What the judge said was that both sides were mired in a conflict of interest. There was no real reason to believe one over the other in that respect. The element that convinced the judge was that the Schindler's account of a 12-year-old Terri saying that Karen Ann Quinlan's father shouldn't remove her from life support was more of a concern for Karen Ann than a statement that Terri herself wouldn't want life support removed. But on the other hand, an adult Terri made several statements to the effect that she wouldn't want to be kept alive while connected up to a machine.
The link to the document is here. The testimony about Terri's wishes are on page 5-6. The judge's conclusions are on page 8-10. And as others here have said, the judge also concludes that every other circumstance outside Terri's stated wishes for her "end of life decision" is academic.
THe judges opinion. And he's never even met her.
This is the crux of what bothers me the most about this case. There is no clear evidence other than some people's statements (which we all know may or may not be true). And we are not talking about pulling a vent. We are talking about starving and dehyrdating a human being to death because of it.
I am more disturbed that people seem to think this is ok than I am that one random husband might have sinister motives.
susie