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Article: Extraordinary means.(From the Editors)(Editorial)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- April 8, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The passions of those on either side of the Terri Schiavo tragedy are not hard to understand. Still, whether Michael Schiavo was right to have his wife's feeding tube removed is not a judgment that people outside the family should second-guess too quickly or easily. The choices involved cannot simply be reduced to the slogan "err on the side of life" or to accusations of euthanasia or death by starvation. Contested by Terri Schiavo's parents, Michael Schiavo's decision was rightfully adjudicated in the courts, not in Congress, the Florida governor's office, or the White House.
Given the inherently complex nature, both medically and morally, of Terri Schiavo's ...