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Terri Schiavo (born Theresa Marie Schindler on December 3, 1963) is a mentally handicapped American woman whose husband's efforts to remove her feeding tube, and forbidding anyone from attempting to feed her by mouth, have prompted a fierce debate over euthanasia.
Michael Schiavo, Terri Schiavo's husband, contends that Terri is in a vegetative state and that he is carrying out her wishes to not be kept alive in that state.
Her family (parents and siblings) contest both of those claims. They say she is responsive and in no discomfort, that her condition does not meet the medical definition of a "vegetative," and that she would not wish to die.
The question of whether people with profound mental handicaps have a right to live has been hotly debated as a result of Terri's case. Those who support the view that Terri's life should be ended contend that "living in a vegetative state isn't truly living," and support the ability of the husband to control his wife's destiny. Those who support the view that Terri's feeding tube should not be removed contend that Terri has a "right to live."
In 1990, Terri collapsed in her home and suffered irreversible brain damage. The cause of her collapse is a controversial subject. At the time of her collapse, the couple was having marital problems. Michael Schiavo's contention is that she suffered a heart attack because of chemical imbalance brought on by bulimia and drinking too much iced tea. However, there is no physiological evidence that she ever suffered a heart attack. Members of Terri's family and at least one notable forensic pathologist think it more likely that she was the victim of an assault, presumably by the person with whom she was alone at the time of her collapse: her husband.
Pro-life groups usually refer to Michael Schiavo as Terri Schiavo's "estranged husband" because he has become involved with another woman since Terri became handicapped. Michael now lives with another woman, with whom he has two children.
Terri Schiavo is severely disabled. She is not in a coma or on life support, but she cannot speak or eat normally. She has difficulty swallowing, and is fed through a gastric feeding tube, though she can take Holy Communion. Michael Schiavo, as well as a number of medical professionals, including professionals hired by the Florida state court, contend that she is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), and have obtained a court ruling to that effect. But Terri's family says that her condition does not meet the medical definition of "vegetative," and they note that "persistent" does not necessarily mean "permanent." According to Stedman's Online Medical Dictionary, a vegetative state is one "in which an individual is incapable of voluntary or purposeful acts and only responds reflexively to painful stimuli." Her family claims that she smiles, laughs, cries, moves, and makes child-like attempts at speech. Sometimes she has been reported to say "Mom" or "Dad" or "yeah" when her parents ask her a question. When they kiss her, they claim she looks at them and "puckers up" her lips.
Terri's family has been battling her husband over her fate since 1993. Though she never wrote a living will expressing a wish to refuse nutrition or medical treatment if disabled, Michael claims to recall conversations they had had which make him sure she would want to die, and two of his relatives have supported that claim. However, her family disputes it, claiming that Terri is a devout Roman Catholic who would not wish to violate the Church's teachings on euthanasia by intentionally starving or dehydrating herself to death, and that she apparently never expressed such a desire to anyone in her own family or circle of friends.
Terri's family also says that Michael and his two relatives did not publicly recall those conversations with Terri immediately after Terri's collapse. It was only several years later, after courts awarded more than $1 million in legal settlements (mostly to cover the cost of her long term care and rehabilitation), that Michael first publicly claimed to remember conversations in which Terri had expressed a wish to die rather than live in the condition in which she now finds herself. If she dies, Michael will inherit whatever remains of that money, although he has spent most or all of it on legal fees already.
Michael Schiavo claims that Terri Schiavo would not have wanted to live "as a vegetable," and that he is fighting for her "right to die." As legal guardian of Terri, he has placed strict limits on the time her family is allowed to visit her, and he has refused to allow her to undergo any sort of therapy. He had Terri placed in hospice, though her condition is not terminal. Her parents want to bring her home. They, and eleven doctors and speech therapists who testified for them in court, maintain that, with therapy, their daughter can be helped. Michael could legally cede guardianship to Terri's parents, but refuses to do so, claiming he is doing what is best for her.
In 2004, Michael Schiavo won a court case to have her feeding tube removed. Six days later, the Florida Legislature, in emergency session, passed Terri's law, giving Florida Governor Jeb Bush the authority to intervene in the case. Governor Bush immediately ordered the feeding tube reinserted. On May 19, 2004, Florida Judge W. Douglas Baird overturned the law saying that it "summarily deprived Florida citizens of their right to privacy." Governor Bush appealed the ruling to the United States Supreme Court. On January 24, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, effectively allowing the lower court rulings to stand. The family (along with Gov. Bush) is attempting to appeal this decision.
External links
- Online home of the Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation
- Terri's Law
- Florida Supreme Court Decision overturning Terri's Law as unconstitutional
- Evidence of Physical Abuse Haunts Michael Schiavo
- A right to live ... not to be killed an op/ed supporting the Schindler family version of events
- Right to Die - an op/ed condemning "Terri's Law"
- St. Petersburg Times article about Terri's law
- Articles by Wesley J. Smith (attorney, author, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide):
- January 30, 2004: The Rule of Terri's Case Strikes Again
- January 19, 2004: Beyond Terri's Law: What We Can Learn From the Schiavo Case
- December 4, 2003: The Guardian Speaks Terri Schiavo's guardian ad litem files his report; there's bad news and good news
- October 27, 2003: The Consequences of Casual Conversations Michael Schiavo's argument that his wife wants to die stems from an off-hand remark she made while watching a movie. It isn't the first time this has happened.