens up a quagmire of religious, medical, ethical, personal and emotional issues that should be considered but are simultaneously none of the public’s business. The argument is complex and the patience and sensitivity required to make it are not inviting either.

Yet to counter the Republicans on values, the argument must be made. Life and death issues such as the removal of Schiavo’s feeding tube are delicate, but they are hardly one-sided. If all people agreed on how to handle cases like Schiavo’s, then medical ethics would be a very boring subject. But the reality is that the question of how to best fulfill the wishes of a patient whose wishes are not known is one of the most controversial and multifaceted problems in our society today, and we continue to wrestle with it.

Should we hold fast to life no matter what? A republican in favor of saving Schiavo’s life would argue yes. Yet any attempt to save her life now really only delays the inevitable; Schiavo will just spend years barely conscious until she dies just like the rest of us. It seems no one is making the counterargument that sometimes it is better to let go and hold fast to the belief that the dying are going someplace better.

Democrats used to pride themselves on being the champion of the little guy. Schiavo is the little guy now, and everyone is fighting for what they believe are her best interests, except Democrats. Schiavo might want to live, but she also might want to be left in peace. If this is the case, Democrats should be trying to defend her against those who seek to prolong her life against her will.

The Democratic Party has a unique opportunity to restake their claim to being a party of values. It should stand up to the religious right in Congress and in the media and tell us why it is not just acceptable but morally right to let this woman die. It will be difficult and complicated, but it is the only way to reassert the values of the Democratic Party in the face of the moral monopoly the Republican Party has claimed.

There is no better time than now.

David Axel is a Brown College junior.

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