"It was not so much a right-to-die or right-to-life story as it was a story about who speaks for a person when she cannot speak for herself."
This has become my chant, and I think you and I are among the few who hear it.
I suspect you have a different meaning for "speaking for someone who can't speak for herself" than I would. Last I heard, assisted suicide has been, and still is, illegal in Florida. Since Terri's condition wasn't terminal, even IF she did tell Michael she "wouldn't want to live that way," killing her as he did was every bit as criminal as anything the famed "Dr. Death" did, and he ended up in jail for it.
At least, in his case, the people definitely made such statements, often signed and notarized. In the Schiavo case, there was just the word of a husband who "suddenly remembered" it some years after the fact, and almost immediately after he collected his settlement for her "care." None of her family heard her say any such thing, and none of her actual friends did either--I say "actual" because a lot of people are touting her sister-in-law (Michael's sister) as her "best friend" when that was most certainly not the case.
Certain people cannot or will not accept the truth.
I agree totally - that's been the main issue for me as well.
Oh..I forgot..she didn't leave a living will and in that case the sanctity of marriage covers everything. It supersedes the civil right to life.
Bye bye Mrs. Peterson....your husband measured the quality of your life and found it unacceptable. He knew what was best for his family. How dare the government get involved in your private family matter.