Commentary:

I can't help but comment on the whole Terri Schiavo situation, a story that has gained national media attention now, thanks to the U.S. Congress getting involved. Lost in the entire debate, though, are two issues, both of which have scary implications. Both come close to being slippery slope fallacies, but I want to look briefly at both.
The first implication is the euthanasia implication. While Mrs. Schiavo is in a less than optimal mental state, she is still a human being, still alive, and is not dependent on artificial breathing machines or other artifical means, short of a feeding tube. While her state is one that requires consistent medical supervision, she is otherwise still a human being. However, her husband, and a few other individuals, believe that she should be allowed to die, partially because of the low quality of life she would have to endure. My concern with the situation is that this is just the beginning of what could become euthanasia for anyone deemed unworthy by society, rather it be for medical reasons, social reasons, or whatever reasons. We already are killing people who are considered unwanted, as long as they're not born, yet. Now, are we beginning to head down the road to kill any unwanted person?
The second implication, which is equally as frightening, is the judicial tyranny implication. It seems, anymore, that the courts have way too much authority to control situations that they have no business being involved in. The courts seem to veto any law that doesn't meet with the particular judge's idealogies, and the result is that special interest groups can find sympathetic judges and trump the wishes of the majority. Is America coming to a point where democracy only exists in theory and not in practice? Have we become an oligarchy of the courts?
It seems that no matter what happens in this situation, the implications are bad for society in general. If the courts don't intervene on the side of Mrs. Shiavo's parents, then it seems to me that society has gone one step closer to fully legalized euthanasia. If the courts do intervene, then it seems to me that society is just another step down the road to judicial tyranny. Is there another way out of this mess, or have we missed our chance as a society to keep this from happening? I don't know...