CNN.com - War of words over Schiavo continues - Mar 22, 2005

A sad case really, woman in persistent vegetative state who had prior to this incident indicated her desire not to live in this condition. Husband is attempting to honour her wishes and has suceeded in removing her feeding tube after a very long and protracted battle with his wife's parents who are, essentially, hoping for a miracle.

This is a scene played out in quite a few of these cessation of treatment cases. And the truely note-worthy feature in this case was Congress with the backing of President Bush signing a piece of legislation yesterday pushing the hearing of this case up from the state level (which has repeatedly upheld the wishes of her husband) to the federal level where the battle swings in the balance (not least because of the makeup of the US Supreme Court)

If this had been England, there really would have been no problem. Doctors are allowed to act in the best interest of their patients which includes acceeding to the wishes of their legal guardians and stopping life support. It says alot about the religous organisations in the USA that they have managed to push it in this fashion.

Anyway, for those who have never consider the possibility, do think about what you would like to do if you were in such a position. If you do not wish to be permamently on life support, sign an Advance Medical Directive (AMD)/ Living Will and make the decision for yourself. Or tell your family and relatives what your wishes are.

Cheerios