Hippocrates would never recognize the practice of medicine if he could come back for a brief hour to view how modern Americans apply the science for their comfort and convenience, specifically in the Terri Schiavo case.
If one takes the time to read the famous Hippocratic Oath, it actually starts out as more of a prayer than a pledge. Invoking the gods of his civilization in his oath, Hippocrates specifically promises "I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked...Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption."
Applying basic reading comprehension skills, that doesn't sound to me like Hippocrates would lean towards yanking Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Although he lived four centuries before Christ, the great Greek physician had a lot in common with those trying to protect her life today.
Some facts are timeless and absolute. The evil of deliberately murdering an ill, defenseless person is one of those facts. Regardless of modern technologies, inventions, progressive societies, and New Age philosophies, mankind does not have jurisdiction over life and death. Truth does not change. God has the ultimate power over life and death. Hippocrates knew it when he wrote his oath, and the good people trying to save Terri Schiavo know it. Long after our civilization is dust, protecting her innocent life will remain the right thing to do.
Judge George Greer was wise to stay this execution. It leaves time for prayer and action. May those who love Terri and seek to keep her alive find a way to keep her safely in their care.
