Infomaniac: WeBlog

Blogging the Terri Schiavo case

(Update added later): For a good, complete, impassionate explanation of the life and near death and continued maintenance of Terri Schiavo, Abstract Appeal has a Terri Schiavo Information Page which attempts to help people understand this complicated case. As the author says, If you're wondering "how "this" could be happening or how everyone involved could be ignoring or overlooking "so much": Keep looking for more information.".
The Florida law blog, Abstract Appeal, has been posting on the Schiavo story for months and is still one of the best sources for Schiavo news. Blogger Matt Conigliaro has also recently done a TV interview on the story. The Political Teen is posting some videos from news discussions.
Blogs for Terri is a group blog posting info from other blogs and news sites, among the sites with the most up-to-date news on the case. This site also has a long, long blogroll mostly consisting of other pro-life sites. Arguing the case that all supporters of the Schindler family are not conservatives is the Liberals for Terri blog.
The Guardian links to several more blogs and comments on the Guardian Newsblog. More blog links on Dean's List.
(Added later): Another site aggregating blog posts on Schiavo is ProLifeBlogs.com.

It's interesting, but depressing, to read a lot of this. The rhetoric is often hateful. Some sites are going so far to accuse 'Democrats' and 'Liberals' of pushing a 'Pro-Death' agenda (a strange accusation considering that most of the opposition to the death penalty is there). There's a lot of thoughtful discourse, too, but nearly overwhelmed. For example, Jeff Jarvis has a discussion today:

"We now have the federal government -- and not just the federal goverment but both houses of Congress and the President himself -- inserting themselves into an individual medical, legal, family dispute. Watch the avalanche of individual cases that will now fall upon Washington: You did it for Terri, why not for my cousin?"

I was also taken by this one, Schiavo, Mill and the Culture of Living, by PERRspectives:

"...by defending what Justice Brandeis called "the right to be left alone" we can offer Americans a powerful framework for assessing the legitimacy - and morality - of government intrusion and paternalism in our most personal decisions.
...Ours is - or rather should be - a culture that sees preserving individual autonomy as vital to liberty. Call it "the Culture of Living.""

posted by liz at 11:05 AM