It's not really the "courts" that rule in favor of the estranged husband. It's one judge - George Greer - and the appelates have stood by him.
Remember, the husband's attorney petitioned the court early on for a non-jury trial. There is indication that collusion may be a factor in the case (
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200309/CUL20030917c.html). Finally, Judge Greer has not allowed simple swallow tests for Terri to determine if she could safely consume table food. It is rather obvious that strong bias exists.
Again, the second DCA has backed him and it's anyone guess why that it. But, in the grand scheme of things, the courts are not the ones sentancing Terri to death. It's Judge Greer.
-P-
It's not really the "courts" that rule in favor of the estranged husband. It's one judge - George Greer - and the appelates have stood by him.Actually I have to disagree with you. A survey of the internet legal sites shows that most attorneys posting on this find Greer and associates to be quite grounded in their decisions.
A survey of the historical, landmark cases shows this to be the case as well, don't you agree?
They are not ruling in favor of the estranged husband as much as they are following the line of previous court decisions, (all posted above with explanations about how each led to the next step)and the rights set and decided upon - to privacy, to surrogate judgement, etc.
If you are going to nail Greer to a post you must go back and nail every court which has ruled that surrogate family members can make a choice on behalf of an incapacitated relative. Please correct me if I am wrong.