America is a patchwork quilt of blue and red states, we disagree on everything from abortion to same-sex marriage to the sexual orientation of cartoon characters. But our polarized nation agrees on one thing: We are outraged at the government's overbearing intrusion in the Terri Schiavo case. Eighty-two percent of respondents to a CBS News poll said Congress and the president should stay out of the Schiavo matter, an astonishing consensus in today's culture wars environment.  Congress views everything through the prism of political expediency, would you want this "Hallowed Body" to make a decision regarding the life and death of your spouse, mother or child? Does anyone really believe that ethically-challenged House Republican leader Tom Delay, who is on political life support, is acting in the best interests of Mrs Schiavo? As the all-Schiavo cable news outlets breathlessly report every new development from the White House, the courthouse, the Capital and the Florida Legislature, Americans steadfastly have held the view that the government should stay the hell out of this tragic case. 

There is a clear consensus that the government should stay out of the Schiavo dilemma, who then should decide if Schiavo should be allowed to die with dignity? Well, state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have refused to overrule Florida Circuit Judge George Greer's 2000 order to remove Schiavo's feeding tube based on "clear and convincing" evidence that if reflects her desires.  

In other words, the courts have ruled that it's clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Terri expressed the view, when she was alive and lucid, that she did not want to be kept alive by a breathing machine or feeding tube.

 Mrs. Schiavo has been in a brain-dead vegetative state for over a decade -- it's time for this poor woman to be set free. This case has been litigated to death -- it's time to put an end to this judicial merry-go-round. Her parents have prolonged Terri's agony long enough -- it's time for them to let  her spirit escape her brain-dead body.  The Terri Schiavo disaster has dragged on for many interminable years, it has been an unbearable burden on her husband, parents and loved ones - at this point there can be no happy ending. When Schiavo finally dies, whether it's in the next few days, or in a few years, everyone, on both sides of the issue, will shed tears.  The only good that can come out of this nightmare is that it has demonstrated to us the utter necessity of having a living will. Before writing this essay, I drafted a living will. You may agree or disagree with my essay, but I hope that you will follow my example and get a living will.

Robert Paul Reyes