The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments: Shortcut to: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/letters/story.html?i d=18880399-bad0-45bd-92c9-40a6dd0e17b0 Letters | Send a letter to the editor Rabbi seriously mistaken about Schiavo's feeding tube Letter from montreal gazette thurs day 30th March 2005 March 31, 2005 Rabbi Allan Nadler (Opinion, March 29, "Hijacking religion") claims Judeo-Christian teachings support the view that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed. As a rabbi myself, let me tell you nothing could be farther from the truth. Nadler claims the Bible makes a husband the rightful guardian of his wife ("Henceforth shall a man leave his father and mother and 'cling' to his wife ...," as Genesis 2:24 says). Unfortunately, Michael Schiavo has not "clung" to his wife. He broke his marriage vows, committed adultery, and went to live with his girlfriend, with whom he has two children. He has a vested interest in removing Terri's feeding tube, as he cannot marry his girlfriend as long as Terri is alive. Nadler assumes Terri is brain-dead and, thus, has lost her "image of God." Terri is not brain dead, nor is she terminally ill. She is brain-damaged. Her impairment is cognitive. To remove the feeding tube from a patient whose only impairment is cognitive is simply murder. Terri Schiavo's case cannot be compared with that of Karen Quinlan, as Nadler would have us believe, in that food and water are not artificial devices that prolong life, but basic human needs. Finally, Nadler faults George W. Bush for trying to save Terri's life, and on the other hand signing the greatest number of death warrants in American history. It is disingenuous on Nadler's part to compare the two. The death warrants were for people who had already been judged by a jury of their peers and convicted of crimes warranting the death penalty. As far as I know, Terri Schiavo has been guilty of no such crime. Judeo-Christian values teach us it is not within our moral jurisdiction to decide what quality of life is "not worth living" and, therefore, unworthy of treatment. Only God Himself has that authority. As Job said (Job 1:21): "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Rabbi Mordecai Bulua Montreal [log in to unmask] Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled. begin 666 story.url M6TEN=&5R;F5T4VAO<G1C=71=#0I54DP]:'1T<#HO+W=W=RYC86YA9&$N8V]M M+VUO;G1R96%L+VUO;G1R96%L9V%Z971T92]N97=S+VQE='1E<G,O<W1O<GDN M:'1M;#]I9#TQ.#@X,#,Y.2UB860P+30U8F0M.3)C.2TT,&$V9&0P93$W8C - >"DUO9&EF:65D/4(P1C4Y.4,P,$,S-D,U,#$P-@T* ` end