Question

M10 Discussion Question:

The Terri Schiavo case involved a 15 year battle between Terri Schiavo’s parents and Terri’s husband after Mrs. Schiavo suffered a medical crisis at age 26.  Go to www.terrisfight.org and read some of the articles regarding the right to die and Terri's case. Click on Terri's Story" and read "Terri's Case: Frequently Asked Questions." (You can watch videos by clicking on the window at the bottom of the Home page labeled “Open Your Eyes” if you wish.)

PART 1: POST BEFORE THE MODULE CLOSES (WORTH A POSSIBLE 35 POINTS):

• In the "Terri's Case: Frequently Asked Questions", was Terri's case an end of life issue or issues on persistent vegetative state?  What is the difference?
• Do you think an Advanced Directive would have changed the case? Why or why not?
• Taking into consideration what you originally thought about this case, did this information change your opinion? If so, how? If not, why not?

Answer 1

The Terri Schiavo case was a right-to-die legal case in the United States from 1990 to 2005, involving Theresa Marie Schiav; December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), a woman in an irreversible persistent vegetative state. Schiavo's husband and legal guardian argued that Schiavo would not have wanted prolonged artificial life support without the prospect of recovery, and elected to remove her feeding tube. Schiavo's parents disputed her husband's assertions and challenged Schiavo's medical diagnosis, arguing in favor of continuing artificial nutrition and hydration.The highly publicized and prolonged series of legal challenges presented by her parents, which ultimately involved state and federal politicians up to the level of President George W. Bush, caused a seven-year delay before Schiavo's feeding tube was ultimately removed.

End-of-life issues are often complex moral, ethical, or legal dilemmas, or a combination of these, regarding a patient's vital physiologic functions, medical-surgical prognosis, quality of life, and personal values and beliefs

a condition in which a medical patient is completely unresponsive to psychological and physical stimuli and displays no sign of higher brain function, being kept alive only by medical intervention

This is an Individual with persistent vegetative state .