terri schiavo

Skip this if you'd like. But it expresses some of my concerns about the way the Terry Schiavo case has been decided.

• What 26 year old has put real thought into her treatment preferences in case of terminal illness? I've looked at a tired mom with triplet two-year-olds and said, "I'd rather be dead." But please don't take that as my legal preference.
  
• If the lady's dead, as her husband avers, she's beyond the point of caring whether her feeding tube is in or out. Why can't the custody of her body be turned over to her grieving parents, who care deeply?
• What would have happened if Terri Schiavo had no relatives but her husband? Would there be any legal oversight of the decision to end her life by benign neglect? Michael Schiavo's motives and actions have been thoroughly investigated in this case. But who's looking out for the rest of the people in Terri's situation? If a profiteering grandchild or an exhausted spouse chooses to allow a patient to die in order to simplify his or her life, would anybody ever know?

It's a little scary.