An altogether excellent piece by Cathy Young in the Boston Globe:
To put it simply: Haleigh Poutre is no Terri Schiavo. Schiavo had been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years, and had undergone a barrage of tests showing that she had no higher brain functioning and no consciousness — a fact on which all unbiased medical experts agreed. (Her case had also undergone repeated court review.) Haleigh had been in a vegetative state since Sept. 11. After the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that she could be taken off life support, the girl began to show improvement.
***The ”save Terri” brigade turned a tragedy into a macabre circus. Politicians such as Representative Tom Delay, a Texas Republican, and pundits such as Fox News’s Sean Hannity embraced patently absurd claims that Schiavo was able to communicate and even talk. They made wildly misleading claims about the medical credentials of ”experts” who said Schiavo could be conscious. They asserted that Schiavo’s coma may have been caused by abuse from her husband, Michael.
With their cries of ”medical terrorism” and their comparisons to Nazi Germany, these so-called champions of life created an atmosphere in which some of their supporters made death threats not only to Michael Schiavo but to judges and legislators who had been on the ”wrong” side of the dispute.
This kind of support is the last thing Haleigh Poutre needs. Haleigh’s cause should be championed — by those who have the moral authority and the credibility to speak about it. This case raises many disturbing issues, from the efficacy of child protection to care for comatose patients. It deserves to be in the spotlight; it does not deserve to be turned into Terri Schiavo II.
I have only excerpted a little bit- make sure you read the entire column, as it is spot on and well worth your time. Cathy also has more, here, at her own website.