Florida case draws international attention as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday nears

CLEARWATER (FBW)–Drawing an international spotlight to Florida in 2003, the case of 40-year-old disabled woman Terri Schiavo continues to sustain momentum as right-to-die advocates and right-to-life proponents square off in what has become one more stake in the battle over the sanctity of human life.

Using the Terri Schiavo case to raise public awareness of living wills and other instruments used in decision making for medical and therapeutic care, Denver-based End of Life Choices— formerly known as the Hemlock Society—launched a $60,000 campaign throughout Florida in December. According to an Associated Press report, the organization purchased ads in major newspapers in Tallahassee, Orlando, Tampa and Miami.

"Today’s headlines are full of the pain of unspoken wishes," one ad said. "Save your loved ones the anguish of making a difficult decision when you are unable to speak for yourself."

As Southern Baptists throughout the country prepare to focus on the Sanctity of Human Life, Jan. 18, the discussion about living wills has prompted concerns related to assisted suicide and euthanasia. At issue is how the lines might easily become blurred between helping someone who is ready to die to be comfortable, and causing someone’s death outright.

Terri’s dilemna

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Terri Schiavo is a brain damaged woman who collapsed in 1990 due to unusual circumstances that caused her heart to stop beating. She is now in what some doctors term a "persistent vegetative state."

The question about Terri is whether it is in her best interest to continue to provide her sustenance through feeding and hydration tubes. Oct. 15 a Florida circuit court judge ordered the tubes removed after Terri’s husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, successfully convinced the court that Terri had expressed a wish to not live on life support. Terri left no advance directive. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, believe her condition could improve with therapy. [For more information see special section: Terri Schiavo: A life at Stake.]

In Florida, people in a "persistent vegetative state" are considered terminally ill and basic nutrition is considered "artificial life support."

In October, the case received international attention after the Florida Legislature empowered Gov. Jeb Bush to issue an executive order, dubbed "Terri’s Law," which provided for the reinsertion of Terri’s feeding tube. It was predicted Terri would die of starvation and dehydration within 7-10 days if her only source of nutrition and hydration was not reestablished.

Michael Schiavo, according to court records and an earlier interview with the Schindlers, has not sought aggressive therapy for Terri in nearly a decade. After winning a malpractice settlement in 1992, Michael placed a "do not resuscitate" order on Terri and more than eight years ago began a long-term relationship with another woman with whom he has now fathered two children.

Michael Schiavo’s attorney, George Felos, the author of Litigation as Spiritual Practice, successfully argued for the "right-to-die" before the Florida Supreme Court more than a decade ago. His philosophies conflict with those of the Schindlers, who are devout Catholics and proponents of the right to life. Felos is currently representing Michael Schiavo in a lawsuit contending Gov. Bush’s actions were unconstitutional.

Pat Anderson, attorney for the Schindlers, told Florida Baptist Witness in an interview that End-of-Life Choices is using Terri’s situation inappropriately.

Living wills

"They want to take advantage of Terri’s situation to prey on the fears of older Floridians," Anderson said.

"Terri’s case is not about living wills."

Anderson said because Terri did not have an advance directive or living will on file, it’s only been the court’s determination on the word of Terri’s husband that has caused the problem.

End-of-Life Choices, on its Web site, clearly advocates providing "options in dying for terminally ill, mentally competent persons," and "promotes the right of these individuals to hasten their death under careful safeguards."

In Terri’s case, she is not mentally competent and there has been considerable controversy over whether she is in a persistent vegetative state. Still, the organization insisted on a link between the two in a release by its chief executive officer David Brand.

"It is our hope that tragic situations such as the Terri Schiavo case can be avoided in the future by encouraging people to speak out about end-of-life choices," Brand said.

Anderson told Associated Press the organization is bent on promoting its agenda, even at the expense of causing confusion.

"Floridians need to know that this is the Hemlock Society with a new name, and they are trying to hide their pro-euthanasia agenda," Anderson told AP. "They are using Terri Schiavo to promote euthanasia."

As an attorney, Anderson said she is weary of living wills because there is too much involved to outline what should happen in each and every situation. She also said living wills can be treated as "death warrants" where medical personnel refuse to render care in a complicated situation that’s been overly simplified.

C. Ben Mitchell, associate professor of bioethics & contemporary culture at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill., and a leading Southern Baptist ethicist, told Florida Baptist Witness he believes living wills are necessary only when patients and their families might disagree about end of life care. Otherwise next of kin make those decisions. "Living wills are not dying declarations," Mitchell said. "Living wills should not be used as a means to kill patients, but as a way to respect their wishes.

"The Schiavo case should remind us of the importance of having conversations about end of life treatment with our physicians and family members," said Mitchell. "Medicine should not prolong the dying process, but neither should dying patients have to fear that their lives will be shortened by over-zealous family members who have financial conflicts of interest."

Anderson said there is room for fuzzy decisions and blurred lines. "Unfortunately, fidelity, like modesty, is a passe virtue," she said in reference to Michael Schiavo, who is now living with a woman to whom he is not married. "Adultery and abandonment don't seem to count in this case."