I agree with you and support Michael. Authorities claimed she was blind and couldnt see her parents when they claimed she recognized them.
Some people claim that. Others disagree. There are protocols for distinguishing between real perception and "wishful seeing", but Michael didn't want Terri to be seen by anyone he could not dismiss as a "wishful seer".
Sample protocol: different people enter the room and attempt to converse with the test subject. A friend of the test subject is allowed to see the subject and hear any of the subject's vocalizations, but cannot see or hear the other people who enter; that friend has to identify when the subject is responding to a friend or loved one, and when the subject is not.
The protocol could be varied for different test subjects, but the basic principle is very simple: the test subject is given a sensory stimulus which is not given to the subject's friend. The subject must then communicate with the friend somehow. The protocol is fair because the evaluation of the subject's responses is done by someone who wants the test to succeed, but only if the subject can communicate will that person have the information necessary to show that.
I sometimes wondered why Michael didn't just turn her care over to her distraught parents and siblings, but if he made a promise to Terri he did the right thing to keep that promise.
I am also uneasy about Terri's family using her name and likeness for a cause that is entirely of their own making.
Flame-proof pajamas have been donned.