The tragic Schiavo case was turned into a grotesque circus by uninformed zealots and dimwitted Republicans. It was mass hysteria whipped up on behalf of women unquestionably in a persistent vegetative state.
Do facts count for anything anymore?
It was 15 years since Terri suffered irreversible brain damage. The woman had no cerebral cortex left and no hope of recovery. Her husband made extraordinary efforts to rehabilitate her and in 13 years she never had a single bedsore. About 4 years after Terri's heart attack he came to realize her situation was hopeless and was encouraged to move on with his life by Terri's parents. He did the right thing in withdrawing the feeding tube. Anyone who thinks otherwise is uninformed about the case and just plain wrong.
The legal system erred on the side of life. Terri's case was thoroughly examined and reviewed at multiple levels according to Florida law. The judgment was that her case was hopeless and that she probably would not have wanted to be maintained in such a condition. Why is it so hard to believe that she said to her husband that she would not want to be kept alive by extraordinary means if there was no hope of recovery? (A feeding tube in this type of situation is considered to be extraordinary life support by law in most states.) I never had a single conversation with someone who said otherwise. Do you know anyone who would prefer to be kept alive like this? Would you?
Was Judge Greer's decision a perfect decision? Obviously the legal system is not infallible, but it has to work with the available facts. The system did the best it could with the situation and it was the right decision.
Terri's parents lacked the courage to do the right thing for their daughter. Michael Schiavo did not.