Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Terri Schiavo Update
The Abstract Appeal blog -- a blog devoted to covering Florida law and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals -- has a Terri Schiavo page with timeline (the SCOTUS ruling has yet to be added, but I'm sure it will be soon). As to whether Terri Schiavo has enough brain left to respond to treatment, here's what Florida's Second District Court of Appeal had to say at the time of the first appeal by the Schindlers in 2001:
On February 25, 1990, . . . Theresa, age 27, suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of a potassium imbalance. Michael called 911, and Theresa was rushed to the hospital. She never regained consciousness. Since 1990, Theresa has lived in nursing homes with constant care. She is fed and hydrated by tubes. The staff changes her diapers regularly. She has had numerous health problems, but none have been life threatening. Over the span of this last decade, Theresa's brain has deteriorated because of the lack of oxygen it suffered at the time of the heart attack. By mid 1996, the CAT scans of her brain showed a severely abnormal structure. At this point, much of her cerebral cortex is simply gone and has been replaced by cerebral spinal fluid. Medicine cannot cure this condition. Unless an act of God, a true miracle, were to recreate her brain, Theresa will always remain in an unconscious, reflexive state, totally dependent upon others to feed her and care for her most private needs.This is not Michael Schiavo saying this. This is the judgement of a prominent appeals court, backed up by more medical examinations and scans than most of us will ever see in each of our lifetimes. But the "please help Terri!" sites never mention this. And of course, the Schindlers are now accusing Michael Schiavo of deliberately trying to harm their daughter. If they really believed that, then why did they let him live with them for two years after Terri suffered the brain damage -- and for over a year after Terri was sent to California for attempted treatment? Strange, that they'd tolerate for so long the presence of the guy they allegedly thought had caused their daughter's plight. You'd think that they'd have sued him for assault and battery, if not wrongful death. (They can't file for wrongful death, because they can't ever admit that Terri's brain-dead, and doing that would cause the various anti-choice religious groups funding their legal actions to pull their financial support.)
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