"She responds to voices, touch, and the presence of people. She can smile, cry, and establish eye contact. She can make facial expressions. And several of Terri’s caregivers and outside medical professionals feel that, with proper therapy, she may even be able to learn to eat without a feeding tube."
If this is the case, then someone must be able to communicate with her regarding her will to live.
Or, is it a legal issue, as if a caregiver or a family member is prohibited from asking her if she wants to live because her awareness of the question might affect her psychological state? Or that the caregiver might become personally liable for negative consequences? Or is her opinion not important because if she wants to die the caregivers are not allowed to assist her suicide?
Does she have an advance care directive? Has she been classified as being mentally incompetent to make decisions for her own health care?
I'm wondering how her case could affect similar cases in other states (I'm in CA), or how it might even affect DISsimilar cases...
She has no ACD, but I believe she is incompetent. The law being considered in Fl would make it illegal to remove feeding tubes based on hearsay, which is what the husband is basing his case on. He said she told him once while they were watching a television program on euthanazia that she wouldn't want to be kept alive that way.
The law would be retroactive.
Judge Greer won't allow anyone to ask her, or if they do ask her, he won't allow such testimony in his court.
Terri's case will certainly affect other cases in every state before you know it. If this is allowed to happen to her, just wait to see them offing people without living wills left and right. It's already happening but with much less fanfare all around our country.