The ghouls can find relatives to "speak on behalf" of the PVS person, to tell a sympathetic judge that the patient does not want to be kept alive "that way."
If the patient has given someone power of attorney ahead of time, as part of advance directives, the doctors can't just find anyone. In any case, these decisions are usually made by family consensus.
Or maybe the hospital I work for has a higher ethical standards than some.
The problem in the Schiavo case was that there was no written advanced directive and there was no family consensus.
You're right. I am my 90 years-old mother's health care proxy. I have been, since she moved across the country to live with my family, five years ago.
However, I'm not sure that my opinion about end of life issues is the same as that of my siblings.
Mom and I discussed her care quite a bit, around the time that Terri was killed.
My mother seemed almost surprised to learn that she was not practically obligated to die, if some medical problem came up. She also saw several shows on TV about end of life issues and learned that her church believes her life has value, even if she is unable to earn a living or do some other things she used to be able to do.
Some months ago Mom became weak, unable to sit up, and had pains in her neck and shoulders. It seemed her health might be going downhill. It turned out that she merely needed to stop taking her statin drug. How many people give up too soon, before an answer to their health problem is discovered?
I guess I'm trying to say that I think some people are being pushed into accepting a view that is biased toward "letting" people die before "their time" is really up.