Terri Schiavo

Theresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo (December 3, 1963 Pennsylvania, United States – March 31, 2005 Pinellas Park, Pinellas County, Florida, United States) was a woman from St. Petersburg, Florida whose unusual medical and family circumstances and attendant legal battles fueled intense media attention and led to several high-profile court decisions and involvement by prominent politicians and interest groups.

Related Topics:
December 3 - 1963 - Pennsylvania - United States - March 31 - 2005 - Pinellas Park - Pinellas County - Florida - St. Petersburg

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Schiavo experienced cardiac arrest and collapsed in her home in early 1990, incurring massive brain damage; she remained in a coma for ten weeks. Within three years, she was diagnosed to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) with little chance of recovery.

Related Topics:
Cardiac arrest - 1990 - Persistent vegetative state

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Beginning in 1998, Schiavo?s husband and guardian Michael Schiavo petitioned the courts to remove the gastric feeding tube keeping Schiavo alive; Schiavo's parents Robert and Mary Schindler fought a series of legal battles opposing Michael. The courts consistently found that Schiavo was PVS and had made credible statements that she would not want to be kept alive on a machine. By March 2005, the legal history around the Schiavo case included fourteen appeals and innumerable motions, petitions, and hearings in the Florida courts; five suits in Federal District Court; Florida legislation(Terri?s Law) struck down by the Florida Supreme Court; a subpoena by a congressional committee in an attempt to qualify Schiavo for "witness protection"; federal legislation (Palm Sunday Compromise); and four denials from the United States Supreme Court, among others.{{ref|ACLU.OppositionToInjunctionBrief}}

Related Topics:
1998 - Michael Schiavo - Feeding tube - 2005 - Terri?s Law - Palm Sunday Compromise - United States Supreme Court

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Despite these interventions, the courts continued to find that Schiavo was in a PVS with no hope for recovery, and would want to cease life support. Her feeding tube was removed a third and final time on March 18, 2005. She died at the hospice on March 31, 2005, at the chronological age of 41.

Related Topics:
March 18 - 2005 - March 31

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