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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page overview of this controversial case involving the withdrawal of life support from a woman that had been on it fifteen years. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: AM2_PPeuthSchiavo.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
by the medical establishment despite the fact that to the outside world she appeared very much alive. The case is replete with a number of complex ethical implications.
The case made world headlines when Shiavos husband made the decision to remove her feeding tube and to allow her to die naturally. Shiavos parents vehemently disagreed with this
decision and waged a legal battle to keep their daughter alive. The Shiavo case exemplifies the ethical principles that can arise in a society where technology has outpaced our
societal mechanisms for dealing with end of life decisions (Blank, 2001; Monaghan, 2002). It also exemplifies the competing rights and interests that can be involved in such decisions.
The Schiavo case pulled at the worlds heartstrings because we all became intimately familiar with Schiavo through media broadcast showing Shiavo smiling, following
bouncing balloons with her eyes, and exhibiting what most would consider to be definitive signs of life. The medical establishment, however, contended her behavior was simply the result
of reflexive responses and variously labeled Schiavo as as "comatose", "brain dead", and in a "persistent vegetative state". Whatever the official diagnosis, Shiavo had been incapacitated and dependent on
others for her care for fifteen years. Schiavos husband ultimately argued that she should be allowed to die but her parents persistently argued that she was very much aware
of the outside world and that she should continue to be provided with the nutrients and liquid that was needed to sustain her life. The courts were called in
to decide the issues surrounding the case. They first decided for Shiavos husband and the feeding tube was removed (Fineout, 2003). That decision was overrode six days later,
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