GUEST COLUMN

5/15/2006

In God's Time -- Not the Ethic Committee's

By Carrie K. Hutchens

Andrea Clark passed away last Sunday (May 7, 2006). It is reported that she passed peacefully with her loving family and friends at her side. This is how it should be.

Mrs. Clark is the 54 year old mother/sister, who was schedule to be put to death by St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (Houston, Texas) after her physician (allegedly) and the hospital's "supposed" ethics committee decided to invoke the Texan futile care law. Invoke it and put her out her misery. "Quality of life" determination made by they, rather than she.

It is true that St. Luke's did reconsider and rescind their decision. However, it wasn't before precious time was stolen from Andrea and her family. Time that could have been spent together, rather than the family having to desperately fight to save their sister from an execution. And what about that "desperation"? Did Andrea and the family deserve to go through the additional roller coaster ride of emotions placed upon them? How cruel and heartless was that?

Andrea was fighting for her life as was her right to do. Her family was fighting both for her life and for her right to fight, which was their right to do. So who did this physician and so-called ethic's committee think they were to decide to take this right away? It wasn't "their" right, nor their right of decision. It belonged to Andrea and her family only.

Should there be anyone to suggest the hospital and committee were right -- that it was futile care, they should think twice and think very hard about it.

Andrea was a very sick woman. No one ever suggested any differently. However, she deserved a chance. She did have a right to fight for her life. That she lost that fight does not mean that a hospital should have the right to execute patients on their time schedule of convenience and according to their opinions of worth and quality.

May Andrea's case be a wake up call with reality finally hitting the public head-on.

"Right to Die" isn't the true campaign we often see. It is obligated death. It is legalized executions of human beings without their consent. Get rid of the useless. Get rid of the worthless. Get rid of the people living as the deciders would not wish to themselves live. Control. Power. A sense of being god-like. The right to kill off those presumed less worthy than self.

May Andrea's case be a wake up call that causes the public to regain their senses and to realize that end of life should be in God's time -- not the anonymous ethic's Committee of some self-serving hospital or insurance company. (Let them not take what is not theirs to rightfully take.)

Andrea Clark may have passed on, but she did so in God's time with dignity and by natural causes. This is all that was asked. All that was expected. May this not become a rarity among us as the world goes mad.

Carrie Hutchens is a former law enforcement officer and a freelance writer who is active in fighting against the death culture movement and the injustices within the judicial and law enforcement systems.

Other work by Carrie Hutchens: Media Contradicts Media Contradicting Media