An eating disorder induced hypokalemia, leading to Terri Schiavo’s cardiac arrest on February 25, 1990. There was no activity in her cortical activity, and both cerebral atmospheres had severe atrophy following a CT scan several months after the incident. It is only after three years did her husband agreed that her condition was irreversible. After that, Terry Schiavo died on March 31, 2005, after staying in a vegetative state for nearly fifteen years. However, Schiavo’s case was the center of media, legal and political storm. For the supporters and critics, there was a heated debate. Likewise, the religious groups were not left out as the cited; it is only God who has the ability and right to determine who should die or not. The critics against tube removal claimed that Congress did not have the right to meddle in the family's most painful, personal, and private decisions. The center of all the controversy resulting from the issues was between Schiavo’s parents Bob and Mary Schindler and her husband. The husband cited that her wife detested the state of being kept alive through the use of a machine while her parents argued against Michael Schiavo. The case dragged for seven years, and with more than 30 legal opinions, was Terry’s husband's decision supported (Weijer, 2005). The bioethical issues arising from Terry Schiavo’s case was how to determine the person who had the right to decide whether a person lives or dies amongst patients in a continuous vegetative condition.
The bioethical issues arising from Schiavo’s case is the patient’s right to autonomy. A patient’s autonomy is a sacred right. The components that determine how a patient can take control over their health included self-determination and rule, and this helps in maintaining one's fundamental rights and liberty (Lindberg, Johansson & Broström, 2019). However, this issue becomes more critical in case the patient cannot make these decisions because of their current status. However, there are various means through which the patient's wishes can be met before lacking the ability to make such decisions, including advanced directives, informed decisions, and other legal preparations. Schiavo’s state meant she could not make any health decisions. In this case, because she could not exercise self-determination and autonomy rights, there was a need to determine whether Schiavo had left advance directives such as value statements, health care power of attorney documents, or wills. Terry's husband stated that his wife had always not wished to be kept alive using machines. However, her parents disagreed with Terry's husband though the court later found credible evidence that she did not want to receive the kind of health measures she was receiving and had expressed a wish for self-determination and ruled in favor of her husband.
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In the absence of patient guidance, it may be hard for healthcare professionals to balance between beneficence and nonmaleficence (Stone, 2018). Schiavo was in a vegetative state, and thus, they do not experience benefits or burdens, for there is no sign of pain or joy shown. Because of Terry's lack of condition, her husband was selected as the formal guardian, and the health care professionals had to offer him some nursing training. Moreover, after Schiavo’s condition deteriorated, the doctors declared her as being a PVS, and there was no chance of improvement. The doctor placed feeding and breathing tubes that assisted Terry (Weijer, 2005).Moreover, they continued to carry out standard and experimental therapies on Schiavo despite her condition being irreversible, for they had not yet received a go-ahead to end her life. This shows that all decisions and by the doctors were based on Terry's husband's wishes as he was the official guardian. However, they had to wait for the court to decide whether her feeding tube was to be removed.
References
Lindberg, J., Johansson, M., & Broström, L. (2019). Temporizing and respect for patient self-determination. Journal of Medical Ethics , 45 (3), 161-167.
Stone, E. G. (2018). Evidence-Based Medicine and Bioethics: Implications for Health Care Organizations, Clinicians, and Patients. The Permanente Journal , 22 .
Weijer, C. (2005). A death in the family: reflections on the Terri Schiavo case. Cmaj , 172 (9), 1197-1198.
