What were your thoughts on the Terri Schiavo case?

Question

This case is the primarily reason why I want to aspire to become a lawyer. In my opinion, the husband did it for money otherwise he would have kept his wife on the feeding-tube and I believe that the parents were right and the husband was wrong. But I'm a feminist so that probably adds to the reason why becoming a lawyer is my top three career choices.

Answer 1

I think it's great you want to become a lawyer but you are very young.

I am a woman, older, educated, middle upper class and have the opposite view.

Her husband saw her waisting away many years. Sometimes when you love you have to let go. There was no way her condition would have reversed. He needed to move on. Would you have wanted to live like that? I surely wouldn't.

Further, I believe her mother was incredibly selfish and sought any attention she could. Mostly media. She should be analyzed for Munchausen disorder. She wanted and was constantly in the spotlight due to the misfortune of her daughter's illness. I seriously doubt Terry's mother would have wanted to exist the way Terry did.

Forget money, that was gone a long time ago.

Answer 2

Well, actually, it is a very good question. And, believe it or not, it IS our business. The reason that it is our business is because regardless of which way you feel, this was about life and death, and about decisions made by the judicial system. Therefore, we have every right to discuss this case in the public arena. This case transcends just the Schiavos and those involved in it. There are the repercussions that this case can have on hundreds or thousands of others in the years to come. This is not settled law. There were moral issues involved that the law did not address. So, to simply shrug this case off and say that it's no one else's business shows a total disregard for the sanctity of human life.

Answer 3

It was a failure in that the Rightards didn't get the support they wanted. It was a success in making a three ring circus out of a tragedy. The tragedy being that this gal got brain-damaged trying to make herself skinny like a model. Women deserve better than what this corporatocracy has handed us.

Answer 4

I'm a nurse and have seen many cases like this up close and personal.It is never an easy decision for anyone involved,including the medical personnel.
Personally,I wouldn't want to live like that,only a very small percentage ever improve.My family all know my wishes that if I am in this condition,pull the plug.
It is important that everyone have a living will.This will make YOUR wishes known to those that may be caring for you,as well as your family, if you ever find yourself in this situation.

Answer 5

I am not a feminist but do belive the husband did this
for the money...But I also belive he had even more
sinister reasons......That episode was a night mare for
every human being that is handicapped to know they could be done the same way!!! Study hard be a lawyer and help these handicapped people that can't help themselves!!! What happend to Terry was an atrocity!!!!!
By the way for all those that think what her hubby did was so great I have a perfect example for you that is personal....
My father was in a car accident and almost died....He was
on life support....
He told my brothers that if he would ever be on life support to just let them pull the plug because he didn't want to live like that...
Well my brothers talked it over and two of them decided that they would give my father his wish.....The other brother did not want them to take him off life support......Well through prayer and hope
my dad pulled through all though the doctors took him off life support....When he finally came too and talked to the doctors and they told him the two boys decided to take him off life support he was really mad and told them off....
He gave the decision of what to do with him to the brother that wanted to keep him on life support.....
So you see you can change your mind!
And anyway who in their right mind would want to starve to death and go with out even water for so long!
In my opinion that was pure torture!!!
Also it was murder pure and simple!

Answer 6

I can only speak for myself. I would never want to spend my final days the way Terri did. I would hope that if it were me in that situation that my husband would fight as hard to put an end to it. In a situation like that there is no dignity left. You have to have someone do everything for you. No, that is not for me. When the time comes that I can't even wipe my but. I want to be let go. Life is to be lived. Spending my days like Terri did is not living.
I believe that every person has a right to decide for their selves what they want. Do I know what Terri wanted? Is it my business to interfere with her wishes. No, and I don't think it matters now.

Answer 7

All the "moral answers" aside, legally, the husband was within his rights to make those decisions. When you marry, you become the next of kin to your spouse. Decisions like that are up to you, and no one else. That is just the way it works.

People forget that marriage to the government is not a religious matter, it is a legal union of two people. The husband in this matter felt he was acting in the manner that she would have wanted. As her husband, he had the right, over everyone else, to make that determination. If you want to change that, you have to get into the all the marriage laws in this country, and change them state by state.

Good luck with that. People want to cast stones about that one case, but would likely not want you meddling in their affairs as a married couple.

Answer 8

Great career aspirations girl, good for you.

I totally believe that the husband wanted her out of the way.
He had already moved on with another woman, and I'm almost positive he was to collect on a life insurance policy upon her death.
Terri's parents were willing to let him off the hook...he could of gone away, and left them to love and nurture their daughter.
The biggest issue I have with this case is that the entire "pull the plug decision rested on the shady husbands "say so". There was nothing in writing stating Terri's wishes.
My opinion....he did it for the money.
Yes some people are going to say...she would have wanted to go...quality over quantity...but that family was so commit ed to caring for her until she naturally came to pass.
I was very upset during those days of her starvation and dehydration...barbaric!

Answer 9

Murder for money? Or did he just give up on her? Either way this poor woman had no life and was dependent on others for her most basic needs. If this would have happened in the wild mother nature would have taken care of her. This may sound cold but that is the reality of the situation, she had no life.

I am not saying we play God with people and decide who lives and dies, but at what point is the quality of life measured vs the inequality of a coma for what? eight years?

The woman was no longer able to function, sometimes you have to know when to say goodbye.

When it comes to removing anyone off life support, we must find an alternative way to end their life with dignity and respect.


Peace

Answer 10

I initially agreed with your opinion- that the husband did it for the money. Then my husband and I went to our attorney to make our wills. It made me think. I would want my husband to move on and find someone that makes him as happy as he has made me. I am depending on him to find an amazingly strong partner to care for our children. I would want to be put at peace if I was in Terri's case. Let me rest and be with God. Let my children's lives try to move on and become their lives again. But you know what? My Mother would fight my husband tooth and nail and do the same exact thing her parents did and to be honest I would kill my future son-in-law if he did it to my daughter. I guess you have to put it in perspective. We didn't live it...we were just the media. Let's also remember that being the media we were only shown the side that the reporters wanted us to see. Everyone in that woman's family suffered, including her husband.