Terri Schiavo, possibly the best-known, least-conscious woman in American history died this morning shortly before 10 a.m. EST, ending a protracted battle between her husband and her parents that elicited action and opinion from every branch of the Florida state and federal governments. She died 13 days after her feeding and hydrating tube was removed under court order.
Far from being an isolated, individual case, Schiavo's story captured the nation's attention and governmental apparatus because it evoked the nexus between "right to life" and "quality of life" philosophies, and raised agonizing questions about who speaks for the incapacitated.
May she finally rest in peace.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Aaman
Poor woman - her legacy will be a much-contested understanding of life and death.
2 - Eric Olsen
I am very surprised how sad this news makes me
3 - Bennett
Eric, I on the other hand, feel relief and gratitude that this "blown way out of proportion" everyday situation has finally come to an end. I do send my condolences to both sides of the family involved in this much too public struggle.
Terri body has finally joined her mind, at peace one hopes, in the clearing at the end of the path. We will all be there someday. The final adventure of our lives.
4 - Temple Stark
There are still many who will think of Michael Schiavo as a murder - that's perhaps more sad than anything else, considering what he did.
5 - Eric Olsen
from what I've read, he did all he could until the early-'90s when he decided it was hopeless
6 - NC
Disgraceful.
7 - bhw
It's very sad, indeed. Any lost life is sad. But it's also very sad to me that her parents, because of their contentious relationship with Terri's husband, were not able to be with her when she died.
8 - Eric Olsen
I can't help wondering what she felt, at whatever level, when her body became aware, again, at whatever level, that it was being left to fend for itself
9 - bhw
Yeah, no matter how I slice it, I am still uncomfortable with starvation/dehydration as a method of letting someone die when they haven't specifically refused food themselves. Even if they don't know what was happening to them, it still makes me uncomfortable.
10 - Eric Olsen
and for it to take place over a period of 13 days
11 - Dawn
Her husband has treated her like a corpse for some time, and I still haven't seen any conclusive reason why he couldn't have been a little more kind and considerate to her family, they did bring into this world and show her unconditional love.
This really makes me question whether spouses should have the final say in matters of life and death.
Very sad. RIP
12 - LegendaryMonkey
Me, I’m relieved. I find it sad, and despite all of the back and forth, I imagine it is devastating for both sides of the family (her husband and her parents/siblings). It would be a difficult thing to observe if it were one of my loved ones, but I know what I would want, if it were me… and I know what I would want, if it were my husband. Or my mother. Or anyone. I wouldn’t want them to ‘live’ like that, but I can’t make that decision for someone else. That’s why I think the biggest shame is that this situation became such a media circus.
13 - Scoota Rey
The thing is... How can Congress worry about someone's personal lives when they have a whole country to run?
Bullshit.
14 - Richard Porter
Scoota
Thanks for the heart-felt comment! No really, I feel warm all over.
15 - Temple Stark
Dawn , the parents have said quite a lot about him. They lived together to care for Terri. He became nurse ot care for Terri. At some point he realized it was hopeless to try and keep her alive.
Besides, she has been a corpse, essentially for the last decade or more.
My heart goes out to both "sides.'
I do also wonder why Terri's parents sold the list of names and info of those that had contributed money for Terri through their Web site. Who's in it for the money? What's going on there?
16 - Scoota Rey
Only sayin' the truth.
17 - bhw
Did the Schindlers sell the list of names, or did they give permission for a pro-life marketing organization to do it? They may not be making any money on the names, even though I think it's a hell of a violation for them to sell the list.
18 - Scott
I feel relief that she's finally able to be at peace and this ordeal is behind us and her. I hate like hell that she had to die in the manner she did. I think if it was a question of simply shutting off a ventilator and a rather quick death, this may not have been as big an issue as it was/is.
19 - NC
That's exactly the tack the euthanasia camp will take the next time this happens. "If we're going to let her die, why starve her to death? Why not just give her a lethal injection?" And thus will another boundary be crossed. It's a game of inches.
20 - Scoota Rey
It wasn't like she "felt" starving to death.
21 - Temple Stark
For once, I'm not sure on that bhw. i didn't look that one up before posting but heard it around the newsroom.
22 - DrPat
The only up-side I can see in Terri's death is that some of the emotionalism wll subside, and the very real issues at the core of this case can be examined dispassionately.
23 - Richard Porter
Besides a woman left to starve to death by a husband who has:
committed adultery
had children outside of his marriage
disrespected her parents by ignoring their wishes
used money awarded to him during a malpractice suit to pursue taking her feeding tube out instead of using the money for its sole intent, namely her long-term medical care
Besides all of this, what are the VERY REAL ISSUES at the core of this case?
24 - a-[e]
"This really makes me question whether spouses should have the final say in matters of life and death."
The Schindlers have testified that they would fight letting her die even if they knew for a fact that is what she wanted. They were close to her husband and even encouraged him to date/move-on because he was still young. And, as someone else commented, Michael Schiavo provided great care for his wife until he & doctors realized there was nothing left to do. [From what I've read, it seems the real fallout occurred when Michael Schiavo didn't share the $300,000 he was awarded as part of his wife's malpractice case. That is when the Schindlers got angry. Hardly a case of undying parental concern in my opinion.]
I don't see why her parents get the benefit of the doubt on this debate when they maintain they would thwart her will to satisfy their own beliefs. Why should parents have the final say? What evidence is there that parents are more likely to act in a person's interests? I certainly question whether these parents are, were or could have do so.
25 - Temple Stark
NC et all, why do people persist in the idea that she was alive. That was not life.
Is it obstinance over science?
Michael Schiavo "disrespected her parents wishes" by respecting his wife's wishes. It's kind of complicated, that way, but what would you do?
That 's the important issue. The living will is the important ssue, though by your "logic" Richard, those legal documents should not be allowed to exist.