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Terri Schiavo Had the Right to Live There is no need in introducing the details of a tragic life-story of Theresa Maria Schindler-Schiavo, an American woman, who suffered heart arrest in 1990 and spent 15 years in hospital with the diagnosis of a persistent vegetative condition. Gigantic waves of public resonance, vivid discussions and social movements accompanied the last years of her life. A lot of funds and organizations were established to support Terry, and hundreds of people, including Pope John Paul II, President George Bush and Governor of Florida State, expressed their concern and made a lot of efforts to protect her right to live. Nevertheless, according to the wish of her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, in March of 2005 Terri was disconnected from life supporting devices, and died. It is difficult to name this dramatic incident in other words, but murder. Many people suppose that Terri Schiavo had to be allowed to continue living and fighting with her hard condition.
First of all, there were social reasons: Terri was far not alone in her struggle, she had determined and very optimistic parents, who did not lose their hopes for Terri's recovering. The Schindler's did everything possible to receive a chance to take care about her and to provide her with all necessary medical treatments. It is really hard to believe that, despite of such overwhelming support from all around the world, our community could not find any effective way to satisfy all the needs of Michael Schiavo: financial, legal, or other, and give Terry into the hands of truly loving and hopeful parents. Besides, removing Terri's feeding tube falls into deep controversy with the canons of Christianity and with our spiritual and moral norms.
Life is a sacred and the most precious gift we receive from God, and any disability can not devalue it. Our lives are in Gods hands and only He, not a husband or doctors, can decide when it is time for us to pass away. Terri's parents used to underline that Terri was a devoted Catholic, so she would never desire any artificial forced death. She would not give up and fight as long as God wills it to be so. Furthermore, Terri had right to survive and continue fighting because of her uncertain medical condition.
A lot of doctors diagnosed her as conscious and reacting on light, on moving objects, on people around. Her brain was functioning and was not dead. Videotapes proved her attempts to speak or, at least, to pronounce sounds. She required help only in feeding, because she had lost her ability to chew and swallow the food, but she was absolutely normal with the rest of her physical abilities. So, physically she was like any of us, who has right to live and to be fed, in case of own incapability.
Decision about removing feeding tube of Terri also falls into deep controversy with medical ethics. Giving hopeless prognosis to a woman, who was actually conscious and alive, who has been demonstrating very slow, but observable progress, doctors assisted this murder. It is obvious from the videotapes and from the opinions of some independent medical specialists that therapeutic opportunities and chances were not small, and Terri should have to be given a chance to try them all. Besides, modern medicine is developing very fast. The achievements of contemporary medical specialists and researchers are unbelievable. Humanity is about to find a way, how to fight different types of cancer and AIDS, so maybe in some years newly developed treatments and therapies could help Terri to improve herself, or even to restore her health and to be back to normal life.
Diagnosis and especially prognosis, which were given to Terri, are among the most uncertain and incomplete, so the probability of increase of her improvement was quite a bit considerable, and definitely not negligible. In addition, success could be caused not only by medical and therapeutic technologies. It is in our human nature that little signals and impulses to progress and to continue living always remain in every cell of body. The reactions of each individual are very special and unique, and there are real cases in medicine when enormous will to survive and to recover could make a miracle and help even terminally sick people to resurrect like Phoenix (for example, the story of a woman named Sarah Scantlin, who managed to restore her health after staying in coma for more than 20 years). There are people, who are directly responsible and guilty in Terri's death.
First of all, it is her husband, Michael Schiavo, who deprived Terri of her right to live. For many years he has been trying to do his best to get rid of sick wife without losing his own dignity and public reputation. Covering himself under the mask of a caring husband, for more than 10 years he did not provide any proper therapy for Terri, refusing even common for such cases magnetic scanning of the brains. And in the end, operating with doubtful desire of Terri not to continue living with artificial feeding devices, he ordered to kill her.
Besides, there is a huge responsibility for this tragedy on judges and lawyers. People of justice contributed a lot into killing of an innocent woman, who did not commit any crime, who had close people who loved her and truly cared about her, who had huge support of thousands of Americans. Terri had right to live, and as she had no living will or other advance directives, the courts did not have to decide her destiny in favor of death. Patricia Anderson, an attorney of the Schindler's, who tried to protect Terri's life, said: "You cannot execute a mentally disabled person just for being mentally disabled. " [ 1 ] Terri has never knew, how much of reaction her case caused, how much of attention it attracted and with how much of emotions it resonated. On the 31 st of March, 2005, she peacefully passed away, leaving a lot of questions in our minds and feeling of heavy burden in our souls.
Thousands of people are praying for her now, hoping that this tragedy will not vanish in history and make people be more kind and caring to each other, make everybody treasure every single day of life and understand the responsibility to each other. This would be the best bliss for Terri, who we could not save. Bibliography: Coniglaro, Matt. The Terry Schiavo Information Page. Abstract Appeal. 23 Mar. 2005. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Hent off, Nat. Terri Schiavo: Juridical Murder.
Atlas Shrugs. 29 Mar. 2005 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Hirsch, Ammiel. Caught Between Two Worlds: Terri Schiavo and the Right to Live. Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. 1 Apr. 2005 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Johansen, Robert. Starving for a Fair Diagnosis. Belief Net. Beliefnet Inc. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Reynolds, Dave.
Parents Say Daughter Has a Legal Right to Live. Inclusion Daily Online. 22 Aug. 2001 Inclusion Daily Express. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Right to Die. Wikipedia. The Free Online Encyclopedia. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Somers, Andrew.
Terri Schiavo's Right to Live or Die. About. About Inc. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Terry Schiavo. Wikipedia. The Free Online Encyclopedia. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Terri Schiavo Has Right to Live. AOL Journals. 4 Mar. 2005 American Online Inc. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Terri Schiavo, the Right to Live or Die.
Son Rise Community Church. 22 Aug. 2001. 20 Apr. 2005 < web > Works Cited: Reynolds, Dave. Parents Say Daughter Has a Legal Right to Live. Inclusion Daily Online. 22 Aug. 2001 Inclusion Daily Express. 20 Apr. 2005 < web >
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Research essay sample on Terri Schiavo Had The Right To Live
