I am given to understand that as a matter of law, Terri would have to have not only stated that she did "not want to live that way," she would also have had to state that she did not wish to be given food nor water in the event of her incapacity.
I based that on some of the law that I ran across, but of course cannot find it now.
However, here is the contrary view of the Second District Court of Appeal, which is also in the previous lawsuit of September 22, 2002 :
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
Civil Action No.: 8:03-CV-1860-T-26-TGW
THERESA MARIE SCHINDLER
SCHIAVO, Incapacitated, by her
Parents and Next Friends, ROBERT
and MARY SCHINDLER,[snip]
23. In the course of the appellate proceedings, the Second District Court of
Appeal enunciated the following policies under Florida's statutory scheme
for termination of "life-prolonging" measures under Chapter 765:
A. The incapacitated ward is generally not entitled to an
independent guardian ad litem in proceedings that can result in
her death, as the trial judge "essentially serves as the ward's
guardian" in a Chapter 765 proceeding, and an independent
guardian ad litem would only "duplicate" the function of the
trial judge, regardless of how egregious and obvious the
conflict of interest between the ward and her court-appointed
guardian. In re Guardianship of Schiavo, 780 So.2d 176, 179
(Fla. 2d DCA 2001)("Schiavo 1").
B. A ward can be deprived of food and water, and thus killed,
without proof of any specific advanced directive addressing food
and water by G-tube, and based on nothing more than
spontaneous, generalized, pre-incapacity oral remarks about
"artificial" life support.
C. The requisite medical condition of "persistent vegetative state"
(PVS) can be proven, and the ward killed, based on a mere
preponderance of the evidence.
The judges in the State of Florida do not require much to kill you these days.
The "legal experts" who have argued to take your guns, may not bother, and instead, might merely find you "sleeping it off."
ZZZZZ...buzzZAP!
Next case.