Moratorium

Can we finally shut up about the poor woman, at least until her body is cold?

Terri Schiavo died this morning.

There is no longer, as far as I can see, any excuse whatsover for continuing to make her medical condition, or her family’s dysfunction, a public issue.

I therefore propose a moratorium on any public mention of her name for some decent interval: say, 30 days. Update: Of course, even after 30 days some things will remain inappropriate to say, and Tom DeLay can be relied on to say them.

After that, the case might reasonably be discused in the context of larger discussions about end-of-life issues or the relationships between the judiciary and the other two branches of government.

Yes, there’s more to say, but now really and truly isn’t the time to say it.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com