The Terri Schiavo Case: Collapse Of Life
The Terri Schiavo Case
Marie A. Spicer
HIS303
Professor Connor
November 22, 2013
Thesis
The closure of life is inexorable. Pretty much for many of us it is pretty much in black and white what our last requests are. Living wills furnish those issues being referred to with information needed to fulfill said requests. What if no living wills exists? Who might be in control in settling on last choices for somebody who can 't physically settle on those choices? The story of Terri Schiavo raises a lot of questions that have to do with moral, ethical, and legal issues.
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. …show more content…
The first is persistent vegetative state (PSV) occurs after a coma; a patient loses cognition and can only perform certain, involuntary actions on his or her own. While some describe those in a persistent vegetative state as "brain dead," in fact, the lower brain stem in PVS patients retains some reflexes and the ability to breath. The second term is “whole brain death” refers to no brain activity at all and the last term is “higher brain death”. “Higher brain death is the cessation of functioning in the parts of the brain responsible for consciousness and higher reasoning”( Wijdicks, 2001). Terri Schiavo suffered higher brain death (Wijdicks, …show more content…
All the turmoil because of the government’s stance to try and protect as it is supposed to do without stepping on peoples religious rights( according to the Amendment clause) leads us to believe there will be more cases like this in the future. “This is not what the founders intended, nor is it the way we usually think about the two clauses of the First Amendment” ((Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008). “We usually think of them operating in tandem to protect our religious rights. But history has suggested that in many cases, it is the tension, not the harmony, between them that best protects religious freedom” ((Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008).
References
Benedict, M.L. (2006). The blessings of liberty: A concise history of the Constitution of the United States (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Bill of Rights, http://www.thefederalistpapers.org
Dresser, R., & Kirby, D. N. (2005). Schiavo Legacy: The Need for an Objective Standard.
Hasting Center Report, 35(4), 225-29.
Eisenberg, D., Bacon Jr., P., Dickerson, J. F., Tumulty, K., Bower, A., Gill, D., & ... Ferkenhoff, E. (2005). LESSONS OF THE SCHIAVO BATTLE. Time, 165(14),
Marie A. Spicer
HIS303
Professor Connor
November 22, 2013
Thesis
The closure of life is inexorable. Pretty much for many of us it is pretty much in black and white what our last requests are. Living wills furnish those issues being referred to with information needed to fulfill said requests. What if no living wills exists? Who might be in control in settling on last choices for somebody who can 't physically settle on those choices? The story of Terri Schiavo raises a lot of questions that have to do with moral, ethical, and legal issues.
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. …show more content…
The first is persistent vegetative state (PSV) occurs after a coma; a patient loses cognition and can only perform certain, involuntary actions on his or her own. While some describe those in a persistent vegetative state as "brain dead," in fact, the lower brain stem in PVS patients retains some reflexes and the ability to breath. The second term is “whole brain death” refers to no brain activity at all and the last term is “higher brain death”. “Higher brain death is the cessation of functioning in the parts of the brain responsible for consciousness and higher reasoning”( Wijdicks, 2001). Terri Schiavo suffered higher brain death (Wijdicks, …show more content…
All the turmoil because of the government’s stance to try and protect as it is supposed to do without stepping on peoples religious rights( according to the Amendment clause) leads us to believe there will be more cases like this in the future. “This is not what the founders intended, nor is it the way we usually think about the two clauses of the First Amendment” ((Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008). “We usually think of them operating in tandem to protect our religious rights. But history has suggested that in many cases, it is the tension, not the harmony, between them that best protects religious freedom” ((Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008).
References
Benedict, M.L. (2006). The blessings of liberty: A concise history of the Constitution of the United States (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Bill of Rights, http://www.thefederalistpapers.org
Dresser, R., & Kirby, D. N. (2005). Schiavo Legacy: The Need for an Objective Standard.
Hasting Center Report, 35(4), 225-29.
Eisenberg, D., Bacon Jr., P., Dickerson, J. F., Tumulty, K., Bower, A., Gill, D., & ... Ferkenhoff, E. (2005). LESSONS OF THE SCHIAVO BATTLE. Time, 165(14),