Sunday, April 03, 2005

The unanswered question

I was greatly saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo last week and the suffering and grief of [part of] her family in the matter. In the whole story, there is a big unanswered question I just can't figure out: How is this legal?

Many of the commentary about the case centered on the issue of "What are Terri's wishes?" Suppose for a moment that she had expressly stated in a living will prior to her condition that she wished to be starved and dehidrated to death exactly as has happened. Why whould that make it possible, from a legal standpoint? Suicide is not legal. Homicide requested by the victim is not legal. "She was asking for it" has never been a legal defense I am aware of.

If any of you are in the know about this legal issue, please leave a post addressing the unanswered question.

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