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The Case of Theresa Marie Schiavo

Lawrence O. Gostin, JD

JAMA. 2005;293:2403-2407.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Federal and state courts have reached a broad consensus on matters of death and dying since the seminal cases of Karen Ann Quinlan in 1976¹ and Nancy Cruzan in 1990.² So too has there been substantial consensus in the bioethics literature.³ Courts and scholars have affirmed a person’s right to refuse life-sustaining treatment and concluded that this right remains intact even if the person is no longer able to speak for herself.⁴ Near relatives and the courts should adopt the same course of action the person would have chosen if competent.⁵

If there is a broad judicial and scholarly consensus, then why were political leaders and the public so troubled by the heart-wrenching circumstances of Theresa Marie (Terri) Schiavo? A skeptical observer might conclude that the controversy was politically generated, fed by vivid media images of a young, vulnerable woman who appeared sentient. After all, the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Terri Schiavo: Facts and Judicial History

Author Affiliation: Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC.

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