My pastor, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington writes a column for The Seattle Times. He and several other religion writers were asked to consider issues of faith in the Terri Schiavo case.
Aziz Junejo
Q: What would you do if you were making the decision in Terri Schiavo's case?
A: The majority of Muslims in America believe her life should be saved, and perhaps doctors should reinsert the feeding tube. We must remember she is not dead, and that God and the U.S. Constitution give her the right to live.
Muslims generally believe a sick person should patiently endure the pain and pray to Allah that if he or she is patient, there will be a great reward and blessing for them in the eternal life.
Pastor Mark Driscoll
Q: What would you do if you were making the decision in Schiavo's case, and to what extent is this decision driven by what your faith says on end-of-life issues?
A: First, Terri was created by God with inherent worth and could live except for her inability to swallow food and water. Second, to me Terri's feeding tube is no more of an extraordinary life-saving measure than a spoon held by a caregiver providing food and water to someone who is disabled or elderly. Third, her parents want to care for her and I believe Terri's wishes are unknown. Fourth, the Bible forbids taking an innocent human life, and Terri has committed no crime deserving a torturous death by dehydration. Fifth, Terri's husband should not be her legal guardian because they have not lived together since 1990, and he is in effect married to his girlfriend, with whom he has two children and has lived since 1995.
Therefore, I would preserve Terri's life so long as extraordinary measures were not required to sustain it.
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