[winstonchurchill]

In this case there WAS a living will, but Clark's guardian Ping Clark said that her husband's wishes were clear that he wouldn't want to die in this situation, that there was reasonable hope of recovery, and provided evidence was no less compelling than Schiavo's for that conclusion. Yet, Greer sides with the nonguardian children in favor of pulling the plug. To be consistent, Greer should have either went with the guardian both times, or basing the decision off of the living will (or lack of it). It does look like bias.

No, legally, the two cases are quite different. In the first (Terri's), the Court was required by law to determine her wishes factually. It had nothing to do with 'siding with the guardian.'

In the second, the Court was required to enforce the living will which provided, "If the situation should arise in which there is no reasonable expectation of my recovery from severe physical or mental disability, I request that I be allowed to die and that life-prolonging procedures not be provided." In order to do that, the Court had to decide whether there was a "reasonable expectation of recovery" based upon the acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapies. The testimony was "no more than 1 in a thousand." The wife's lawyer apparently accepted that testimony and argued, "If you love somebody, one in 1,000 is a chance worth taking."

While that is the value judgment the wife (guardian) might have made, the Court's obligation was different. Was a "1 in a 1000" chance a "reasonable expectation of recovery"? Judge Greer rightly found it was not. Would you really contend that one chance in a 1000 is a 'reasonable expectation of recovery'? I didn't think so.

Didn't the subject have a right to have his living will enforced, even if the wife wanted to punch him with needles and feed him herbal tea for another 30 days? Of course, he did.

[Free Vulcan]

Exactly my point. Michael Schiavo presented less than credible evidence, contradicted himself repeatedly, and Greer regularly ignored better evidence from the Schindler's side in favor of Schiavo. This is so well documented here on FR it's not worth rehashing.

Schiavo didn't have any more of a case than this woman had. So to be consistent, Judge Greer should have decided against him.