Schiavo and Its (In)Significance
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Schiavo Revisited? the Trs Uggle for Autonomy at the End of Life in Italy Kathy L
Marquette Elder's Advisor Volume 12 Article 3 Issue 2 Spring Schiavo Revisited? The trS uggle for Autonomy at the End of Life in Italy Kathy L. Cerminara Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center Federico Gustavo Pizzetti University of Milan, Italy Watcharin H. Photangtham Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/elders Part of the Elder Law Commons Repository Citation Cerminara, Kathy L.; Pizzetti, Federico Gustavo; and Photangtham, Watcharin H. (2011) "Schiavo Revisited? The trS uggle for Autonomy at the End of Life in Italy," Marquette Elder's Advisor: Vol. 12: Iss. 2, Article 3. Available at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/elders/vol12/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Marquette Elder's Advisor by an authorized administrator of Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SCHIAVO REVISITED? THE STRUGGLE FOR AUTONOMY AT THE END OF LIFE IN ITALY Kathy L. Cerminara*, Federico Gustavo Pizzetti** & Watcharin H. Photangtham*** Politically strident debates surrounding end-of-life decisionmaking have surfaced once again, this time across the Atlantic in Italy. Eluana Englaro died in 2009 after a prolonged court fight, causing the internationalpress to compare her case to that of Theresa Marie Schiavo, who passed away in 2005 in Florida after nearly This Article's analysis of proposed Italian legislation was current as of August, 2010. Political debate has, however, continued in Italy, so that any legislation eventually passed may differ in important ways from that discussed here. -
Introduction Analysis
AYEH, TEXAS LAW OBSTRUCTS PREGNANT MOTHER’S RIGHT TO DIE, VOICES IN BIOETHICS, VOL. 1 (2014-15) Texas Law Obstructs Pregnant Mother’s Right to Die Derek Ayeh* Keywords: bioethics, ethics, abortion, Texas INTRODUCTION By now the legitimacy of do not resuscitate (DNR) orders are acknowledged by everyone – if a patient presents an advanced directive or their family members agree as to what the patient’s wishes were for end- of-life care, then life-sustaining treatments can be withdrawn or withheld. However, a Texas law is preventing a pregnant woman from exercising the choice to not be resuscitated. ANALYSIS The woman, Marlise Munoz, was found unconscious in late November and since then has not regained consciousness. However, the fetus she carries continues to have a beating heart and there is a Texas state law that puts the rights of a fetus over the wishes of its mother. Her husband, Erik Munoz, along with her parents all agreed that it would have been against Marlise’s wishes to be kept on life support. Already we can see how different this case is from the Terri Schiavo case between husband and parents. Instead this case is between the Marlise family and the John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. It’s easy to see how this case could slip into questions of pro-life versus pro-choice. This issue pits the mother’s choices against the ‘best interests’ of the fetus (or at least, what certain groups interpret as the fetus’s best interests). However, a best interests stance is not straightforward in this case either. -
Resolving Disputes Over Life-Sustaining Treatment \I
.. ..: 4 .. NCSC HF 38-27 E87 M Y \\Resolving Disputes Over C,3 Life-Sustaining Treatment \I A Health Care Provider's Guide Thomas L. Hafemeister ani Paula L. Hannaford Wth the Greenwall Coordinating Council National Center for State Courts library National Center for State Courts 300 Newport Ave. WJliamsburg, VA 23 187-8798 0 1996 National Center for State Courts Williamsburg, Virginia Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 96-70341 ISBN 0-89656-167-4 NCSC Publication Number R- 186 Cover design by Judith Ann Sullivan Images 0 1996 PhotoDisc, Inc. This book was prepared under a grant from the Greenwall Foundation. The points of view expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policy of the National Center for State Courts or the Greenwall Foundation, or the opinions of the Greenwall Review Panel members. Comments are welcome and should be sent to the Greenwall Project, National Center for State Courts, 300 Newport Avenue (231851,PO. Box 8798, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8798. Greenwall Coordinating Council Hon. Stewart G. Pollock, Chair New Jersey Supreme Court Morristown, New Jersey Hon. Elizabeth B. Lacy, Vice-Chair Virginia Supreme Court Richmond, Virginia Hon. Robert C. Bibb (ret.) Alexander M. Capron, J.D. Deno, Millikan, Dale & Decker Professor of Law & Medicine Everett, Washington University of Southern California Law Center hsAngeles, California Ellen B. Comer, Esq. Ronald E. Cranford, M.D. Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish & Kauffman Department of Neurology Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hennepin County Medical Center Minneapolis, Minnesota Norman Fost, M.D., M.P.H. Hon. Hilda R. Gage Professor Chief Judge, Michigan Circuit Court Pediatrics & History of Medicine Pontiac, Michigan Director, Program in Medical Ethics University of Wisconsin Medical School Joan McIver Gibson, Ph.D. -
