Guest: Bioethicist John Kilner & Father Richard McBrien
"Terri Schiavo herself will soon be dead. We pray she'll have eternal peace in the afterlife. Her parents and siblings have lost their struggle in a very painful and public way. Michael Schiavo is forever demonized in the eyes of millions of people. The right-to-life movement has been damaged because some of its supporters have gone overboard, telling people with whom they disagree to rot in hell. The secular movement has lost because it seems to want Terri Schiavo to die. The media has lost because no matter what side you take, millions will dislike that conclusion. The judges, politicians, and clergy are in the same position. Whatever judgments they make, people will hate them for it. That's why the Democratic Senators simply vanished when the bill was put before them. Talking Points has never seen a story quite like this one, where there are simply no winners at all. But that's the case."
Transcript/Video: FoxNews.com
Father Richard McBrien and bioethics specialist John Kilner joined The Factor with their analysis of the Schiavo case. Father McBrien disagreed with a Vatican official who said removing Terri's feeding tube is the same as euthanasia. "Euthanasia involves the direct killing of an individual who is sick," Father McBrien said. "This is simply removing some extraordinary means of sustaining life. It doesn't involve direct killing." Kilner commented on a new poll showing most evangelical Christians have no objection to removing the feeding tube. "There's a stereotype of the evangelical Christian saying we must do everything possible until the last possible second. That's a false stereotype and there is a much more nuanced view in the evangelical community." The Factor said again this case has engendered an extraordinary amount of passion. "On both sides there's hatred. The hatred has stunned me on this story."