Schiavo can breathe on her own but her doctors say she is in a "persistant vegitative state". That's not to say she's brain dead, indeed her brain's base functions are in working order. Though she can blink, she cannot think, move, speak, or respond to the outside world.
Other doctors hired by Schiavo's parents claim that she's actually not in a "persistant vegitative state", but rather in a form of coma, and that she could improve with therapy and treatment. Though she hasn't received any therapy for years, her parents, the Schindlers, maintain that when she was receiving treatment she was able to utter a few short words. Her parent's attorney has said that she has the mental capacity of a six-month old, and that her cerebral cortex has atrophied to the point of non-existence.
This week, her feeding tube was removed, and it wasn't the first time. Schiavo's case has been going back and forth in the courts for quite awhile now, pitting her parents against her husband, and as of this posting, she's "hour away" from death. How does this kind of story get to this point?
Florida law mandates that Michael, Terri's husband, is her legal gaurdian. But her parents are contesting this, citing a conflict of interest in that Michael has been living with a girlfriend with whom he has two children. This is where the story becomes not just about the life of an unconsious woman, but also about money.
Schiavo won almost a million dollars in a malpractice settlement after she collapsed. This money was used by her husband to pay for her legal fees and medical expenses, and is now almost gone, which is why he is now asking that the feeding tube be removed.
Schiavo's parents are asking to custody so that they can keep her alive and pay for the treatment themselves, but by granting them gaurdianship, Michael gives up his claim to any future money the case may generate. So is this really about the life of Terri, or is it about the money?
The answer is both, but not if you hear how the right-wing is playing this. Using this case as a way to highlight their "right to life" ideal, conservatives are saying that allowing this poor woman to die is tantamount to murder, cardboard "thou shalt not kill" tablets and all, all while waging a war that's killed thousands of innocent children half a world away.
What's particular about this is that 63% of Americans think that the tube should be removed. The conservative politicians, however, are forced to stick to their guns, for fear of appearing unprinicpled. If Schiavo dies, the Right will wind up looking a little too right and out of touch, which is good for the left, and also good for the country. If the tube is re-inserted and Schiavo is left to linger, then the right will appear to be putting idealism before pragmatism, which is sort of what they do anyway, only this time it will be dramatically illustrated in a way that the American public won't like.
Either way this case goes, and it appears to be going the way of mercy, America is lined up with the Left on something, and with the growing un-popularity of the Iraq war and the Bush administration's disdain for the average American showing, this will happen more and more.
Alive or dead, or somewhere in between, Schiavo is acting as a lightning rod, and could help to pull America together again.
