Background on the Schiavo case
What caused Terri Schiavo’s condition?
On February 25, 1990, Terri Schiavo collapsed at her Florida home from what doctors said was a potassium
imbalance. After she collapsed, her brain did not receive oxygen for about five minutes.
The oxygen deprivation caused severe brain damage. Schiavo’s husband, Michael, has said his wife was bulimic,
and the binging and purging of that eating disorder could have caused the potassium imbalance.
In what condition is Terri Schiavo?
Doctors that Michael Schiavo hired have said she is in a persistent vegetative state. That does not mean she
is brain dead. People in a persistent vegetative state cannot think, speak or respond to commands and are not aware
of their surroundings. They may have noncognitive functions and breathing and circulation may remain relatively
intact. Terry Schiavo breathes on her own and blinks.
Doctors that Terri’s parents, Mary and Robert Schindler, hired have said she is not in a vegetative state and has the
capacity to improve with therapy. She has not received physical therapy for more than a decade. Her parents contend
that when she received therapeutic care, she uttered a few one-syllable words. Until March 18, Terri received
nourishment and hydration through a tube that placed the nutrients directly in her stomach.
What is Terri’s mental capacity?
David Gibbs, an attorney for the Schindlers, said Terri has the mental capacity of a 6-month-old. George Felos,
Michael Schiavo’s attorney, has said she lacks all mental capacity and spinal fluid occupies the space where her
cerebral cortex was.
What is the settlement to which her parents and husband refer?
In 1992, a Florida jury awarded Michael Schiavo $300,000 for loss of consortium as part of the medical malpractice
suit he filed. The jurors also awarded $700,000 to Terri Schiavo.
Where is Terri’s money, how much remains and who controls it?
The $700,000 for Terri Schiavo went into a trust over which her husband has sole control. Felos said his client used
the money for Terri’s medical care and his legal expenses, and that the money ran out about three years ago.
Why does her husband get to decide Terri Schiavo’s fate instead of her parents?
Florida law specifies that the spouse of an incapacitated adult is that person’s guardian. In 1993, the Schindlers
petitioned the court to remove their son-in-law as Terri’s guardian. They lost.
Why have the Schindlers said Michael Schiavo should not be their daughter’s guardian?
They believe that there is a conflict of interest because Michael Schiavo lives with his girlfriend and has two children
with her. They have contended that he cannot uphold the best interest of his wife while living in what they describe as
an adulterous relationship. Michael Schiavo has said he is removing his wife’s feeding tube as part of keeping his
promise to her that he would not allow artificial means to preserve her life. He has stated that his new family does not
affect his feelings for his wife because he can love more than one person.
What happened to Terri Schiavo?
On March 18, 2005 the local Florida courts allowed the removal of Schiavo’s feeding tubes, and on March 31, she
died. An autopsy performed after she died indicated that brain damage was so severe, it would have been
impossible for Schiavo to ever emerge from the persistent vegetative state she had been in for the past 15 years.