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fpbBRISTOL, August 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Kelly Taylor, a 28-year-old woman who is not terminally ill, has ended her attempt to starve herself to death after 19 days because of the pain of the effects of starvation.
Mrs. Taylor claimed that she had chosen self-starvation as the only method of suicide that would not leave her husband Richard liable for prosecution. Nevertheless, after 19 days, she said, “It has become too uncomfortable and I would not wish what I have been going through on my worst enemy.”
Taylor suffers from a congenital heart condition known as Eisenmenger Syndrome which, despite being labeled so by news media, is not a terminal condition. It does, however, reduce her mobility and leaves her dependent upon oxygen. She said her reason for wanting to die was that, as a disabled person, she could no longer make a “contribution” to society.
Opponents of euthanasia have repeatedly pointed out that the utilitarian values which permeate modern society are likely to encourage sick and disabled persons to think of themselves as “useless” and “burdensome.”
At a press conference, Mrs. Taylor said, “I feel disappointed in myself. I really wanted to die and that seemed to be my only option. I regret that I have to stop what I am doing because I still want to die. But starvation, as it turns out, is very undignified.”
The painful and “undignified” death rejected by Mrs. Taylor, however, was inflicted successfully by Michael Schiavo and his euthanasia activist lawyer, George Felos, on Schiavo’s estranged wife, Terri, both of whom insisted that Terri’s death by starvation and dehydration was painless and easy. Terri was also not suffering from any terminal illness and apart from her cognitive disability, was in good health.
The news media’s active collusion in this deception is evident in the UK Telegraph’s coverage of Mrs. Taylor’s campaign to kill herself, in which it called her a “terminally ill” woman in the first sentence. The Telegraph reluctantly admits at the end of the article that Eisenmenger Syndrome is “not technically a terminal illness.”
FPB adds: And the Daily Telegraph is supposed to be the voice of British Conservatism. Evidently, in Britain, even the so-called conservative leadership agrees to the murder of the old and sick. Here is a passage from Pope Joh Paul II which I already quoted, but which remains true and relevant: Do not neglect your sick and elderly. Do not turn away from the handicapped and the dying. Do not push them to the limits of society. For if you do, you will fail to understand that they represent an important truth. The sick, the elderly, the handicapped and the dying teahc us that weakness is a creative part of human living, and that suffering can be mbraced with no loss of dignity. Without the presence of those people in your midst, you might be tempted to think of health, strength, and power, as the only important values to be pursued in life. But the wisdom of Christ and the power of Christ are to be seen in the weakness of those who share His sufferings... Let us keep the sick and the handicapped at the centre of our lives. Let us treasure them and recognize with gratitude the debt we owe them. We begin by imagining that we are giving to them; we end by realizing that they have enriched us.
Mrs. Taylor claimed that she had chosen self-starvation as the only method of suicide that would not leave her husband Richard liable for prosecution. Nevertheless, after 19 days, she said, “It has become too uncomfortable and I would not wish what I have been going through on my worst enemy.”
Taylor suffers from a congenital heart condition known as Eisenmenger Syndrome which, despite being labeled so by news media, is not a terminal condition. It does, however, reduce her mobility and leaves her dependent upon oxygen. She said her reason for wanting to die was that, as a disabled person, she could no longer make a “contribution” to society.
Opponents of euthanasia have repeatedly pointed out that the utilitarian values which permeate modern society are likely to encourage sick and disabled persons to think of themselves as “useless” and “burdensome.”
At a press conference, Mrs. Taylor said, “I feel disappointed in myself. I really wanted to die and that seemed to be my only option. I regret that I have to stop what I am doing because I still want to die. But starvation, as it turns out, is very undignified.”
The painful and “undignified” death rejected by Mrs. Taylor, however, was inflicted successfully by Michael Schiavo and his euthanasia activist lawyer, George Felos, on Schiavo’s estranged wife, Terri, both of whom insisted that Terri’s death by starvation and dehydration was painless and easy. Terri was also not suffering from any terminal illness and apart from her cognitive disability, was in good health.
The news media’s active collusion in this deception is evident in the UK Telegraph’s coverage of Mrs. Taylor’s campaign to kill herself, in which it called her a “terminally ill” woman in the first sentence. The Telegraph reluctantly admits at the end of the article that Eisenmenger Syndrome is “not technically a terminal illness.”
FPB adds: And the Daily Telegraph is supposed to be the voice of British Conservatism. Evidently, in Britain, even the so-called conservative leadership agrees to the murder of the old and sick. Here is a passage from Pope Joh Paul II which I already quoted, but which remains true and relevant: Do not neglect your sick and elderly. Do not turn away from the handicapped and the dying. Do not push them to the limits of society. For if you do, you will fail to understand that they represent an important truth. The sick, the elderly, the handicapped and the dying teahc us that weakness is a creative part of human living, and that suffering can be mbraced with no loss of dignity. Without the presence of those people in your midst, you might be tempted to think of health, strength, and power, as the only important values to be pursued in life. But the wisdom of Christ and the power of Christ are to be seen in the weakness of those who share His sufferings... Let us keep the sick and the handicapped at the centre of our lives. Let us treasure them and recognize with gratitude the debt we owe them. We begin by imagining that we are giving to them; we end by realizing that they have enriched us.
