Preview

Terri Schiavo Case Study

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1290 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Terri Schiavo Case Study
Who has the right to kill another? In the case of Terri Schiavo this was the debate. Who was it to say that she was in a vegetative state and could never go back to the way she was again? Wasn’t there still a chance that she could make a recovery? Her feeding tube kept her alive, and she could’ve lived much longer with it. But what if it wasn’t the way she wanted it or she wasn’t happy? Her husband began giving up, but her parents wanted to keep fighting. Who is it to say if she will stay or go? Terri Schiavo never used to be the way she was in 2005 when she died. She was once a happy, healthy young woman, but when an unexpected collapse happened, everything changed. Terri’s husband, Michael Schiavo, heard a ‘thud’ in the middle of the night saw Terri on the floor, and called 911. Terri went into a couple month long coma. When she came out she was not at all the same. She had a feeding tube put in place and some say she was in a vegetative state, but was she really? She couldn’t do anything she was able to do before, but Michael and her parents wanted to do whatever they could to rescue her. But that didn’t last for long. Something changed inside of Michael and he wanted to take her off of life support when the feeding tube was the …show more content…
Did someone try to kill her? Or was her winding up in the hospital unpreventable? Was her husband moving on too fast? Maybe he just wanted the money from all of this and wanted Terri gone so he could move on with his life. But after this Michael nor the Schindlers will ever be the same. They know what it’s like to see someone’s life on the edge and what it's like when you wish for only one thing in the world, and it doesn’t come true no matter how many things to do to make sure it happens. Was Terri killed? Or was she barely being kept alive? We hope now that there weren’t any mistakes made by the doctors about her diagnosis or her family about her
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Schiavo's Case Timeline
    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Schiavo's Case Timeline

    • October 17, 2001: 2nd District Court of Appeal rules that five physicians can examine Terri to determine if she has any hope of recovery, two of which are picked by Schindlers, two by Michael, and one by court…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Brittany Maynard's Physician Assisted Suicide
    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Brittany Maynard's Physician Assisted Suicide

    legal issues. The pros and cons of this ethical dilemma may be justified under John Stuart mill’s…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    M4 Ethics Midterm Assignment: Terri Schiavo's Case
    • 2096 Words
    • 9 Pages

    M4 Ethics Midterm Assignment: Terri Schiavo's Case

    Terri Schiavo was home one evening and collapsed, causing severe hypoxia. The cause of the collapse was determined to be a heart attack, which it was theorized by her physicians to have been caused by a potassium deficiency. Because of the lack of oxygen during her collapse, she was left with severe brain damage. Her brain damage eventually left her in what is known as a persistent vegetative state (PVS). A permanent vegetative state is caused by a damaged cerebral hemisphere. That damage results in a loss of decision making and thinking ability. While Terri Schiavo was able to breathe on her own, she was unable to make any intentional movements, or see, even though her eyes were open.…

    • 2096 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bush V. Schiavo Case Study
    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bush V. Schiavo Case Study

    Case Facts: Michael and Theresa Schiavo married on November 10, 1984. They were in a happy relationship and had no children. However on February 25, 1990, Theresa Schiavo had a cardiac arrest from potassium imbalance and hasn’t gained consciousness since. Her life was dependent on feeding tubes and constant care. Throughout the years, Michael maintained a good relationship with Theresa’s parents, Robert and Mary Schindler. However their relationship ended when they stopped talking in 1993. On May 1998, Michael requested the guardianship court to allow him to end the life-prolonging procedures that had kept Theresa alive. Mr. and Mrs. Schindler opposed the petition and went through…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Terri Schiavo Case Summary
    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Terri Schiavo Case Summary

