Subaqua Sternal Rubs

PINELLAS PARK, Florida (CNN) — The feeding tube for the brain-damaged Florida woman at the center of a bitter moral and legal tug of war was disconnected Friday afternoon, and her husband's lawyer pleaded, "She has a right to die in peace."

The tube was disconnected about 1:45 p.m., George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, told reporters. Friday's medical procedure was the third time the tube had been disconnected from the 41-year-old woman.

The disconnecting of the feeding tube was the latest step in a contentious family saga that began 15 years ago, when Terri Schiavo collapsed from heart failure that resulted in severe brain damage. Lower courts have ruled that she is in a "persistent vegetative state."

Michael Schiavo contends his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially. But her parents argue she had no such death wish and believe she could get better with rehabilitation.

Terri Schiavo did not leave anything in writing about what she would want if she ever became incapacitated. Over the years, courts have sided with her husband in more than a dozen cases.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Members of Congress said Saturday that they have agreed on a compromise, bipartisan bill aimed at saving the life of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman whose feeding tube was disconnected Friday by order of a Florida court.

"It seems to me that we are at a point where we have no choice other than to ensure these parents, who are desperately seeking an opportunity to care for their daughter, have a chance to be heard in federal court," Republican Rep. David Dreier of California said, referring to Mary and Bob Schindler, Schiavo's parents.

The legislation — which must be voted on by the House and the Senate — would allow Schiavo's parents, who have been waging their legal battles in state court, to take their case to the federal court system.

There is no language ordering that the tube be reinserted, because Congress has no authority to do that.

Without liquids, it could take Schiavo two to four weeks to die from dehydration.

Sources: CNN.com (1, 2)

I have tried to stay out of this whole mess, but the last line did it for me. Letting someone die of starvation over the course of two to four weeks has to be one of the more horrific acts that a doctor can be forced to perform. However, this form of torture must be acceptable to society as a whole, since it is the only legal recourse of those living in "persistent vegetative state." This particular case is made difficult by the lack of documentation of the patient's wishes before she could no longer express them herself. Even if the patient did have "advanced directives," in 49 of the 50 states she could only enumerate which procedures/therapies she would not want performed. Only in progressive Oregon are mentally capable patients given the option of a "Death with Dignity." While I still strongly believe that physicians need to do everything possible to make their patient's well, they are also charged with "Do[ing] No Harm." A quick, painless "Death with Dignity" is doing a lot less harm than the agony of four weeks of starvation.

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