Terri Schiavo, the Schindlers, the Pope, and the misguided and manipulative vision of fundamentalist Christians

The autopsy findings on Terri Schiavo were released yesterday, confirming what reality-based individuals knew already - that Mrs. Schiavo suffered massive and irreversible brain damage, consistent with her clinical diagnosis of persistent vegetative state.
It astounds me that Mrs. Schiavo's parents and siblings had such a twisted view of reality that they believed that Terri could communicate purposefully to them, and even speak! Further, they used manipulative snippets of a 4 hour video to sucker others into their faith-based view of Terri's condition.
To relate what it might be to suffer in Terri's condition, imagine being in a state where you had no free thoughts, where every action you did was either a reflex or a random movement. Imagine not being able to will your body to raise your arm, or scratch an itchy spot on your back. Imagine not being able to process images with your mind - to be cortically blind, where you can't tell what you're looking at. Imagine being erased as a human being in everything but basic bodily functions - breathing, feeling pain and other primitive sensations, maintaining a heart beat. This was the tragedy of Terri Schiavo. Terri was not simply a "handicapped" individual - she was a neurologically devastated person. The reality was that Terri's condition would never improve from that. No amount of prayer, no amount of pleading to any supernatural force would change that.
We would all agree that individuals in this devastated state or any other clearly deserve compassion and care. But one must truly understand the medical severity of the situation to see the logic and compassion in allowing someone like this to die peacefully, without artificially extending such a medically hopeless existence through artificial means. The withdrawal of feeding tube support for Terri Schiavo was a compassionate act - an act of letting the body naturally follow where the mind had already gone. It is a cruel joke to call the death of Terri Schiavo a murder or a senseless taking of human life. Modern day medicine is based on the respect of autonomy, and the respect of surrogate decision makers such as a husband. The delusional views of the Schindlers had no merit in this case.
The reality revealed in this case and others like it is that in the modern era of medicine, we can decide how we die. No God or other supernatural being makes those decisions - the decision lies in our hands and with our physicians. We have tools - the modern intensive care units, ventilators, feeding tubes, and other supportive means - to extend life in quite an astounding fashion. None of these tools should be used without the express consent of the patient or a surrogate decision maker. Imagine the Pope, in his last days, being carted to the ICU against his wishes, forced onto a ventilator, poked and prodded with IVs, blood draws, intensive antibiotics, all in the name of tapping every second of life - precious or painful - by any means necessary! The Pope chose how he died - in the peace of his own apartment, with minimal medical supportive care. He did not wish to give Terri Schiavo that same privilege.
This case should make America and the world wake up to the dangers that fundamentalist Christian can bring. Would you want such people dictating your medical care?