    The story of Terri Schiavo brought to the surface so many ethical dilemma that as healthy people we take for granted. The issue if advance directive became a bone of contention between a husband and the parents of his wife. Terri Schiavo was taken to the hospital after she collapsed on February 25, 1990, and she lost consciousness. She was without a pulse and was not breathing, the paramedics attempted resuscitation. She was taken to Humana Hospital where she was eventually was resuscitated. It was later diagnosed that she had a cardiac arrest with massive brain damage due to lack of oxygen. The cardiac arrest, it was discovered had been triggered by extreme hypokalemia. This was linked to her eating disorder which caused the potassium level to be 2.0. The normal range is 3.5 to 5.0/mEq/L (Pagana & Pagana, 2002, p. 372). One of the major consequences of hypokalemia, can be heart rhythm abnormalities. As a result, Terri suffered severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and as time went on she showed no evidence of higher cortical function. Computed tomographic (CT) scans showed severe atrophy of her cerebral hemispheres, and her electroencephalograms (ECG) were flat, indicating no functional activity of her cerebral cortex (Quill, 2005, p. 1630). Terri had periods of wakefulness alternating with…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Terri Schiavo Terry Jeffery Summary
    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Terri Schiavo Terry Jeffery Summary

    The Terri Schiavo case was about respecting the choices each of us makes in how we want to live and die in a dignified way. Whether or not a people believes and agrees or disagrees with the outcome of the Terri Schiavo case. Terri’s husband met the legal requirements to let the care of his wife come to an end and her life with it (“From a legal perspective, should Terri Schiavo feeding tube have been removed? - Euthanasia - ProCon.org,” 2008).…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Summary: The Terri Schaivo Case
    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Summary: The Terri Schaivo Case

    Terri Schaivo entered a vegetative state in early 1990. Both her private doctors and those that were court appointed believed that there was no hope of rehabilitation. Terri’s husband, Michael Schiavo, wished to follow his wife’s request for no mechanical means of extending her life however, Terri’s parents disputed the removal of support. The Schaivo case was heard more than twenty times in Florida courts and in each instance the courts ruled in the husband’s favor. Eventually politicians inserted themselves into the case which became the catalyst for “Terri’s Law”, giving Governor Jeb Bush the authority to have Schaivo’s feeding tube re-inserted when a court ruled it removed. The U.S. Congress became involved shortly after “Terri’s Law” and passed legislation allowing federal courts to intervene. Terri Schaivo’s feeding tube was finally removed on March 18, 2005, and she passed away 13 days later. Upon autopsy, her brain was half the weight of a healthy human brain. The medical examiner was quoted as saying “The damage was irreversible. No amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons” (Goodnough,…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Terri Schiavo Case
    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Terri Schiavo Case

    The Terri Schiavo case is very disturbing to me. I understand a family choosing to remove life support when someone is determined to be brain-dead but removing a feeding tube seems like a whole different issue. Essentially, a person is being starved to death. I realize that Terri Schiavo was basically in a vegetative state, but it still seems like a harsh thing to do. I have mixed feelings on this topic in general. I can’t even begin to imagine how her parents felt, especially since they were opposed to the feeding tube being removed.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    The Terri Schiavo Case: Collapse Of Life
    • 2785 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The Terri Schiavo Case: Collapse Of Life

    Terri Schiavo collapsed in her home on February 25, 1990. Terri had cardiovascular failure and damage to the brain caused by the brains oxygen being cut off.…

    • 2785 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Terri Schiavo Case
    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Terri Schiavo Case

    On February 28, 1990, twenty six-year old Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage when her heart stopped for five minutes. Terri's condition was the subject of intense debate and media scrutiny over the subject of euthanasia and guardianship. Given the circumstances of Terri's vegetated condition, and no physical proof of her wishes, the last word on whether or not Terri would stay alive was given to her husband Michael Schiavo, by the state of Florida. Michael's argument was that he was carrying out her wishes to not be kept alive in that state. Terri's family challenged Michael's claims saying she is responsive and in no discomfort, that her condition does not meet the medical definition of "vegetative," and that she would not wish to die. Although she never wrote a living will expressing a wish to refuse nutrition or medical treatment if disabled, her condition and future life span should have been her family's decision rather then her husbands. Despite of Michael's intentions, the method of starvation as a means of relieving her of her pains and suffering can still be seen as down right unethical as it is immoral. Terri suffered a legal and public murder. Though Mr. Michael Schiavo's intention and objective were presented as selfless, the government had failed to look into other mitigating reasons for his choice.…

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Terri Schiavo Case
    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Terri Schiavo Case

