Terri Schiavo
her controversial death that sparked a national debate
By DeAnna De La Cruz
Terri Schiavo has been at
the epicenter of the largest right-to-die court battle, and yet,
she was not awake for any of it. Terri Schiavo had been in what
her doctors called a permanent vegetative state for fifteen years
after she had a stroke caused by a potassium deficiency, which
was ultimately caused by Terri’s bulimia. The potassium
deficiency caused her blood pressure to drop sharply which caused
a stroke. Terri Schiavo died on March, 31, 2005, when her feeding
tube was removed after fifteen years of being in a vegetative
state. The order to remove her feeding tube was given by her husband,
Michael Schiavo, and this order was what sparked the largest right-to-die
court battle in recent times.
Despite Terri’s parents’ repeated attempts to repeal
the order, the courts found that the power over Terri’s
life was in the hands of Michael Schiavo. Many protestors and
pro-life activists came to support Terri and her family outside
of Terri’s hospice. It seemed everyone had an opinion on
whether or not Michael Schiavo was in the right, or whether Terri’s
care should be remanded to her parents. Even actress Patricia
Heaton, from Everybody Loves Raymond, decided to get involved
and support Terri’s parents.
Terri’s parents put up a fierce battle in court, but ultimately,
they were unsuccessful at repealing the order and Terri finally
passed away after not receiving food or water from her life support
system for 13 days.
Terri Schiavo’s case is a political hot spot as it is hard
to draw a line in the sand on what to do when situations arise
such as Terri Schiavo’s.
Even though it seems that no good could come out from a tragic
story, it has had a positive effect, in that many people have
begun to write their living wills. Living wills help prevent loved
ones from making difficult decisions because it declares an individual’s
wishes as to what they want to be done to if they are put into
a position such as Terri’s.
Even though Terri is gone and the large controversial waves over
her court cases have finally begun to secede, controversial political
ripples will be felt for years to come over the right-to-die controversy.