The Court Upholds a State Law Prohibiting Physician-Assisted Suicide
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 88 Article 3 Issue 3 Spring Spring 1998 The ourC t Upholds A State Law Prohibiting Physician-Assisted Suicide Brett einbF erg Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation Brett einbeF rg, The ourC t Upholds A State Law Prohibiting Physician-Assisted Suicide, 88 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 847 (Spring 1998) This Supreme Court Review is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. 0091-4169/98/8803-0847 THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINALLAW & CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 88, No. 3 Copyrght © 1998 by Northwestern University, School of Law Printed in U.S.A. THE COURT UPHOLDS A STATE LAW PROHIBITING PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE Vacco v. Quill, 117 S. Ct. 2293 (1997) I. INTRODUCTION In Vacco v. Quill,' the United States Supreme Court ad- dressed whether a terminally ill person has a constitutionally protected right to commit suicide with the assistance of a physi- cian.2 The Court held that state laws prohibiting physician- assisted suicide are constitutionally permissible since they do not violate the Equal Protection Clause.3 In making its decision, the Court determined that the right to die with assistance is not a fundamental right.4 The Court -
Evolution of the Law Affecting End-Of-Life Planning
TRUSTS & ESTATES ARTICLE JANUARY 2008 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Evolution of the Law kAffecting End-of-Life Planning By Graham D. Holding, Christy Eve Reid & Susan I. McCrory Over the last thirty years there have been significant changes to end-of-life-planning. The changes were initiated as a result of “ugly” scenes played out on national television when grieving families were forced to sue health care providers in order to withdraw life-support systems from family members whose medical conditions would never improve. As a result of these lawsuits, Health Care Power of Attorney and Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death (“Living Will”) statutes were enacted that recognized an individual’s right to control medical decisions, even when the individual lacked the ability to make or communicate those decisions. In 2007 substantial changes were made in North Carolina’s statutory Health Care Power of Attorney form as well as the statutory Living Will form. Although many improvements were made in North Carolina’s statutory forms, for the reasons expressed below we have decided to recommend that, in lieu of the new statutory forms, our clients execute an alternative form that we have drafted combining the health care power of attorney and living will provisions. This alternative combined form appears in the 2007 supplement to the BB&T ESTATE PLANNING FORMS MANUAL and as a PDF document on the Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson website, www.rbh.com, that can be downloaded from the MenuForms page . Historical Background Historically, the presumption in the law favored the continuance of life under all circumstances. -
La Necessità Di Diritti Infelici. Il Diritto Di Morire Come Limite All’Intervento Penale(*)
LA NECESSITÀ DI DIRITTI INFELICI. IL DIRITTO DI MORIRE COME LIMITE ALL’INTERVENTO PENALE(*) di Massimo Donini Lasciar morire una persona in un modo che altri approvano, ma che essa considera in orribile contraddizione con la sua vita, è una forma di tirannia odiosa e distruttiva. Ronald Dworkin1 Abstract. Lo studio mette in chiaro che la situazione del malato in condizioni irreversibili e di crudele sofferenza per malattie incurabili, resa possibile dalla stessa medicina che consente un prolungamento della vita straordinario, ma anche artificiale o innaturale, è diversa da quella di qualsiasi altro soggetto che viene protetto dalle norme a tutela della vita. Nel rifiuto delle cure, riconosciuto a livello internazionale come diritto pieno anche quando il suo esercizio conduca a morire dopo pochi minuti, è contenuto già il riconoscimento del diritto di morire. Nel caso Englaro (come in quelli Cruzan, Schiavo, Bland e Lambert) quel diritto è stato addirittura riconosciuto attraverso un terzo, per realizzare un omicidio doloso e non “del consenziente”. La costruzione di diritti infelici come diritti fondamentali del malato non può essere lasciata al solo diritto giurisprudenziale, anche se grazie a esso sono nati come diritti che già ora limitano le incriminazioni (aiuto al suicidio, omicidio del consenziente, omicidio). La comparazione con gli ordinamenti tedesco, svizzero, olandese, belga, offre un ventaglio di esperienze diverse orientate alla compassione e non all’indifferenza rispetto all’autonomia e alle sofferenze di malati che non sono suscettibili o desiderosi di sole cure palliative. Essa aiuta anche a comprendere la relatività della distinzione tra agire e omettere e tra condotta di autore e di partecipe in queste situazioni scriminate di aiuto a morire e non solo nel morire. -
