There have been many before her. We are moving into a utilitarian society. Those who brought out the PVS diagnosis and began slapping it on severely disabled people right and left, some of whom were using wheelchairs ( and were still condemned by a court to deliberate dehydration because they also used a feeding tube), are now speaking of new things.
They are speaking of less disabled people, conscious and alert people, and how their quality of life is so low that they, too, should be "allowed to choose the right to die".
They are talking about depression as a legitimate reason to die.
They are talking about children in the ICU at Boston Childrens being taken to the OR and having their organs harvested while they are still alive, and then dying on the table. Children with chronic pulmonary diseases or children who are brain damaged.
They are talking about using people like Terri for medical experiments instead of animals.
These are all ominous signs which should be of great concern for all Americans. This is about a lot more than Terri.
Not a medical doctor, but from what I can gather her condition is pretty rare. Usually the brain stem is damaged (which causes brain death) but in her case, it was not severely compromised as the rest of her cortex was.
The stem contains the necessary hardwiring for autonomic functions like breathing and temperature regulation, but it cannot be taught to do anything more, that I am aware of.
No, she is not brain dead. If she were, this would not the issue it is, but she has no hope of regaining anything, and will conceivably carry on like she is for some time to come.
I don't believe I have ever heard of someone in this state who has never had a bed sore, and that indicates her care is exceptionally good.
I have only come in to contact with a case like this on one other occasion. It was a stroke victim. He passed within eighteen months, and I suspect the situation was much the same without a family squabble and courts.