A Perspective on the Terri Schiavo Case

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The case of Terri Schiavo is widely recognized as one of the game changers in medical advanced directives. Her case is a prime example of what can happen when a person does not plan for every possible medical event, even the unthinkable. Terri had no voice and thus endured a silent existence. Whether she was on a feeding tube or without one; maintained on a respirator or breathing on her own, Terri could not communicate her desires and was functioning solely in a persistent vegetative state. Would Terri have wanted that for herself? Many commentators have spoken out on this case over the years and the consensus is that she would have wanted the right to either preserve her life, or end it without the interference of her spouse or parents. Struck down in her prime by a heart attack brought on by a potassium imbalance, then persisting in a vegetative state for fifteen years, Terri’s life ended in March of 2005. Her spouse had handled all initial medical care arrangements without interference from her family until shortly after he was awarded a settlement in a malpractice suit he had filed against Terri’s physician. In 1998 when it was apparent she would not recover from her condition, her spouse requested that the feeding tube be removed. He was met with resistance from Terri’s parents who accused him of wanting to get rid of her so he could move on with his new girlfriend and their children. The parents insisted that based upon her religion that Terri would not want her life terminated by removal of the feeding tube. Her parents continued to insist that Terri was in a minimally conscious state and not in a persistent vegetative state. Law suits ensued and the media frenzy began. Several court battles later, her spouse finally won and the tube was permanently removed. Terri had no input in this fiasco that was her life and ultimately, her death. Had

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