In The Faith - A Chronicle of the Christian Faith

Will the debate continue?

PINELLAS PARK, Florida (CNN)—The death of Terri Schindler Schiavo came 15 years after she suffered severe brain damage that left her fate up to others, eventually leading to a legal battle and a national discussion on issues of life and death.

Schiavo, 41, died 13 days after doctors removed the feeding tube that had kept her alive. (Full story)

Her relatives and friends never reached a consensus on whether the Florida resident would have wanted to linger for so long in what doctors called a persistent vegetative state. However, all who knew her agree the once-bashful woman would have shunned the litigation-spawned spotlight.

Before Schiavo’s death, her best friend in high school, Diane Meyer, told The Miami Herald that Schiavo would have asked, ” ‘All this for me?’ Terri never dreamed of saving the world, whether through her living or through her death,” Meyer told the Florida newspaper. “She just wanted to be your common, everyday, happy woman.”

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Filed under: Ethics