[lit-ideas] Re: Right to Life, Right to Die

  • From: Carol Kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 08:21:02 -0800

Veronica wrote:
> And we know why he needs punishing.  He
> stuck with Terri waiting for her to wake up, recover, speak, whatever.
> Somewhere along the line, when he decided that wasn't going to happen, he> 
> found a woman with whom he has been living and with whom he has children. 
>  > The parent's view was that he ought to divorce Terry and give up a 
> million> dollars obtained in a malpractice settlement.  I have read that 
> this is> mostly gone. >

ck: Veronica, the situation is much, much more complex than you present 
here, though this is pretty much all the media has reported. Terri Schiavo 
did not receive the medical care or the rehabilitative care during the first 
few years after her injury. Indeed, the cause of her heart stopping is only 
a guess.There's no medical history of her supposed eating disorder; that was 
something the media seized upon over the last two years. When Terri was 
admitted to the hospital, she also had broken bones. Nobody has come up with 
a reason for this, but Jeb Bush found the hint of domestic violence (more 
than a hint, from those who knew Terri and Michael) very disturbing. The 
possibility that Michael, the guardian, was an abusive husband--who may have 
caused this injury--is terrifying.

Then there's the mysterious matter of Michael never having mentioned during 
the malpractice trial--no, not even once--that Terri would not have wanted 
to be kept alive like that. The idea popped into his head only after he had 
the money. Now the money's mostly gone, spent on Michael's court costs. 
Money earmarked for Terri's benefit went towards fighting to end Terri's 
life. Now, why doesn't that sit particularly well?
And that's not the half of it. The whole thing is damned sad and awful. 
Marlene's right, though, about the fears of the disability community. Those 
fears are not unfounded.
Carol







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