Terri Schiavo

1. By: Amanda Kaufmann

2. •Theresa Schindler was born on
December 3
rd
, 1963 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When
she married her husband, Michael
Schiavo, they moved to Florida.
On February 25, 1990, Terri
collapsed in her Florida home
from an “ice tea diet” which was
related to her bulimia that was
the result of a potassium
deficiency.

3. •Due to the potassium
deficiency, Terri had
tremendous brain damage.
This brain damage was
permanent and made Terri
go into a vegetative state for
the last fifteen years of her
life. Doctors said that there
was no chance that she
would return to normal
someday, and the
controversy to keep her on
life support would begin…

4. •Michael Schiavo stated that
Terri’s wish was to be taken off
life support because she did not
want to live her life on
machines that would keep her
alive. Due to her wishes, he
wanted the feeding tube to be
removed which would cause
Terri to die of malnutrition and
dehydration. Her parents, did
not want this, and wanted to
keep their daughter alive no
matter what.

5. •Bob and Mary Schindler
brought the issue to
Florida courts many
times, but every time
they ruled that it was
Michael Schiavo’s
decision . Bob and Mary
would not accept the
verdict and they kept on
fighting to keep their
daughter alive.

6. •On April 24, 2001 Terri’s feeding
tube was removed for the first
time, but then it was reinserted
on April 26 after the Schindler’s
protested. The court made the
Schindler’s hire two doctors,
Michael Schiavo hire two doctors,
and the court hire one to
examine Terri’s medical records,
brain scans, and Terri. Three of
the doctors claimed that Terri
was in a vegetative state, and
two of the other doctors claimed
that she was in a minimally
conscious state.

7. •In 2003, the Schindler’s began to
involve the public in their battle.
On October 15, 2003, Terri’s feeding
tube was removed for the second
time. Within a week, Florida
legislatures passed “Terri’s Law”,
giving the governor, Jeb Bush
authority to intervene in the case.
He ordered to have Terri’s feeding
tube reinserted once again. “Terri’s
Law” was found unconstitutional.
On March 18, 2005, the removal of
Terri’s feeding tube was attempted,
but it was postponed.

8. •On March 26, 2005, Bob
and Mary Schindler
declared that their legal
options had be
exhausted. On March 31,
2005, Terri Schiavo’s
feeding tube had been
removed for the last time
and she had passed
away.

9. •Many people around the world had
taken a part in this argument.
Many people were on the Schindler’s
side to fight for Terri’s life. People
even offered money to Michael
Schiavo to walk away from this
case, but he rejected the money.
Many pro-life groups and disability-
rights groups protested for the life of
Terri Schiavo. Even people who
were on Michael Schiavo’s side
voiced their opinion. Millions of
people, either on Michael Schiavo’s
side or the Schindler’s side listened
and waited for the developments in
this great drama.