Part of me says that the federal courts should have remedied all the deficiencies in the filings and the congressional bill, and part of me says that they should have played with the hand they were dealt with.
My strict constructionist leanings make me lean toward the latter.
I know I'm cold and callous but Terri wasn't ever going to contend for a Nobel prize no matter how this case turned out. Full recovery was never a possibility, so the question I have is whether her unfortunate case left us with any lessons. If it did, then her death was not in vain.
Judging from the nature of the reaction and discussion at FR, I'd say the answer to that is "no." And judging from society's short attention span, aversion to conflict, and the relative unimportance of an injustice to an average person, I'd emphasize that "no" into a "hell no."
Plus, it is highly likely that a majority of people either didn't hear about or get mentally involved in the case, or if they did get mentally involved, think the system worked perfectly. In the eyes of some, the unfortunate aspect is that the case was noticed, and religious nuts object.
No. I don't think this case will have any lasting impact. All's well that ends well. Move on, nothing to see here. Of course, some people will ponder the events, but they'll be in the minority.