Terri Schiavo was an American woman who entered an irreversible persistent vegetative state after succumbing due to cardiac arrest, which cut off her brain’s oxygen supply. Eight years later, her husband, Michael Schiavo, and her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, engaged in a protracted legal battle to determine whether she should be taken off life support. Her spouse claimed that she did not wish to continue receiving artificial nutrition and hydration without the possibility of recovery, while her parents insisted that she continue to receive them. The case involved fourteen appeals, numerous motions, petitions, and proceedings in Florida state courts, as well as five lawsuits in federal district court. It also became a political instrument after Republican Governor Jeb Bush and President George W. Bush intervened in favor of Terri’s parents and introduced new laws that posed a threat to the Constitution. Activist groups from the pro-life movement, the right-to-die movement, and disability rights organizations participated actively in the case. However, the United States Supreme Court denied all petitions and appeals and allowed her feeding tube to be removed.
Youth and Early Life
Terri Schiavo was born on December 3, 1963, as Theresa Marie ‘Terri’ Schindler in Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania to Robert and Mary Schindler. She had a sibling named Suzanne and a brother named Bobby. She weighed 200 pounds as an adolescent despite being five feet and three inches tall.
By the time she entered college, however, she had lost 65 pounds through rigorous dieting. She met her future spouse, Michael Schiavo while attending Bucks County Community College in 1982, and they wed on November 10, 1984. After her parents retired to Florida in 1986, she and her husband relocated there, where she began working as a bookkeeper for an insurance company and he became a restaurant manager.
Terri’s Medical Crisis
Terri Schiavo’s husband discovered her face-down and unconscious in the hallway of their St. Petersburg, Florida residence on February 25, 1990. The paramedics placed her on a ventilator at the Humana Northside Hospital, where it was determined that she had collapsed as a result of a cardiac arrest, possibly brought on by an excessive liquid diet.
Due to the lack of oxygen, the cardiac arrest caused severe cerebral damage, putting her into a coma for two months. Even after she regained consciousness, she remained in a “persistent vegetative state” in which she could respond to external stimuli but had no substantial brain function, rendering her incapable of even feeding herself.
During the first few years of her life, her parents and spouse fought to keep her alive, with her husband taking her to California to implant an experimental stimulator in her brain. She underwent neurological testing, speech therapy, and occupational therapy in Florida until 1994.
Terri’s Legal Cases
In 1992, after it was discovered that Terri Schiavo’s potassium levels were extremely low, her husband Michael filed a medical malpractice suit against her obstetrician for neglecting to diagnose bulimia as the cause of Terri’s infertility. In November of that year, he won the case and was awarded $300,000 in compensation and an additional $750,000 for her medical expenses.
In 1998, her husband, who had been appointed her legal guardian in 1990, filed a petition to remove her feeding tube, but her parents claimed he was motivated by profiting from her demise. Richard Pearse, the second court-appointed guardian ad litem, acknowledged that she was unlikely to recover from her persistent vegetative condition, but he also noted that both parties were likely to have conflicts of interest.
In January 2000, due to the absence of a living will, Pinellas County Judge George Greer considered the testimony of 18 witnesses regarding her medical condition and end-of-life wishes. In February, the Florida Second District Court of Appeal upheld his authorization to remove her artificial life support, which was based on her credible oral declarations to remove the feeding tubes.
In March 2000, her parents requested permission for assisted nutrition, which under Florida law was not considered a life-prolonging procedure, but the judge denied the request because she was incapable of ingesting nutrients. As Michael was in a relationship with Jodi Centonze and had fathered a child at the time, the Schindlers also challenged his guardianship; however, the court ruled that the evidence was insufficient or irrelevant.
First removed on April 24, 2001, Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was reinserted on April 26 after the Schindlers filed a civil suit against Michael Schiavo alleging perjury. After the order against him was reversed, the Schindlers asserted that new medical advances could restore Terri’s cognitive capacity sufficiently for her to make her own decision.
In October 2002, Judge Greer reviewed her CT scan, which revealed severe cerebral atrophy, her EEG report, which demonstrated no detectable brain activity, and the testimony of five board-certified neurologists. He also reviewed a six-hour video of Terri with her mother and neurologist William Hammesfahr and determined that she was in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) with no prospect of improvement.
The Schindlers and their supporters distributed brief clips from the six-hour video depicting minimal reactions and emotions and also contacted pro-life activist Randall Terry in 2003 to investigate their legal options. Nurse Carla Sauer Iyer claimed that she told the Schindlers that Michael had discouraged her from feeding Terri orally, but Greer noted that if this were true, they would have subpoenaed Iyer in previous proceedings.
After Terri’s feeding tube was removed for the second time on October 15, 2003, the Florida Legislature enacted “Terri’s Law” to permit Republican Governor Jeb Bush to intervene and transfer her to a different hospital. Soon after, however, she had to be returned to the hospice, and in May 2004, a Circuit Judge struck down “Terri’s Law” as unconstitutional; this decision was upheld by the Florida Supreme Court.
In February 2005, the Schindlers requested an fMRI test and VitalStim therapy, both of which were denied, and on March 18, 2005, Judge Greer ordered the removal of their daughter’s feeding tube. By swiftly passing the ‘Palm Sunday Compromise’ measure to transfer the case’s jurisdiction to the federal courts, Republican President George W. Bush precipitated a constitutional crisis.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court denied all of the Schindlers’ federal petitions and appeals and refused to grant certiorari, thereby removing their remaining legal options. Simultaneously, the ‘Schiavo memo’ surfaced, disclosing that Republicans were using the highly sensitive case against Democratic Senator Bill Nelson for political gain.
Terri Schiavo’s Death
Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was ultimately removed on March 18, 2005, and she died on March 31, 2005. On June 20, 2005, her cremated remains were interred at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park in Clearwater, Florida. The autopsy report disclosed on June 15 revealed signs of permanent and long-term brain damage.
Ethical and Legal Concerns
The Terri Schiavo case, which has been compared to the landmark right-to-die cases of Karen Ann Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan, differs significantly in that it involved a family dispute. Multiple disability rights organizations also intervened in the case, requesting a federal review because even close relatives can have competing interests.
Estimated Net Worth
The Terri Schiavo case is one of the most lucrative and well-known legal cases. According to our analysis of Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, the total value of the Terri Schiavo case is $5 million.