"there's a murder going down."
It's definitly a sad situation and certainly got the country in an up-roar. There's been much written about "when life ends" and from what I can tell the legal precedents have been set to determine such (right or wrong.)
I think it rather shortsighted to lay the blame on the courts and police. The legislative bodies have had 15 years in this case to write laws spelling out what life or lack thereof is. If no one did anything isn't it a bit to complain now that the laws and judicial system is inadequate? Terri's case has been hrough the courts and by most if not all accounts has been subjected to the due-process. If the laws of that process aren't adequate to protect people is it the courts fault or the people who write the laws?
Curiously, feeding tubes are removed everyday but for some reason this case has generated interest where there was none before.......at least not of this magnitude.
Generally, when a feeding tube is removed, it is (or at least is supposed to be) because the body is no longer capable of processing any digested nutrients that enter the bloodstream. Feeding someone in such a case would do no more good than shoving food down the throat of someone whose stomach had a huge unclosed hole in (e.g. from a gunshot or stab wound).
Terri, however, is perfectly capable of digesting and processing any nutrition she receives, and would also likely capable of much improvement if she were given therapy (she's been allowed none for about a decade). Her husband's statements claim that she's PVS, but his actions speak otherwise. Terri is aware of what's going on, but her husband is doing everything possible to stifle her cries for help.