    How can it be that medicine, ethics, law, and family could work so poorly together in meeting the needs of this woman who was left in a persistent vegetative state after having a cardiac arrest? Ms. Schiavo had been sustained by artificial hydration and nutrition through a feeding tube for 15 years, and her husband, Michael Schiavo, was locked in a very public legal struggle with her parents and siblings about whether such treatment should be continued or stopped. Distortion by interest groups, media hyperbole, and manipulative use of videotape characterized this case and demonstrate what can happen when a patient becomes more a precedent-setting symbol than a unique human being (Quill, 2005). At the time of Terri’s heart attack, she did not have a living will or power of attorney. The question is, should Terri’s husband (Michael Schiavo) have the right to remove her feeding tubes? Michael stated that Terri told him before her heart attack that she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means. On that basis, since 1998, he repeatedly asks a local circuit court to order the removal of a tube that had been surgically implanted in her stomach to provide hydration, nutrition, and medication. On the other hand, Terri’s parents and siblings (who believed that she still have some cognitive function and at least limited potential for improved quality of life) repeatedly blocked Michael’s requested by various legal…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice And Men Lennie's Suffering
    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Of Mice And Men Lennie's Suffering

    Some may say that mercy killing is murder, and should not be done. People might say that mercy killing is not fair the victim has no say in whether they live or die. One article against euthanasia states “ the decision allows euthanasia and assisted suicides. but not also psychological suffering without limiting it to clear parameters.(Warren R.M)” Mercy killing is the most humane thing to do for a patient who is in a vegetative state. It would be unfair to make them suffer. “ choosing a pain free death demonstrates an act of love and compassion.(Preiss,…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Euthanasia and the Robert Latimer Case
    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Euthanasia and the Robert Latimer Case

    In the Robert Latimer case, as in many other cases of euthanasia, it can never…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Summary Impact on Social Values
    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Summary Impact on Social Values

    Values are defined as a belief in something, and morals are greater defined as the motives based on ideas of right or wrong (Changing Minds, 2012). There was a great impact placed on family, friends, and medical staff as viewed in both the Dax and Terry Schiavo cases, there values are morals were highlights as all went through these trying times. Don Cowards’ case had an emotional impact on many, most greatly on his mother, the one left to decide what treatments he should receive while in the hospital as he was requesting to be left to die. His mother, the physicians, and nurses were not going to let him make the choice of refusing treatment, even after being deemed mentally competent to do so. The actions these people took highlights their morals and values as a social whole, by continuing his treatment they valued his life and thought that this was the right thing to do at this time. In Terry Schiavos’ case societies morals and values were split, the government ruled for her death by starvation, because her spouse after eleven years decided Terry, a healthy, cognitively intact patient wouldn’t want to live in that state if given the decision. Medical staff, family, and much of the public believed that they should not be allowed to make that decision for her, as other public citizens thought it was a rightful thing to do. There is no “norm” in society, values and morals are based on the individual, what they believe, and how they were raised, and in both cases the people witnessing the stories have different beliefs on what should happen.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Mentally Ill Executions
    • 3139 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Mentally Ill Executions

    "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" is the philosophy many people use when it comes to the punishment of criminals. The death penalty has been debated for many years as it has come into and then fallen out of favor for the American public. Today the death penalty by lethal injection has been put on hold on a couple of states. The legality of the "cruel and unusual punishment" is being heatedly debated. The death penalty is especially volatile when it comes to the mentally ill. When a mentally ill person commits a crime worthy of the death penalty the state and those involved with the case often face a moral and ethical dilemma. If the person is not capable of understanding why they are being executed or what the death penalty means to them, there is a legal, ethical and moral question about the fairness of that execution. The states ' answer has been to medicate the mentally ill prisoner with anti-psychotic drugs so that they become capable of mentally understanding why they are going to be executed. "There is virtually no psychiatric diagnosis that always renders a defendant incompetent or unable to be held responsible for his or her acts (Reid, 1998)." The question then becomes how humane is it to bring them out of their mental illness, get them well enough and then kill them when they are able to finally understand what is happening to them? It is the courts responsibility that the defendant is capable of helping his own defense and that he fully understands his charges and his sentence.…

    • 3139 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics