Chapter on "Terry Schiavo Case"

Chapter 4 pages (1449 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Terry Schiavo Case

This is a re-examination of Terry Schiavo's Case

The Case

Today marks 10 years after Terry Schiavo died. She did so, shortly after her feeding tube was removed, following the request of her husband that she be allowed to die. Terry was 41 years by then. She had spent almost half of her life in an immobile vegetative state; following a cardiac arrest in 1990. This led to a severe lack of oxygen supply to her brain. Her brain was consequently largely damaged. There was and still is a lot of debate surrounding the legal case about the request by her husband to allow Terry to die. There were heated debates and controversies in the case that ended in the Supreme Court. Terry's husband, Michael Schiavo was deeply involved in the case. He had started requesting doctors to allow Terry to die (Ten Years After Terri Schiavo, Death Debates Still Divide Us: Bioethicist) in 1995 after it became apparent that she would not possibly recover from her condition. Like Schiavo, every doctor who examined Terry believed that she had no chance of recovery to normal life. Michael did not want to see Terry in a permanent vegetative state and believed that she would not have liked to live like that. However, Terry's family did not believe the same. They disagreed and argued that Terry would have chosen to stay on the feeding tube and hope for recovery. They claimed that they were unfairly ignored in their quest to save Terry's life. The case escalated from a private dispute in Florida Circuit courts all the way to the Supreme Court of the U.S.

When President George Bush tried to intervene and override the courts in Florida, he almost created a constitutional crisis. The Florida courts had consistently backed Michael Schiavo's stand. The Vatican also joined the debate and challenged the U.S. law that allowed Doctors to facilitate death in special cases; after consultation with the patient's family (Ten Years After Terri Schiavo, Death Debates Still Divide Us: Bioethicist).

According to the Vatican, it was wrong to stop food and water supply to the vegetative patient. This stand threw a spanner in the works. Many Catholics in the U.S. and catholic healthcare institutions were left confused as to how they should handle requests to allow a patient die by discontinuing feeding by means of a tube. The facts of the case were against Terry Schiavo's family and even the stand of the Catholic Church. Terry's family claimed that Terry was not in a permanent coma. Later, an autopsy settled that debate in Michaels favor. It was evident that terry's brain was extensively damaged. It was atrophied and weighed less than half of what a normal brain should. It was clear that there was no treatment that could cure her condition. There still isn't any such cure.

Terry's middle ground point of being between half alive and half dead was the trickiest aspect of the case. She manifested some traits of a person alive. She could be seen crying, laughing or smiling. She also displayed signs of someone who was nearly dying. She couldn't physically feed herself (Scan ). The liminals state was used by the opposing parties to the advantage of each. The power of labeling and classifying people was brought to light in this case. The courts finally agreed with Michael and allowed for the removal of the tubes. The Death with Dignity National Center Executive, Peg Sandeen says that Congress kept pressing to pass a law to ban aided dying. The group wound up its operations in-Washington DC and moved to the states attempt to legalize aided dying (Sanburn, 2015). It was observed that most Americans opposed the interference of politicians in conversations that involved families and doctors. In a poll taken by TIME magazine in 2005, 70% of those interviewed stated that they did not agree with the interference by the president. 54% pointed out that they would not vote for their representative in Congress if they supported the president's agenda. Congress picked the cue. Organizations supporting aid in dying stopped worrying about the practice being outlawed. There was increased national interest in advanced written directives instructing families on what they should do in situations that portended end of life- Barbara Coombs Lee, Compassion and Choices President, agency that supports… READ MORE

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