Yet Another Terri Schiavo Post

The Terri Schiavo case seems to be all we hear about these days so I thought I would make my own comments about it.

Terri has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years now. She's not making any progress and she will never recover. I understand her parents don't want to give up hope, but come on people it's been 15 years! Terri's parents claim that she has spoken to them. I'm sorry, but her brain is as useless as a tit on a shovel and holds no cognitive thought whatsoever. They would have as much success convincing me that their spice rack was telling them new recipes for meatloaf.

More than feeling bad for Terri I feel bad for her family and husband who have endured countless years of litigation and watched their "family" relationship crumble. They are the ones that will continue to suffer long after this ordeal is over.

What I find really frustrating is that what I feel is more of a personal family issue has been blown way out of proportion by the media. Even The President decided to stick his nose in the situation and signed a bill, passed by Congress, to have the case reviewed by a Federal Judge.

A couple of facts to consider:

* Michael Schiavo was appointed Terri's guardian in 1990.
* Bob and Mary Schindler have tried to remove Michael as Terri's guardian and also filed for divorce on their daughter's behalf, but both requests have been denied.
* This is the third time Terri's feeding tube has been removed. Amid legal battles raging since 2000 the tube has been reinserted twice.
* This case has been rejected appeals 9 times by different court systems (3 of the denials came from the U.S. Supreme Court).

The short version is Michael Schiavo (Terri's legal guardian) requested to have her feeding tube removed and the courts ultimately agree with his decision.

I think we should respect the court's decision and move on. The important thing to remember when dealing with a persistent vegetative state is that the subject has no consciousness whatsoever. This means there are no cognitive thoughts or feelings of pain, only reflexive actions which may sometimes be misinterpreted as "communication". We aren't keeping Terri alive by reinserting her feeding tube, we are only keeping an empty shell alive...Terri has been dead for 15 years.

Perhaps Terri's family and husband will finally get some type of closure in this and be able to remember they still have a life outside of this 15-year limbo.