Challenges & Lessons from the Terri Schiavo Case
Article Challenges & Lessons from the Terri Schiavo Case Challenges & Lessons from the Terri Schiavo Case Hessel Bouma III In 1990, Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain injury yet lived fifteen years in a vegetative state dependent upon artificial hydration and nutrition. For more than seven years, Terri’s husband and her family contested her condition, prognosis, and whether to withhold or continue her medical care through the court system, media, communities of faith, and the legislative and executive branches of the state and federal governments. An examination of medical, moral, religious, and legal aspects of withholding or withdrawing artificial hydration and nutrition suggests the judiciary branch acted responsibly in this tragic case. The Schiavo case challenges us to support more research into severe brain injuries, to prepare our Advance Directives appointing surrogate decision-makers and leaving clear and convincing evidence of our wishes should we be incapacitated, to affirm the lives and choices of persons with disabilities, and to 1 Hessel Bouma III address issues of fairness and justice in the allocations of medical technologies. he 1960s and 1970s saw a rapid rise in far out in front of carefully considered bio- Tbiomedical technologies including ethical responses, public policy, and legal Under what cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiac decisions. Foremost among the many vexing by-pass machines, ventilators, and organ questions was, ”Under what circumstances, circumstances, transplantation. Dr. Lewis Thomas perceived -
An Option in Modern Health Care Decision Making
Copyright © 2013 Ave Maria Law Review “THEY WANT ME DEAD”—ACTIVE KILLING— AN OPTION IN MODERN HEALTH CARE DECISION MAKING Rebekah C. Millard, Life Legal Defense Foundation INTRODUCTION “Thousands of medical ethicists and bioethicists, as they are called, professionally guide the unthinkable on its passage through the debatable on its way to becoming the justifiable until it is finally established as the unexceptional.”1 According to the published statements of British medical practitioners in June of 2012, more than 100,000 patients each year are put on a “death pathway” protocol by their doctors, thereby hastening their deaths.2 The death pathway is invoked for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of the treatment involved, or to free up additional beds in overcrowded health care facilities. The protocol can include withdrawal of treatment—including water and nourishment—and usually results in death within thirty-three hours. Observers were not slow to equate the use of this protocol to euthanasia, which although legal in some jurisdictions,3 remains 4 illegal in the United Kingdom. J.D. Oakbrook College of Law and Government Policy, 2008; staff counsel for the Life Legal Defense Foundation, a non-profit, public interest law firm with the mission of giving innocent and helpless human beings of any age a trained and committed defense against the threat of death and to support their advocates in the nation’s courtrooms. Many thanks to Ave Maria School of Law student Joan Hetzler for her research assistance, and to my colleagues at Life Legal for their input, help, and encouragement. -
The Ethical Dilemma of Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
The Ethical Dilemma of Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Student Name Course name August 9, 20XX While healthcare reform is often a heavily debated topic by politicians, healthcare providers, and the general public, there is perhaps no greater debate in healthcare than physician- assisted suicide or euthanasia. Modern advancements in medicine and technology, as well as policy changes in several states, have progressed treatment options available to patients considering euthanasia. Pappas (1996), commented that, “Breakthroughs of the past century have empowered doctors to battle acute infection successfully, thus transforming the hospital, from functioning essentially as a hospice, to an institution which provides medical, surgical and curative treatment for the sick and injured,” (p. 387). One may think that the advances of modern medicine have extended to include ethical issues regarding a patient’s right-to-die. Yet, while euthanasia is overwhelmingly considered humane in case of animals, the same cannot be said regarding human patients. In fact, even though humans possess the capacity to reason, thereby making hard choices and decisions regarding end-of-life care, it is still more acceptable to allow animals to die with dignity over people. Death is certain for everyone. That is why ethical issues surrounding a patient’s right-to- die affects everyone from currently healthy individuals to those who are braving terminal illness. Ethical arguments in favor of euthanasia began appearing in medical journals in the United Kingdom and the United States as early as the 1870s. The legal history of euthanasia dates back at least a century in the United States, with Ohio proposing the first bill to legalize euthanasia in 1906. -
