The above question was posed by Significant Otherhawk as we sat with mouths agape reading about another family member who wishes to put a “loved one” out of their misery and let them move on to “a better place.” Only this time, there’s a slight twist to the tale: The person in question doesn’t want to die. In fact, if this account can be believed, she specifically requested that she not have the feeding tube removed in a written, living will:

In a situation recalling the recent death of Terri Schiavo in Florida, an 81-year-old widow, denied nourishment and fluids for nearly two weeks, is clinging to life in a hospice in LaGrange, Ga., while her immediate family fights desperately to save her life before she dies of starvation and dehydration.

Mae Magouirk was neither terminally ill, comatose nor in a “vegetative state,” when Hospice-LaGrange accepted her as a patient about two weeks ago upon the request of her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, 36, an elementary school teacher

Also upon Gaddy’s request and without prior legal authority, since March 28 Hospice-LaGrange has denied Magouirk normal nourishment or fluids via a feeding tube through her nose or fluids via an IV. She has been kept sedated with morphine and ativan, a powerful tranquillizer.

The dehydration is being done in defiance of Magouirk’s specific wishes, which she set down in a “living will,” and without agreement of her closest living next-of-kin…

But hey…let’s not start talking about a slippery slope here. That just wouldn’t do. That would upset all those people who just last week were laughing and deriding those of us who talked about any such nonsense. Why, the very idea of a “culture of death” was condemned as pure hyperbole. And yet…

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore. That’s the point isn’t it? Very soon, these kinds of things will become routine, their ability to shock and revolt will have been wrung out of us by sheer repetition. And then it will be too late. Because what’s happening in this country is nothing less than a small cadre of non-conspiratorial but like minded scientists, ethicists, doctors, and lawyers seeking a redefinition of what constitutes human life.

It’s not enough anymore for someones heart to beat. It’s not enough that blood flow through ones veins. It’s not enough for a human to be able to breathe on their own or have the function of other vital organs like kidneys or liver. It apparently isn’t enough that the individual in question is lucid, conscious, in a non-vegetative state and not have any kind of terminal illness.

All it takes is a granddaughter who thinks like this:

“Grandmama is old and I think it is time she went home to Jesus,” Gaddy told Magouirk’s brother and nephew, McLeod and Ken Mullinax. “She has glaucoma and now this heart problem, and who would want to live with disabilities like these?”

As monstrous as the rationale given by the granddaughter sounds, the outrage being committed here and elsewhere in the United States is not by confused, grieving, or even inconvenienced or greedy relatives; the crime against human dignity here is being committed by a medical community who has decided that their ever narrowing definition of what “life” is has gone beyond the simple mechanics of how the human body works and entered a metaphysical realm that used to be reserved for priests, shamans, rabbis, and philosophers.

In short, they see themselves as a new strata of healers, a class of medical High Priests whose knowledge and experience regarding human health are now augmented by insight into the mysteries of consciousness itself. They are aided and abetted by ethicists that justify their actions, scientists who support their conclusions, lawyers who keep the legal ground from turning into quicksand beneath their feet, and a certain segment of the population that puts their faith in the ability of humans to glean eternal truth from empirical observation.

I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t know if there necessarily is an answer. All I know is that this case and the thousands of other similar cases that occur every year in this country amount to nothing less than a recipe for disaster. Somehow, we’ve got to regain control of this runaway euthanasia train before our outrage is replaced by a shrug and our passions are replaced by a deadening of wonder at the miracle of life itself.

UPDATE:

This issue has literally exploded across the blogosphere with my blog buddies from The Wide Awakes leading the way.

Cao has a great round up of immediate reaction. In the coming days, go to Cao’s site for the latest.

Cathouse Chat has a link to an audio interview with Mae Magourik’s nephew – OUTRAGEOUS!

Raven at And Rightly So is a medical professional who has witnessed this sort of thing first hand. More on Raven tomorrow.

Make sure you hit T.J.’s excellent news blog NIF (News-Interesting-Funny) first thing in the morning for the latest.

Ace, a notorious skeptic regarding slippery slope arguments, thinks “The Death Express” is starting to roll.

Trey at Jackson’s Junction asks a good question; where’s the outrage from the people who let Terri die because it was her wish to do so? So far…silence.

Junkyard Blog is all over the story with some good updates.

Tha Anchoress has words of outrage…and caution.

Paul at Wizbang is digging and found some local reports on the issue, which tend to support the facts as reported originally by WMD. Hey! But remember, there is no slippery slope…right?

Mark at Conservative Revolution asks “You Think Your Living Will Means Something?”

Civilization Calls has joined the fray.

John Hawkins at Right Wing News is cautious.

Jared at Truth Quante-Fied has some great thoughts.

Straight up with Sherri has some addresses and phone numbers of people you can contact to help. (Hat Tip: Tom at Hamstermotor)