Counterpoint: Time to let Schiavo go

By CHRISTY ARNDT

While most people would try life support if they knew there was hope for improvement, spending the rest of your life depending on it while in a vegetative state isn’t too appealing.

Terri Schiavo’s family fought to keep her alive for more than 10 years after she suffered a heart attack caused by bulimia. Terri’s husband, Michael Schiavo, fought her family in court to free her from dependence on a machine.

While her family claimed Terri would choose to be kept alive, Michael Schiavo argued that she told him otherwise. Because the family’s resistance fell back on comments Terri made as a 12-year-old, they didn’t hold relevance in court. The parents’ motivation to prolong her existence in a vegetative state seemed selfish.

There was no will to fall back on, which would have saved a lot of time. The doctors failed to diagnose her bulimia, and in court, Michael Schiavo won a malpractice suit totaling $1 million, as well as guardianship of Schiavo.

By 1998, Michael was in court, determined to have her feeding tube removed. The public has been conflicted over the inhumane implications of this procedure, but the 14-day process is actually painless. While some saw Michael as a murderer, they didn’t realize how long Terri had suffered.

She was in a persistent vegetative state, not to be confused with a milder state of brain damage called minimal consciousness. According to the New York Times, at least six neurologists examined Terri Schiavo and in affidavits or testimony four of them agreed she was in persistent vegetative state. The report stated that she was highly unlikely to recover.

The medical evidence brought to the court’s attention showed her movements were reflexive, she had severe structural brain damage and her brain was almost completely replaced with spinal fluid. Keeping her barely alive would have been a lost cause, especially considering she never wanted to live like that.