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.
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