On this matter, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi stated, "Congressional leaders have no business substituting their judgment for that of multiple state courts that have extensively considered the issues in this intensely personal family matter." (Euthansia and Terri Schiavo b). Federal Judge James Whittemore heard the Schiavo case and ruled on March 22, 2005 that the Schindlers had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial and refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Two days later, the United States Supreme Court would deny the Schindler's request to hear the case. Terri died on March 31, 2005.
This paper has presented only the most noted court rulings and proceedings regarding the Schiavo case. "Nineteen different judges at various times considered the Schindler's request on appeal in six state courts. All have sided with Michael Schiavo" (Euthanasia and Terri Schiavo b). In the absence of a living will or delegation of durable power of attorney, Florida had statues that specified who could make medical decisions for patients in a vegetative state such as Terri Schiavo.
Unfortunately, family members could not agree on what Terri would have...
In this instance, Florida state and federal courts upheld the Constitution's 14th Amendment to an individual's right to privacy as well as Florida's laws defining a vegetative state despite massive pressures to have politics and morals determine Terri's end-of-life decision.
Bibliography
Bush v. Schiavo. http://compassionandchoicesnj.org/papers/schiavo.php
Kollas, C.D. And Boyer-Kollas, B. (2006, October 1). Journal of palliative medicine. 9(5): 1145-1163. doi:10.1089/jpm.2006.9.1145.
Euthanasia and Terri Schiavo. http://www.religioustolerance.org/schiavo4.htm
Euthansia and Terri Schiavo b. http://www.religioustolerance.org/schiavo3.htm
Indepth: Terri Schiavo (2005, March 31). CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/schiavo/
Landmark euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide legal cases. http://euthanasia.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=131
Mulholland, a. (2005, March 22). CTV.ca. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1111459131945_20
The Terri Schiavo information page (2005, May 1). http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html
