Pro-life philosophy
I'm not going to say much about the Schiavo case specifically here. I find it interesting, though, that the pro-life side seems to be on the side of keeping her alive in a vegetative state.
I'm going to make the assumption that the majority of people who identify themselves as pro-life also identify themselves as Christians. As such, they believe that, after death, there awaits a heaven, a place that is with God and Christ, as long as, in this life, you've consciously made the decision to accept Christ as your savior (unless you're unable in your life to make that conscious decision--say, if you're an infant, you automatically get there). To me, it would seem that these pro-lifers, being Christians, would be in favor of letting her die because a better place awaits her and there's nothing left for her in this world other than being in an ongoing vegetative state. It would be merciful to allow her to go there now instead of her existing in some sort of life/death limbo until she dies (which, for me, always raises many questions like, if there is an afterlife, where is the soul if the body is alive but the brain isn't?).
It would seem to me that, in cases like this, atheists would be more for keeping her alive then allowing her to die because they don't believe in an afterlife. There's nothing beyond this life, so hang on to it as long as possible. In Ms. Schiavo's case, the consensus seems to be she has no chance of ever recovering, but as long as you're alive, there's still some chance no matter how remote, no? And, if you're an atheist, you might cling to this chance, because in death there is nothing.
The pro-life philosophy, to me, isn't much of one as it's practiced commonly in this country. Sure, they may be against abortions, but do they care about the quality of life and love experienced by newborns and their parents, and are they willing to give of themselves (their time, resources, and tax dollars) to provide adequate support systems for them? Are they against the death penalty? Are they against wars which kill thousands of innocents? We know what the answers are here (in general--some pro-lifers are genuinely against all killings, but they are in the minority). The pro-lifers aren't for life; they're against abortion, and apparently, against allowing someone in a vegetative state to die. I could have more respect for their position if it were truly about defending all life (and let's not forget the Bill Hicks joke that, if they were truly pro-life, they should be blocking the entrances to cemetaries instead of abortion clinics).
I'm going to make the assumption that the majority of people who identify themselves as pro-life also identify themselves as Christians. As such, they believe that, after death, there awaits a heaven, a place that is with God and Christ, as long as, in this life, you've consciously made the decision to accept Christ as your savior (unless you're unable in your life to make that conscious decision--say, if you're an infant, you automatically get there). To me, it would seem that these pro-lifers, being Christians, would be in favor of letting her die because a better place awaits her and there's nothing left for her in this world other than being in an ongoing vegetative state. It would be merciful to allow her to go there now instead of her existing in some sort of life/death limbo until she dies (which, for me, always raises many questions like, if there is an afterlife, where is the soul if the body is alive but the brain isn't?).
It would seem to me that, in cases like this, atheists would be more for keeping her alive then allowing her to die because they don't believe in an afterlife. There's nothing beyond this life, so hang on to it as long as possible. In Ms. Schiavo's case, the consensus seems to be she has no chance of ever recovering, but as long as you're alive, there's still some chance no matter how remote, no? And, if you're an atheist, you might cling to this chance, because in death there is nothing.
The pro-life philosophy, to me, isn't much of one as it's practiced commonly in this country. Sure, they may be against abortions, but do they care about the quality of life and love experienced by newborns and their parents, and are they willing to give of themselves (their time, resources, and tax dollars) to provide adequate support systems for them? Are they against the death penalty? Are they against wars which kill thousands of innocents? We know what the answers are here (in general--some pro-lifers are genuinely against all killings, but they are in the minority). The pro-lifers aren't for life; they're against abortion, and apparently, against allowing someone in a vegetative state to die. I could have more respect for their position if it were truly about defending all life (and let's not forget the Bill Hicks joke that, if they were truly pro-life, they should be blocking the entrances to cemetaries instead of abortion clinics).
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