Duc in Altum

On Monday, June 20th, Michael Schiavo had Terri Schiavo's cremated remains buried at a cemetery in Clearwater, Florida. A grave stone marks the spot of her burial. The grave stone carries two interesting pieces of information. First, it indicates that Terri "departed this earth" on February 25, 1990 which is the date that she had her collapse that left her disabled. The grave stone also lists that she was "at peace" on March 31, 2005 which is the day she actually died due to dehydration. In addition, Michael had the words "I kept my promise" engraved on the head stone.

The strange use of the dates points to the real problem that Terri Schiavo had and that all other disabled people face. Someone wants to dictate when their lives should end. In the opinion of many, a severely disabled person has already "departed this earth." They are no longer around. Consequently, it is perfectly acceptable to finish off their existence by taking their lives. After all, only a cruel person would want someone to continue living who has been deemed to no longer actually be alive.

The fact that Michael Schiavo added the phrase "I kept my promise" to the grave stone indicates how defensive he really is. Perhaps I am horribly mistaken, but it seems that most grave markers which have inscriptions on them include words that are related to the person who is buried. Instead, Michael Schiavo uses the burial of Terri Schiavo to defend the killing of his wife by his pathetic justification that he kept some promise he had made to Terri regarding her alleged end-of-life wishes. It is comical at best to see someone have his defense permanently engraved on the grave stone of the person he murdered. Rather, his action is deranged and illustrates the inherent contradiction of his actions and his supposed concern for Terri.

Of course, Michael Schiavo does not think that he helped to murder his wife. Instead, he believes that some conversation with his Terri about end-of-life issues had occurred and that she would want to be put to death by any means rather than receive medical care which might aid in her rehabilitation. Consequently, he kept his promise to her by seeing to it that she stopped living in such a state.

The very obvious problems with this assertion is that it runs contrary to Michael Schiavo's own testimony and actions. In 1992, during the malpractice suit against Terri's doctors, he testified

"I believe in the vows that I took with my wife. Through sickness, in health, for richer or poorer. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that."

Apparently, after winning a settlement in this trial, his promise switched from keeping his wedding vows to ensuring that Terri stopped living. Notably, it was not until after the settlement was awarded that Michael Schiavo remembered what Terri's end-of-life wishes were.

The grave marker over the place where Terri Schiavo's remains were interred stands as an ironic reminder of what actually happened to Terri Schiavo. Michael Schiavo was allowed to murder Terri simply because he indicated that this would have been her wish. Logically, what was allowed to occur makes no sense. The obvious contradiction of Michael's own story regarding what Terri wanted was ignored in order to allow him to "keep his promise." And in the end, the grave marker does not stand as a testimony to Terri, but a reminder to all that really Terri's murder was all about what Michael wanted and was allowed to do. God forbid that we continue to allow others similarly "to keep their promises."