SO who should have decided?
When Terri's parents objected to having their daughter starved to death and could get no redress from an out of control probate judge, they had every right to exercise their constitutional rights. And the governor and legislature had a right and a duty to act within their powers to address an area that, I believe was not clearly defined.
That being, may someone with power of attorney starve his ward to death?
At one time, people who wanted to have ventilators or feeding tubes removed would go to the trouble of writing a living will or leaving written, specific power of attorney for someone else to make that decision. The spouse did not automatically get to make the decision. People who didn't bother to write that living will or power of attorney were left to live in that state whether they wanted it or not. While there are drawbacks to that way of doing things, keeping that policy would have prevented the whole mess in this case.
We need three reforms to deal with these cases.
1. Settlement money for a patient in a coma or any similar state must be left as a trust to be used only for medical care and never to pay lawyers except to execute living wills or previous, written, witnessed instructions. The settlement money should never go to a survivor.
2. A judge's "finding" of someone's medical condition is always subject to review. Higher courts may not hide behind a "Judge so-and-so already issued a finding" excuse. Higher courts must be willing to examine the medical evidence and hear fresh medical testimony.
3. Family members may file for divorce on behalf of a patient in a coma or similar state if there are grounds. A husband living with another woman as if he were her husband would be grounds for this divorce as it would be if the patient were not in a coma or similar state.
In some cases, these very same reforms would lead to a family having someone removed from nutrition and hydration, and I can accept that outcome. I don't want the government making these decisions, but I do want the government ensuring that the right people make these decisions. Once he had gone on to live with another woman, Michael Schiavo wasn't the right person to make these decisions. Even if he was completely sincere and truly believed he was acting in Terri's best interest, he should have recused himself once he had entered another relationship.
Bill