Thursday Lecture Features Lessons Learned from Terri Schiavo's Death
Thursday lecture features lessons learned from Terri Schiavo's death Candace McKibben, Special to the Democrat Published 1:16 p.m. ET Nov. 6, 2017 For a year now, a group of committed citizens has met monthly to discuss ways to encourage advance health care planning in our community. We heard an excellent community presentation, “It’s Okay to Die,” by Dr. Monica Williams-Murphy, an ER physician from Huntsville, Alabama, in September 2016. As a follow-up, 14 people from various agencies in our community agreed to meet and discuss next steps. Facilitated by Big Bend Hospice, this creative task force has produced some awareness materials, held several events to encourage advance care planning, and considered ways to encourage this planning among the younger adult population in Tallahassee. (Photo: Candace McKibben) Our work is culminating in bringing Dr. Jay Wolfson, court-appointed Guardian Ad-Litem for Terri Schiavo, to Tallahassee on Thursday, to share some of what he learned from his involvement in this case. I am not sure when I first became aware of Schiavo, but she was on the public radar long before her well-publicized death in March 2005. As a young woman, Terri suffered a cardiac arrest in February 1990 resulting in severe lack of oxygen and brain damage. Physicians determined that she was in a persistent vegetative state and only her brain stem remained functional. In the beginning, her husband Michael and her parents, Mary and Bob Schlinder, cared for her together. After four years, the physicians told them that there was nothing more they could do for Terri. -
In Re Quinlan: One Court's Answer to the Problem of Death with Dignity
Washington and Lee Law Review Volume 34 | Issue 1 Article 15 Winter 1-1-1977 In Re Quinlan: One Court'S Answer To The Problem Of Death With Dignity Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr Part of the Medical Jurisprudence Commons Recommended Citation In Re Quinlan: One Court'S Answer To The Problem Of Death With Dignity, 34 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 285 (1977), https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/vol34/iss1/15 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington and Lee Law Review at Washington & Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington and Lee Law Review by an authorized editor of Washington & Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IN RE QUINLAN: ONE COURT'S ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM OF DEATH WITH DIGNITY On the night of April 15, 1975, Karen Ann Quinlan, aged 22, lapsed into a coma from which she still has not emerged.' On Septem- ber 10, 1975, her father applied to the Chancery division of the Supe- rior Court of New Jersey for letters of guardianship with the express power to authorize "the discontinuance of all extraordinary means of sustaining the vital processes of his daughter .. ."I This request was strenuously opposed by Karen's doctors, the hospita in which she was being treated, the county prosecutor, Karen's guardian ad litem, and the state of New Jersey, which had intervened on the basis of a state interest in the preservation of life.3 Bergen County Record, Nov. -
The Right to Die: the Broken Road from Quinlan to Schiavo
The Right to Die: The Broken Road from Quinlan to Schiavo Annette E. Clark* I. INTRODUCTION On the thirtieth anniversary of the Quinlan case,1 it seems appropriate to go back in time and revisit the decision that started us down the road to developing what is now a large and complex body of right-to-die jurisprudence in this country. As a longtime bioethics professor, this opportunity to reacquaint myself with one of the seminal cases, to read it in something other than the edited and abbreviated form in which it appears in casebooks, has been an education in and of itself. It is a reminder that we should not lose sight of our beginnings when we try to understand where the path of right-to-die law has taken us and to anticipate where it will lead us next. The life and death of Karen Ann Quinlan and the Chancery Court and New Jersey Supreme Court decisions that flowed from her sad story provide a remarkable introduction to the right-to-die issues that have developed over the ensuing thirty years.2 Quinlan also provides a useful measure of the law’s progress over the last thirty years.3 The United States Supreme Court’s decision in the Cruzan case, which occurred approximately midway through this thirty-year period, and the 1.In re Quinlan, 348 A.2d 801, 806 (N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div. 1975), modified and remanded, 355 A.2d 647 (N.J. 1976). 2. Those issues include: Whether the law should distinguish between the withdrawal of ordinary and extraordinary medical treatment? What is the proper role of religion and religious beliefs in the withdrawal