Discussion Board: Right To Die

Overview

Terri Schiavo, a severely brain-damaged Florida woman, became a national symbol for how not to die in America in 1990. Her husband Michael Schiavo argued that his wife would never have wanted to live like that and attempted to get the feeding tube removed. Her parents disagreed and fought to keep her alive. Schiavo's case languished inside courtrooms for years. Eventually the courts agreed with her husband and removed feeding tubes. Terri died on March 31, 2005. In 2013, the governor of Florida signed what is called Terri's law to reinsert her feeding tube.

Instructions

Explore the webpage: Terri ShiavoLinks to an external site.

In your initial post, answer all three discussion prompts. Include supporting evidence from the chapter readings, articles, and resources when creating your initial post and when responding to your peers. Connect your answer with examples from your own observations and thoughts to demonstrate understanding of the material.

Discussion Prompts

• Given what you have learned in the case of Terri Schiavo, do you feel the decisions were ethical or political?
• Given that there's more than one kind of advance directive, which type should have been put in place to have helped avoid a case like this?
• How do you feel about your own medical treatment if you are in a situation where you can't communicate?

Citations:

Terri Shiavo Organization. (n.d.). Terri Shiavo. https://terrischiavo.org/