Verified Document

Terry Schiavo The Case Of Term Paper

The direct harm the other individual ultimately determines the rightness or wrongness of the individual's actions and decisions. Applied in the Schiavo case, deontology then considers the decision to deprive Schiavo of the feeding tubes that sustains her life as not a permissible act. It is true that with Schiavo's death, both her husband and family will not be aggrieved or directly harmed with her death; instead, both parties will feel relief with the eventual decision to 'end' Schiavo's physical suffering. Her death will not cause any detriment to the lives of her husband and family, making Schiavo's death ethical, to the extent that it relieved Schiavo from the physical suffering she experiences, and her family from worrying about her condition and the continuous financial burden they experienced as a result of her prolonged hospitalization. However, despite these arguments, the decision to discontinue her life support was made by her family -- thus rendering the decision as a violation of Schiavo's right to determine her own fate and a disrespect for her autonomy as an individual, whether she is capable of mobility and human interaction or not.

Utilitarianists, meanwhile, would subsist...

They would agree that indeed, Schiavo's family would experience relief, both emotionally and financially, from her death (considered as her 'freedom' from the life support system). Unlike the deontologists, however, utilitarians would further argue that Schiavo's death is permissible in that the decision benefited the patient herself by providing her with physical relief as well, considering the fact that while she is still biologically alive, the live that she lived has been far from the kind of life humans would want to have and aspire for. Thus, because the end result of the decision benefited both family and the patient, Schiavo's death is considered ethical.
Further into the case, what made Schiavo's case extraordinarily complicated is the fact that technology through the life support system determined that she is still alive, although "living" based on one's ability to move about and interact was not determined physically. Technology made medical decision-making more difficult, for medical practitioners had to reconcile issues regarding human life, as determined epistemologically, metaphysically, and biologically.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Terry Schiavo Brought to Light
Words: 1827 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Both sides of the Terry Schiavo case wanted to make the most morally correct decision. The side in favor of terminating life support assumed that Terry Schiavo herself would not have wanted to live indefinitely in a persistent vegetative state, especially given the financial and emotional burden placed on her family and society. The side in favor of terminating life support also assumed that had Terry been able to speak

Terry Schiavo Before Terry Schiavo
Words: 1370 Length: 3 Document Type: Case Study

Brophy Case Study The unfortunate case of Paul Brophy should immediately remind people of the very similar case of Terry Schiavo and how that case ended up. Indeed, Mr. Brophy is in a persistent vegetative state due to an artery bursting in his brain. His life can technically be maintained through a feeding tube and other medical equipment but he is not "terminal" in the usually used sense of the word

Terri on February 25, 1990, Terri Schiavo
Words: 2064 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Terri On February 25, 1990, Terri Schiavo suffered from severe brain injury. She could no longer do anything for herself and was without an attorney. Her husband named Michael Schiavo was her legal guardian. Due to brain damage, Ms. Schiavo did not have the ability to swallow and was feed through a feeding tube. During that same year, she entered into a persistent vegetative state (PVS). As years passed, Mr.

Comparing and Contrasting Two Right to Die Cases
Words: 1475 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Right to Die Cases The very public, legal and ultimately political saga of Terri Schiavo brought not only national but international attention to the right to die issues and echoed a similar battle which took place some fifteen years earlier concerning Nancy Cruzan. In "Cruzan, by her Parents and Co-Guardians v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, 497 U.S. 261,' the United States Supreme Court concurred with the lower court's ruling on June

Legal, Ethical, and Moral Issues Related to Schiavo and End of Life...
Words: 741 Length: 2 Document Type: Chapter

Terry Schiavo died, she had been in a persistent vegetative state for more than ten years. Her husband claimed that Terry "wouldn't have wanted to live in her condition," and had legal guardianship over his wife in her condition ("Terry Schiavo Has Died," 2005). Although Terry's parents' feelings are valid and they do matter, it is clear that the courts made the right decision. There are many reasons why

Terri Schiavo Suffered an Acute Brain Injury
Words: 2385 Length: 7 Document Type: Thesis

Terri Schiavo suffered an acute brain injury that left her in a persistent vegetative state, with almost no chance of recovery. Eight years later, after numerous efforts to rehabilitate her, her husband, Michael Schiavo petitioned the Florida court to remove her feeding tube, thus allowing her die. Although he was her legal guardian, Terri Schiavo's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, argued that she was still conscious and that letting her

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now