Schiavo—"Erring on the side of liberty"

For those not already worn out emotionally and intellectually by the on-going Terri Schiavo travesty, George Annas, a bioethicist with whom I rarely agree, offers a good summary of the history of end of life law in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Money graph:

"Erring on the side of life" in this context often results in violating a person's body and human dignity in a way few would want for themselves. In such situations, erring on the side of liberty–specifically, the patient's right to decide on treatment– is more consistent with American values and our constitutional traditions.

Amen.