Solitary Confinement

Consider, if you will, the effect of a sentence of life in solitary confinement without the chance of parole. Such is what I imagine that Terri Schaivo endured for the last fifteen years of her life. She committed no crime to warrant her punishment, but she bore it nonetheless. No one gains by continuing such punishment, and so it is right that it ended.

Terri’s husband, Michael, held out hope for several years that his wife would recover. He did everything in his power to make that happen. But when it became clear that there would be no recovery, he realized that he had lost her. Terri’s parents, the Schindlers, never gave up. Unfortunately, the price of their faith was the continued punishment of the daughter they love so much.

Legally, Michael Schaivo had the right and the responsibility to make decisions on his wife’s behalf. Despite attempts by others to rewrite the laws and reinterpret the existing laws, that fact remains. His decision to discontinue the mechanical feeding of his wife was undoubtedly a difficult one, and should have been a personal one. However, it became public, serving as a lightning rod for those who support right-to-life, while demonstrating the need for clear personal care directives. I wouldn’t wish his decision on anyone, and I admire his determination to see it through, despite the acrimony surrounding it.

I also admire the Schindlers, for keeping their daughter foremost in their thoughts. However, perhaps it’s time for them to shift their focus to their memories of Terri when she was healthy, and remember her as she was before fate dealt its terrible blow. To have hoped for nothing short of a miracle, and to have tied up the federal government and the high courts of the land is not a fitting memorial. However, they can be proud of the fact that their efforts caused a great stir in the country, and as a result, many people have learned the importance of personal directives. Surely, that can be part of Terri’s legacy.

If you don’t want your spouse to have to make difficult choices for you if you become incapacitated, then you should make sure that your directives are clear and legally binding. If you don’t trust your spouse to make the right choices in the absence of such directives, that’s a different problem altogether, but all the more reason to make sure that your directives are clear.

For my part, I don’t want to be kept alive artificially. If there’s no hope for recovery, there’s no point in depleting financial resources and adding to the spiraling healthcare costs in our country. However, if there’s a medical benefit to be gained, if my delayed demise can help doctors to learn valuable information, or allow my idle organs to be used to extend someone else’s life, I’ll be happy to stick around.

Terri's plight is finally over, and her solitary confinement has ended. As sad as her story has been, she leaves the world a better, more enlightened place. For that, we should all be grateful, and her family can truly be proud.