Terri Schiavo
I'll confess, I haven't been following the Terri Schiavo case very closely. But then this morning, I'm listening to the news and finding out that Congress wants to get involved. Regardless of the merits of the arguments on either side, Congressional involvement seems like a very bad idea. That's a big, blunt instrument to use, which is certain to result in collateral damage.
So, I've spent some time researching this morning. I found a very good summary of the case at Abstract Appeal. I can't say I really understand why this case has become such a cause celebre; it's a very tragic situation, true, and it's unfortunate that Terri's parents and husband no longer agree on how to handle her situation, but it's not like there has been a rush to judgment here. It's been 15 years since Terri suffered her heart attack. Eight years passed before her husband petitioned to remove the feeding tube. There have been two trials on the matter since then. Both resulted in the judgment that there was no hope of recovery for Terri, that much of her cerebral cortex is simply gone.
Michael Schiavo, her husband, has been demonized in all this. He's been accused (on little credible evidence) of having beaten Terri and caused her heart attack. He's been accused of wanting to kill Terri so he could inherit the remainder of the money won in the medical malpractice suit, which claimed that doctors were negligent for not diagnosing bulimia, and that Terri's bulimia led to her heart attack. He's been accused of wanting Terri to die so he can get on with his life; he's supposedly started a new family with another woman. A lot of this strikes me as pretty unfair.
The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation claims that only $50,000 remains of the million dollar settlement; sure seems like a lot of work and pain to go through to inherit only $50K. The beating accusations stem from a bone scan which purportedly show evidence of old trauma, but there was no contemporary evidence from paramedics or doctors who examined and treated Terri when she had her heart attack that indicted a beating had occurred. And it's not surprising that after 15 difficult years, a person might want to get on with his life.
I don't know what Terri Schiavo would have wanted. I don't think anyone does. I know that personally, I wouldn't want to be kept alive in her state. That's why I have an advance medical directive (aka "Living Will"). But I didn't when I was the age Terri Schiavo was at her heart attack. I doubt that many twentysomethings without kids have one.
Do you? It's not a guarantee that you won't be turned into the next Karen Ann Quinlan or Terri Schiavo, but it's an important document to make your desires known.
So, I've spent some time researching this morning. I found a very good summary of the case at Abstract Appeal. I can't say I really understand why this case has become such a cause celebre; it's a very tragic situation, true, and it's unfortunate that Terri's parents and husband no longer agree on how to handle her situation, but it's not like there has been a rush to judgment here. It's been 15 years since Terri suffered her heart attack. Eight years passed before her husband petitioned to remove the feeding tube. There have been two trials on the matter since then. Both resulted in the judgment that there was no hope of recovery for Terri, that much of her cerebral cortex is simply gone.
Michael Schiavo, her husband, has been demonized in all this. He's been accused (on little credible evidence) of having beaten Terri and caused her heart attack. He's been accused of wanting to kill Terri so he could inherit the remainder of the money won in the medical malpractice suit, which claimed that doctors were negligent for not diagnosing bulimia, and that Terri's bulimia led to her heart attack. He's been accused of wanting Terri to die so he can get on with his life; he's supposedly started a new family with another woman. A lot of this strikes me as pretty unfair.
The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation claims that only $50,000 remains of the million dollar settlement; sure seems like a lot of work and pain to go through to inherit only $50K. The beating accusations stem from a bone scan which purportedly show evidence of old trauma, but there was no contemporary evidence from paramedics or doctors who examined and treated Terri when she had her heart attack that indicted a beating had occurred. And it's not surprising that after 15 difficult years, a person might want to get on with his life.
I don't know what Terri Schiavo would have wanted. I don't think anyone does. I know that personally, I wouldn't want to be kept alive in her state. That's why I have an advance medical directive (aka "Living Will"). But I didn't when I was the age Terri Schiavo was at her heart attack. I doubt that many twentysomethings without kids have one.
Do you? It's not a guarantee that you won't be turned into the next Karen Ann Quinlan or Terri Schiavo, but it's an important document to make your desires known.
posted by WritingMom at 9:14 AM
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