Terri Schiavo Case

This was a difficult case for me as I sympathize with both sides. I feel that the husband was most ethically correct but there should have been a way to provide for Terri’s wishes not to be kept alive by artificial means other than making her die of starvation and dehydration. Unfortunately, that was the only course available to her husband.
I don’t know if she ever specifically said they should “pull the plug” were she ever in that situation but most people have made comments when stories are on the news and a discussion ensues. Parents may not be the best source of that information; for as parents we cannot imagine making a decision that will result in the death of our child even if we know it is what they would want.
On February 25, 1990 Terri Schiavo suffered a cardiac arrest for an unknown reason. Her brain was without oxygen for an unknown length of time. She never recovered any measurable level of function. Many people claim that she appeared to recognize them and responded appropriately however I was unable to find any medical testimony that documented that. From February of 1990

to May of 1998, many tests were performed and Terri’s husband Michael even took her to California for an experimental surgery to implant a stimulator in her brain. Nothing changed. In May of 1998, Michael petitioned the court to allow him to have her feeding tube removed. He felt that Terri would not want to live in her current state. Her parents fought this until her death on March 31, 2005. There were multiple lawsuits filed, hundreds of motions and the parents even enlisted the aid of the governor. Emergency laws were passed but were later found to be unconstitutional. The Pope even offered opinions. The parents alleged that Michael had abused Terri and that was what caused her cardiac arrest but no evidence was found by the police or by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
I am a believer in the right to die. I am also a believer in assisted suicide. In this case, it is impossible to say what Terri would have wanted. She never made a living will or filled out an advanced directive. But I believe that her husband was the right person to make these choices for her. When we marry, we usually transfer the rights and beliefs of our parents to our spouse. It is why they are considered our next of kin. Michael waited for 8 years and there was no change in Terri’s condition. Does anyone have to right to say how long you have to wait before you are allowed to restart your own life? Are you supposed to sit at the bedside of someone who doesn’t even know you are there forever? Many thought he should just divorce her and let her parents have guardianship but to me, that would have been a poor choice. I don’t know how devoutly Catholic they were, but Terri and Michael were married in the Catholic Church and perhaps he held to the Catholic belief against divorce. They had taken Terri home once and had to return her to a nursing home because her care was too involved, difficult and time-consuming. It would also have placed some of the financial burden on her parents who were retired. There was a trust set up from a lawsuit but we all know that medical expenses mount quickly and that money wouldn’t last forever.
Michael was not trying to murder his wife. He was trying to bring her peace. He had waited and hoped and tried different treatments but nothing changed her condition. Even if she had any cognitive ability, would she want to stay that way for endless years? I don’t think so. I obviously didn’t know her but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to live that way. I can’t understand how her parents could think she would want that kind of life. I think they went beyond selfish and it simply became a battle against Michael. There was money from a malpractice suit and Michael said they wanted part of it, I have to wonder if that was part of their motivation. There was $750,000 put in trust for her medical care, did they want access to that money?
I find it interesting that so many of the people interviewed and quoted while the case was ongoing were friends and family of Terri’s parents or people who were chosen by them to visit her. They all said that she was aware of their presence, followed them with her eyes and even laughed and smiled appropriately. The medical community has explained that these are reflexes, not purposeful. The Merck Manual says this:
“Patients show no evidence of awareness of self or environment and cannot interact with other people. Purposeful responses to external stimuli are absent, as are language comprehension and expression. Signs of an intact reticular formation (eg, eye opening) and an intact brain stem (eg, reactive pupils, oculocephalic reflex) are present. Sleep-wake cycles occur but do not necessarily reflect a specific circadian rhythm and are not associated with the environment. More complex brain stem reflexes, including yawning, chewing, swallowing, and, uncommonly, guttural vocalizations, are also present. Arousal and startle reflexes may be preserved; eg, loud sounds or blinking with bright lights may elicit eye opening. Eyes may water and produce tears. Patients may appear to smile or frown. Spontaneous roving eye movements—usually slow, of constant velocity, and without saccadic jerks—may be misinterpreted as volitional tracking and can be misinterpreted by family members as evidence of awareness. Patients cannot react to visual threat and cannot follow commands. The limbs may move, but the only purposeful motor responses that occur are primitive (eg, grasping an object that contacts the hand). Pain usually elicits a motor response (typically decorticate or decerebrate posturing) but no purposeful avoidance. Patients have fecal and urinary incontinence. Cranial nerve and spinal reflexes are typically preserved.” (Maiese, 2014)

I believe that Michael was the right and only person to make this choice and I think he made the right choice.

I think it took way too long for it to happen and this made it harder for all concerned. For 15 years her parents convinced themselves that she was aware and it gave them hope that she might recover even though there was never any measurable improvement. The autopsy report says that her brain showed all the signs of severe hypoxic brain injury. To me this means that she never had a chance to recover and my hope is that she truly was unaware. I applaud Michael Schiavo for fighting to stop the senseless continuation of a life that could not ever again be productive or meaningful. I am about quality of life, not quantity. I don’t want my family to sit and grieve at my bedside if I am unaware and have no hope of recovery to a productive

life.