Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Pope on feeding tube

So the Pope is now on a feeding tube, like Terri Schiavo. The spin from the Old Media makes me smile. AP Headline: Pope Getting Nutrition From Tube in Nose
You've probably seen a number of stories over the years about people being put on feeding tubes. Do you recall the location of the tube being addressed, at all, before? Let alone in the headline? Of course, they do that to distance any comparisons between the Pope, who presumably has value as a human, and Terri, who apparently does not. Heaven forbid if someone might ponder, "You know, Terri's situation is not all that different from the Pope's." The story is careful to describe the Pope's nasogastric tube and contrast it with Terri's PEG tube. In a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy a surgical incision is made in the abdomen to permit a tube to be passed directly into the stomach. Of course, if you stay with the story long enough, it says the Pope may have a PEG. It doesn't say that Terri initially had a nasogastric tube, just like the Pope.

So, the Pope will die if caretakers don't feed him. Terri will die if caretakers don't feed her. The Pope has trouble swallowing. Terri has trouble swallowing. The Pope can't speak. Terri can't speak.

Differences - The Pope is 84 and in frail health. He probably won't live much longer regardless of the best medical care. Terri is 41 and in good health. She could probably live many years if she were not executed. And, oh yes, Terri is mentally disabled and the Pope is not. And her husband wants her dead.

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