I have to say I don't know what's right and what's wrong in this situation. It's a moral dilemma, not something that is clear-cut at all. It's a terrible shame that decisions like these end up in the hands of demagogues - and even worse when such a sad situation becomes a political squabble between two heartless ideologies.

It's not right to force her to live, and it's not right to force her to die. There is no "right" choice in this matter - but I wish the choice could be made by somebody who has a heart, somebody who will see grief instead of triumph in whatever decision is made.

In December, my dad made the decision to take my mom off life support and a feeding tube, and she died peacefully. My former-Catholic brother has some serious misconceptions about Catholics, and he thought my Catholic religion would compel me to object. Rapaire's quotes give a good summary of the official position of the Catholic Church on the matter. I think it's a very good point of view, and it's too bad that Catholic extremists and anti-Catholic extremists don't understand it. They only see black and white, and don't understand compassion.

-Joe Offer-