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.
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