TERRI SCHIAVO CASE

Terri Schiavo Case



Terri Schiavo Case

Introduction

Theresa Marie Schindler was born on December 3, 1963, 1 of the 3 children of Mary and Robert Schindler. As an adolescent, Terri Schindler struggled with her weight and likely had an eating disorder. In 1984, Terri Schindler married Michael Schiavo. In 1986, the couple moved to Florida, where Mrs. Schiavo's parents then lived.

On February 25, 1990, Terri Schiavo had a cardiac arrest, possibly due to hypokalemia resulting from her eating disorder. After the arrest, she had prolonged anoxia leading to brain damage; Schiavo was eventually diagnosed as being in a PVS. (Two medical malpractice cases led to more than $1 million for Mrs Schiavo's care as well as money for Michael Schiavo.) In June 1990, Michael Schiavo was appointed his wife's guardian. For three years after the initial cardiac arrest, Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers were united in their pursuit of cure for Terri Schiavo. Her treatment comprised of new therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation, and more.Appeal for Feeding Tube's Removal

In May 1998, Terri's husband, Michael, appealed to the court for the removal of the feeding tube forced the Slave, from Schiavo's body to which the woman's relatives objected (Kaplin & Lee, 2007).

Pears found that there was no possibility of improvement but that Michael's decision could be influenced by the possibility of inheriting the remnants of the properties of Terri Schiavo. Because of the absence of a law on living wills and doubts about the credibility of Michael, Pearse recommended refusing his application for the removal of the tube for feeding. The problem of conflict of interest raised by the guard ad litem Pearse also extended to the Schindlers, reported as having prevailed in various disputes about the protection, as presumed by law heirs would inherit what remains the property of Mrs. Schiavo after his death. This ruling was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Florida (or "second DCA") and became known to the court as "The Slave" in subsequent judgments (Sommers & Flanagan, 2007).

The tube was reinserted on April 26. On appeal of Michael, the second DCA overturned the sentence of Quesada. At the same time, Michael filed a motion to strengthen the ruling of the court of monitoring (i.e. that the feeding tube was removed). The second DCA rejected the motion. (These three judgments, all published in a single order from the Second District Court of Appeal of Florida, became known to the court as "Slave II" in subsequent judgments (Kaplin & Lee, 2007).

The challenge to the PVS diagnosis - Schiavo III

After the failure of the challenge of monitoring and the decision of Michael Schiavo's wishes about the end of his life, Schindler adopted the position argued that Schiavo was not in a permanent vegetative state (PVS), and challenged the diagnosis in the classroom. Schiavo's parents claimed that her daughter did not show symptoms of a permanent vegetative state, and rather was in a "minimally conscious state." His parents argued that his actions at that time indicated a response to external stimuli, not instinctive behaviors or due ...