Schiavo's death violates equal human rights

Terri Schiavo's story raises many important questions, but one rises above all others: Are some lives unworthy of being lived? The case surely involves a difficult family decision, and it might be tempting to concentrate on distinguishing between private and public spheres. No doubt, many people criticized the attempts to reinsert the feeding tube precisely because of such concerns. But there is a more basic question at stake here. If an individual or her closest relative can be justified in determining that her life is unworthy of being lived, perhaps the actions of the Schindlers or Congress were inappropriate. If, on the other hand, it is never right to compare the worthiness of lives, we cannot rush to this conclusion so hastily.

This central issue raises both moral and legal questions. As a matter of law, Michael Schiavo was required to produce "clear and convincing evidence" that his wife would not have wanted to remain dependent on a feeding tube for nutrition and hydration. In this case, however, Michael Schiavo failed to meet this standard. In 1992, during a malpractice trial, he testified that he wanted to care for his wife for the rest of her life. Years later, however, after winning several lawsuits and starting a family with another woman, Michael Schiavo remembered that his wife had said she wouldn't want to be kept alive by "artificial" measures. Several of Michael's relatives corroborated his testimony while the Schindlers denied it. Terri Schiavo never expressed her wishes in writing. It is hard to see how this evidence is clear or convincing.

Morality would seem to require that we ensure Schiavo had no chance for improvement before we even think of writing off her life as unworthy to be lived. Though some doctors testified that Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state from which she couldn't recover, others disagreed. This disagreement was surely not helped by the fact that she never received an MRI or PET test. What good reason could have been given for not performing these potentially telling and standard tests? Furthermore, she hadn't received meaningful therapy since the early 1990s. Perhaps it wasn't possible for her to improve, but it's not clear that she was ever given a fair shot.

Most concerning, though, is the lack of public outrage at the very idea that some lives are unworthy of being lived or are more valuable than others. It was precisely this idea that underwrote the massacre of disabled adults and children by the Nazis. If we subscribe to this belief, the obvious question is: Whose lives are more valuable? The lives of smart people? Of strong people? Furthermore, who decides? Even if it were proven that Schiavo's wishes were as her husband testified, how can we assume that she would have thought the same way after her accident? It may seem unnecessary to ask these questions, but if we do believe that human life can vary in worth, it could only be because we think some characteristic is required for human life to have value. But it is not at all obvious what this characteristic might be.

Alternatively, we might believe that human life has inherent worth, simply because it is human life. If this view is true, then alternative conceptions of human worthiness are gravely immoral. But such conceptions would also lead to legal crisis, for they would undermine the basic premises of our political system. If we are all equal before the law, then we must be worthy of the same basic rights. But if some are more worthy of rights than others, then equality before the law is nothing more than a fairytale.

In the end, Schiavo was denied her basic rights. She died not because of disease or disaster, but because of a conscious decision that she should, a decision that was made with the blessings of our courts. In response, we should unite in affirming that our government exists not to determine whose rights matter but rather to ensure that everyone's rights are respected equally. Michael Kenneally is an officer of Princeton Pro-Life. He can be reached at mkenneal@princeton.edu.