Students views differ about fate of brain damaged woman

By ELIZABETH LEFFALL and MAURICE O. NDOLE

Terri Schiavo, sustained by a feeding tube for 15 years, clings to life more than 11 days after the tube was removed.

At press time, Schiavo, who is expected to die at any moment, still lay in a Florida hospice in what doctors described as a “persistent vegetative state.”

Students sympathized with Schiavo and her family.

Jessica Fern, visiting the campus from Reedley College, said that although it affects Schiavo immediately, the family would have to deal with their decisions for a lifetime.

“I think this case is really sad. But at the same time, I think it’s good for the country to deal with,” Fern said. “I wouldn’t want to be a vegetable, and no one wants to see a loved one like that.”

The nation has watched for seven years as Michael Schiavo, her husband, and the Schindlers, Schiavo’s parents, have been divided by the decision to remove her from life support. As a result of that division, the family sought legal measures, asking the federal government to settle their “domestic dispute.”

Some students say this case has sparked a renewed interest in the topic of euthanasia and the limits of government involvement. Others say they remain unaffected.

Fei Gu, a sophomore engineering major said he hasn’t been affected by the Schiavo case.

“That girl can die if she’s really that far gone. I don’t see the big deal,” Gu said.

Recently, President Bush signed legislation allowing Schiavo’s parents to file an emergency injunction to a federal judge asking him to prolong Schiavo’s life by ordering her feeding tubes be reinserted. The judge ruled against the appeal, leaving them without any other legal options.

The court’s decision to remove Schiavo’s feeding tube also sparked controversies around the nation causing the judge to receive death threats.

Liberal studies major Christine Karr said she feels the court made its decision without all the facts.

“The whole idea of putting someone to death by starvation is definitely inhumane,” Karr said.

“The feeding tube was originally removed because someone said [Schiavo] was a vegetable. She really isn’t. If she is able to babble and make movements, she is not entirely brain dead,” Karr said.

Paul Williams, a junior majoring in psychology, disagrees. He said the federal judicial system should have never been involved in the first place.

“It’s not humane to leave a person in a vegetative state or to starve them to death, but a decision like this is very personal,” Williams said. “The family should have been responsible enough to decide for themselves.”

Danny Mascola, a senior majoring in history, thinks the only time government has the responsibility to get involved in healthcare issues is when they affect the entire country, not on behalf of one person.

“If we were implementing a universal healthcare system, yeah, government should be involved. But when the case specifically applies to one person like Schiavo, I think the government should have stayed out,” Mascola said.

Nicole Monroe, a sophomore studying criminology, said Schiavo’s husband, Michael needs to respect the parent’s wishes to keep Schiavo’s tubes in.

“They’re the ones who gave birth to her. He needs to respect that. I guess he’s given up hope. On the other hand, the parents are fighting for every last moment with her,” Monroe said.

Mascola said the bickering would never have begun if Schiavo had talked with her husband beforehand.

“Even a will would have helped,” Mascola said “I understand where the parents are coming from, but if Schiavo had done that, the family would have had to stay out of it and everything would have been settled.”

Monroe said Schiavo’s family has the right to choose whether she dies or not and how she will die.

“It’s not the government’s choice; it’s the family’s,” she said.