4
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: − + − +
Clarified how Terri Schiavo came to be in a persistent vegetative state. I don't like to cite the NY Times, but the article's source is Terri's brother, who should be a credible source.
[[Image:TerriSchiavo.jpg|right|thumb|Terri Schiavo before her injury]]
[[Image:TerriSchiavo.jpg|right|thumb|Terri Schiavo before her injury]]
'''Terri Schiavo''' (Dec. 3, 1963 – Mar. 31, 2005)
'''Terri Schiavo''' (Dec. 3, 1963 – Mar. 31, 2005)
was a [[coma]] victim whose plight came to national attention early in the [[Bush Administration]]. The legal issues split the country as much as the [[abortion|abortion issue]].
was a [[coma]] victim whose plight came to national attention during the [[Bush Administration]]. The legal issues split the country as much as the [[abortion|abortion issue]].
While on a weight-loss diet, Schiavo consumed too little potassium, resulting in a condition diagnosed as a [[persistent vegetative state]]. Her husband and her parents became locked in a lengthy legal battle over whether to keep her alive. Florida Governor [[Jeb Bush]] and his brother [[President Bush]] sided with the parents, who believed their daughter was responsive. Despite a special law passed to prevent her death, courts finally decided to terminate her life support on March 18, 2005, and she died of starvation and dehydration within two weeks.
While on a weight-loss diet, Schiavo consumed too little potassium. On February 25, 1990, Schiavo suffered a cardiac arrest, possibly due to a undiagnosed weight-loss related potassium deficiency. By the time paramedics arrived, Mrs. Schiavo's heart had not pumped for around 10 minutes, doctors found. <ref>With His Wife in Limbo, Husband Can't Move, N.Y. Times, Nov. 2, 2003 §1, at 18.</ref> The lack of blood flow to the brain resulted in a condition diagnosed as a [[persistent vegetative state]]. Her husband and her parents became locked in a lengthy legal battle over whether to keep her alive. Florida Governor [[Jeb Bush]] and his brother [[President Bush]] sided with the parents, who believed their daughter was responsive. Despite a special law passed to prevent her death, courts finally decided to terminate her life support on March 18, 2005, and she died of starvation and dehydration within two weeks.
Schiavo was diagnosed by physicians as being brain-damaged after her husband reported that she had collapsed in their home early in the morning.
Schiavo was diagnosed by physicians as being brain-damaged after her husband reported that she had collapsed in their home early in the morning.