(p.51) 3 Terri Schiavo’s Tragic Odyssey, 1990–2005
(p.51) 3 Terri Schiavo’s Tragic Odyssey, 1990–2005
This chapter examines the controversy surrounding the In Re Schiavo case, which highlighted the ideas of privacy, due process, and the right to die. The debate was the right of Terri Schiavo, who was in a permanent vegetative state (PVS), to end her life. The legal battle was between Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, and her parents over whether her feeding and hydration tube should be removed in order to end her life. This chapter considers the issue of a person's liberty and personal autonomy that came to the fore in Terri Schiavo's case and how the right-to-die debate became politicized when Florida's legislators and governor, Jeb Bush, as well as Congress and President George W. Bush, got involved in the case. It also looks at the clinical death of Terri Schiavo in 2005 and the U.S. Supreme Court denials of certiorari with regards to her case.
Keywords: right to die, In Re Schiavo, Terri Schiavo, permanent vegetative state, Michael Schiavo, liberty, personal autonomy, Florida, clinical death, U.S. Supreme Court
NYU Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
