You know, I use this space to insult a lot of people. What can I say? It’s what I’m good at. And as much as I enjoy making judgmental slams at strangers, I’m going to put that schtick on the back burner this week, because there’s someone who I think needs to be defended. As many of you may know, the fate of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman in a persistent vegetative state since 1990 when oxygen flow to her brain was cut off by what doctors think might have been a potassium imbalance, has been tied up in litigation for seven years. While her husband, Michael Schiavo has petitioned for the removal of her feeding tube in accordance with what he says her wishes would have been, her parents protest that her condition could improve with time, and that removal of the tube would be murder.

Just last week, on the ruling of the Florida court, and with the support of the Supreme Court, her feeding tube was removed. Two days later, Congress passed a bill, which was later signed by President Bush declaring the case a Federal matter. And now more than ever, Michael Schiavo is receiving moral and political criticism for being a selfish murderer, adulterer, and all-around lowlife. People speculate that his desire to let his wife die stems from his desperation to have her out of the way so that he can move on and marry the “new” woman in his life, with whom he lives and has two children.

If you’re opposed to Michael Schiavo’s actions, that’s fine. I have no plans to go into the politics of the right-to-die vs. right-to-life issue because I have no interest in changing your opinions. But we ought to give credit where credit is due, and Michael Schiavo hasn’t gotten his fair share.

If Michael Schiavo wanted to be through with his wife, he could divorce Terri and thus grant guardianship to her parents. We aren’t living in hopelessly illogical times; it’s not as if he’s bound to her for life because she’s unable to agree to a divorce. This is hardly a unique situation, and procedures have been designed for these types of circumstances.

Michael Schiavo has both ample opportunity and encouragement to sever his ties with his wife. Not only have Terri’s parents motioned to divorce their daughter from Michael, but he has received money offers, one for $1 million from a California businessman, another for $10 million from a Boca Raton attorney, to walk away and let her parents have the authority over their daughter’s life that they’ve been fighting to achieve for years.

So why would he stay with her? He knows she isn’t going to get better, and he’s built a new life with another woman. Why would anyone want to stay legally-bound to such a situation when all they want is to be rid of it? Doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Unless you’re willing to consider the possibility that Michael Schiavo truly is acting in his wife’s best interest. I’m more than willing to admit that moving in with another woman and publicly fathering children with her probably wasn’t the wisest move for his reputation, but it does present an interesting point.

This man has a whole other family. If his only concern about Terri was to be rid of her, then he could be. But he’s making it impossible to marry the woman he wants to be with because it’s more important to him to fulfill his wife’s request. If he agrees to a divorce, he loses all authority over what happens to her. So he’s inconveniencing himself and passing up a chance at more money than he could ever dream of for the chance to see to it that his wife dies with dignity after fifteen years without higher brain function. This doesn’t seem like someone too concerned with making his own life easier.

Disagreeing with Michael Schiavo is a matter of personal belief, but calling him selfish is what makes me return to my old self, and call you a dumbass.