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2008-06-24
Schiavo II? Please, no
Palm Beach Post EditorialKaren Weber of Okeechobee didn't have a living will when she suffered a seizure in November. A living will allows someone to specify medical instructions if she or he becomes incapacitated. As The Post detailed in a story last week, her husband wants to disconnect the feeding tube that has sustained Ms. Weber for the past seven months. Ms. Weber's mother disagrees.
Sound familiar? It should. Terri Schindler Schiavo suffered a seizure in 1990 that left her in a persistent vegetative state, kept alive only by a feeding tube. Ms. Schiavo had no living will. Eight years later, Ms. Schiavo's husband asked the court for permission to have the tube disconnected. The Schindlers fought him, claiming that there was a chance for recovery.
In 2003, after a Pinellas court ruling in favor of Mr. Schiavo had survived 13 appeals, doctors were ready to remove the tube and give Ms. Schiavo a dignified death. But then Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature intervened, after pressure from so-called right-to-life groups. Legislators passed, and Gov. Bush signed a bill that made an unconstitutional exception to the state's death-and-dying laws for Ms. Schiavo.
The Florida Supreme Court tossed the law, unanimously. In 2005, when the tube was about to come out again, only a few cool heads in the Florida Senate kept the state from intervening and embarrassing Florida a second time. So, President Bush and Republicans in Congress butted in, demanding a federal court review that, predictably, upheld all the other rulings.
In this case, the courts have not ruled on Ms. Weber's condition. She is paralyzed but breathes on her own. Still, as with Michael Schindler, Raymond Weber believes that his wife would not want her life prolonged artificially. That uncertainty demonstrates yet once more why everyone should get a living will, which can be done at flsenate.gov. Click on the "featured link," Living Will Information.
Critics have noted that sometimes even a living will isn't enough, and that people's attitudes about their care can change. Both points are valid. Neither, though, is a reason to avoid getting this simple document that can avoid so much conflict. Floridians also can contact the state Department of Elder Affairs for all the necessary information.
According to Raymond Weber, he wants to keep this a private matter. So have others. As the Schiavo case showed, Florida's courts can deal with any such conflict that becomes public. Politicians not required.
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Dana Laganella
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Gerling Law Group Chartered
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