My condolences to you for the death of your wife. That has to be incredibly painful to go through. I must say that the difference between Terri's situation and your late wife's situation is that your wife was dying of cancer, while Terri is "inconveniently' not dying. You were a faithful husband until you were parted by her death; Michael is not.
Being a faithful husband "for many years" doesn't cut it. Neither does having "the sense to move on, find another and raise a family" while he is still married to Terri. As evidence, I submit his own words in sworn testimony:
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO. 92-939-15
EXCERPT OF JURY TRIAL - TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL RICHARD SCHIAVO
(November 5, 1992)
page 26 Q. Why did you want to learn to be a nurse? page 27 A. Because I enjoy it and I want to learn more how to take care of Terry. Q. You're a young man. Your life is ahead of you. Your future is beyond you. Up the road, when you look up the road, what do you see for yourself? A. I see myself hopefully finishing school and taking care of my wife. Q. Where do you want to take care of your wife? A. I want to bring my wife home. Q. If you had the resources available to you, if you had the equipment and the people, would you do that? A. Yes, I would, in a heartbeat. Q. How do you feel about being married to Terry now? A. I feel wonderful. She's my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I believe in my -- I believe in my wedding vows. Q. What do you mean? You want to take a minute? A. Yeah. MR. WOODWORTH: If the Court would let us take a minute. Q. (BY MR. WOODWORTH:) You okay? A. Yeah. I'm sorry. Q. Have -- you said you believe in your wedding vows, what do you mean by that? A. I believe in the vows that I took with my wife, page 28 through sickness, in health, for richer or poorer. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that. http://journals.aol.com/justice1949/JUSTICEFORTERRISCHIAVO/entries/323
His sworn testimony means about as much as his wedding vows.
Cordially,
Sorry, I disagree. Terri *effectively* died the moment she collapsed and never recovered. Who she was, her personality, her essense was lost. All that remains is the involuntary and noncognitive reflexes and movements of the body - this is why every single court-appointed observer of Terri have all agreed she is in a PVS.
What this means to me is it is perfectly acceptable for Michael to have sexual relations with other women despite the fact Terri's body is still alive and have it not be construed as adultery.
While the letter of the law prohibits him from remarrying while Terri's body is still alive; I don't have a moral problem with an alleged adultery.
After all, his vows were to Terri, not to her body.