The basis for decisions to end life. The Schiavo dilemma: an essay by the special guardian ad Litem

At age four, my eldest son once asked me “Daddy, how old are people when they die?”. I allowed “As old as they are going to get”. In this, Theresa Marie Schiavo, who died at 41, is no different from Pope John Paul II, who died at 87. They were each as old as they were going to get. One died as a con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical interventions in aging 2006-01, Vol.1 (1), p.3-6
Main Author: Wolfson, Jay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Aging - physiology
Assisted suicide
Clinical decision making
Decision Making
Euthanasia - legislation & jurisprudence
Florida
Guardians
Health Services - legislation & jurisprudence
Humans
Male
Opinion
Palliative care
Right to die
State laws
Withholding Treatment - legislation & jurisprudence
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Summary:At age four, my eldest son once asked me “Daddy, how old are people when they die?”. I allowed “As old as they are going to get”. In this, Theresa Marie Schiavo, who died at 41, is no different from Pope John Paul II, who died at 87. They were each as old as they were going to get. One died as a consequence of an express decision to remove a medical intervention, the other as a consequence of the natural course of illness.
ISSN:1176-9092
1178-1998
DOI:10.2147/ciia.2006.1.1.3