Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Thinking about Terri Shaivo

I've been thinking about Terri Shaivo a lot today. In case you are not familiar with the issue, Terri suffered from oxygen depravation due to cardiac arrest. She was at home at the time, and she was 26 years old. She has been in medical care for approximately 15 years now. There is a lot of debate concerning her medical condition, the extend of damage to her brain, and wether she is conscious or in a persistive vegatative state (PVS).

Her husband, Michael, argues that Terri had told him to withdraw treatment under such conditions. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, argue that she is conscious, has expressed a desire to live, and only needs treatment and rehabilitation, which has been withheld by her husband.

I intend to research some of the facts behind the issue, then attempt to answer the questions "Should Terri Shaivo's feeding tubes be withdrawn?" and "When is it OK to let someone die?"

Any comments?

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