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Volumes of hearsay evidence?

It's no more heresay than the "evidence" that she wanted to die. The problem is, no matter how many times you review these statements, his family says they remember Terri saying she wouldn't want to be kept alive by artificial means, her family saying she wouldn't want to die, others who remember MS saying he had no idea what she would want because they never discussed it. There's also the conundrum of "food & water" not legally considered treatment at the when Terri made her alleged statements (I certainly don't think of food and water when I think of artificial means) and the matter of her religion which forbids ending one's life this way. Her husband says her religion wasn't that important to her, but her actions tell a different story as she went to church weekly (IIRC she had even been to church the night of her collapse).

While Greer did rule in favor of MS, we do know that one of the people testifying on the "life" side had her testimony discounted because he had confused the dates. He says this wouldn't have made a difference, but one of the reasons he deemed the Schindler's POV less credible is because he had few definitive statements Terri made to them or her friends when she was an adult...his "mistake" meant that this friend's very clear recollection wasn't even considered. Even so, what it boils down to is that it's all heresay. The only two people who didn't have a vested interest were the guardians ad litem. While they did not come to the same conclusions regarding Terri's right to live or die, the one area they did agree on is that, because of his 2nd family, MS shouldn't be given guardianship because it was a conflict of interest. On the other side, there's MS's contention that the Schindlers only wanted Terri kept alive because of the money. As her guardianship would have been given to her brother, her parents wouldn't have been given access to what remained of her funds anyway. But, had there been any doubt, Greer could have chosen a third party to manage her money. It's done all the time, as a probate judge, he would be well aware of this.

We also can't be certain that Terri was PVS. Since she wasn't given the full battery of tests necessary for a diagnosis it's pretty obvious that doctors on both sides could only make their "best" guess (though to their credit, at least the Schindler's doctors requested these tests be performed). We do know that before her therapy was stopped, Terri was making progress. This is verified by her medical records, it's not heresay. Incidentally, eventhough MS had all therapy stopped, this was a violation of the law which requires all disabled people to receive occupational and/or physical therapy. At this point, we can only speculate whether or not continued progess would have been made. There are just too many unknowns to be making such a permanent decision about another person's life. Unless she regained full consciousness (a possibility since there are documented cases) it would never be too late to rule Terri should die, but there did come a point when it became too late for her to live. Had Greer ordered ALL necessary tests performed on Terri (hopefully by a neutral doctor who didn't favor one side or the other), or even had therapy continued so there would be a record of her progress (or lack of) Judge Greer's decision (and the rubberstamping by the rest of the judiciary) wouldn't have seemed as suspect. If judges have the power of life or death over their fellow citizens, then they better base their decisions on the very best and most up to date information available. Consider it overly emotional if you wish, but I believe his obligation was greater in Terri's case because she was unable to speak for herself.

Cindie