In thinking about this situation, I tried to put myself in the various parties places. I imagined myself as Michael Schiavo, Terri Schaivo, and the Schindlers. In doing so, I was able to understand how the actions of the husband and of the parents could all be explained as deriving from their love for Terrie. I know that people on both sides want to demonize the other, but in my opinion that is not warranted by the facts). Then I imagined a hypothetical situation in which Michael and Terri were parents (and the Schindlers grandparents) themselves when this happened. Interestingly, the morality of the situation became much more black and white to me. I felt certain that in that case, Michael’s decision to remove the feeding tube was the right one, for the sake of his and Terrie’s child. And I suspect that the Schindlers would feel the same way, for the sake of their grandchild. It would seem wrong to me to burden a small child with the emotional turmoil, sadness and confusion of having a mother in Terrie’s state indefinitely. And I feel quite sure that most mothers would also agree. After this experiment, I thought again about what I (in Terrie’s place) would have wanted in the situation as it stands now (no children). This time the answer seemed far more clear. I would not want my parents and siblings lives to be consumed with taking care of me. I would not want my husband to be consumed with guilt for going on with his life while I lay hopelessly brain damaged, unable to communicate with him in any significant way.

I feel great sadness for the Schindlers and for Michael Schiavo, but the truth is that the court was judged with determining TERRI’S WISHES, not theirs. We have only hearsay from the opposing sides. Some here argue that even if what Michael Schiavo has said were Terri’s statements are in fact true, they’re irrelevant in the face of her parents desire to take care of her, because they were made by a young healthy woman,who could not possibly know how she would feel in her current situation. That is a specious argument, because in cases like Terri’s, no one can ever know how they would feel. They can only make the decision when they are healthy, because once the brain damage has ocurred, it’s too late!

I respectfully suggest that before people make their moral evaluations of the parties involved, they try to identify with Terri, not with her parents or her husband. Look with all honesty at what you would want if you were Terri Schiavo.