Age of Innocence (aired October 12, 2005)
Robert Barrows is killed in a pipe-bomb explosion shortly before he disconnects a feeding tube that his wife, Karen, has been on for a long time. Detectives enter the heated debate over the right to die and who makes that decision for an incapacitated person. Reverend Harlan Dwyer is charged with the murder and is convicted.
- This episode is obviously based on the controversy surrounding Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo, who died in March 2005 after a public fight over whether she would have wanted to continue medical treatment, had irreparable brain damage and found no evidence of abuse. Schiavo's relatives had fought for many years over whether medical treatment and feeding tubes should be withdrawn given her medical condition. Schiavo's husband Michael had decided that she would have wanted to withdraw medical treatment given her being in a persistent vegetative state, but her parents disagreed with such diagnoses and believed that she would have wanted to continue such treatment due to her religious beliefs.
Most state laws, including Florida's, recognize that a person's spouse should act as a guardian and decide what happens if that person is so incapacitated. Under Florida law, parents have such rights only if a person has no spouse.
As in this episode, Schiavo's parents did challenge Michael Schiavo's fitness as a guardian, in part because he began living with a girlfriend and her children. In particular, the parents contended that Michael Schiavo wanted to terminate his wife's life so that he could inherit the remaining award from a medical malpractice lawsuit that he filed on his wife's behalf in the early 1990s. Several state courts rejected this concern. "We see no evidence in this record that either Michael or the Schindlers seek monetary gain from their actions. Michael and the Schindlers simply cannot agree on what decision Theresa would made today if she were able to assess her own condition and make her own decision," a Florida appellate court said in January 2001. Still, that court did express its hope that Michael Schiavo would volunteer that money to a charity instead of keeping it.
Their fight first became a national issue in 2003 when the Florida legislature and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tried to stop the withdrawal of medical treatment through legislation and an executive order that were later declared unconstitutional. The fight reached a new level when a state court judge ruled in February 2005 that medical treatment could be withdrawn on March 18 and when the feeding tube was in fact removed on that day. Congress then enacted a law on March 21 specifically to give Schiavo's parents access to the federal courts to challenge state judges' decisions; federal judges nonetheless refused to counter the state judges' decisions. Schiavo died on March 31.
It is worth noting that the entire controversy could have been avoided if Schiavo had thought ahead and prepared an advance directive stating what she would want in such circumstances. The United States Supreme Court and many states have recognized that people have the right to decide when to end medical treatment and when to refuse it, and the only legal controversies arise when people did not formally express their preferences before falling into a non-communicative state. Relatively few Americans have prepared such orders, according to some surveys. Only 9 percent of hospital patients surveyed under the age of 30 had done so, according to a 1993 study by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General.
For more background on the case and the legal issues involved, go here.
- The references to bomber Mitchell Randolph evoke Eric Robert Rudolph, who had been one of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives for his involvement in several bombings, including the 1996 Olympic Park bombing, in which one person was killed and more than 100 injured, and the 1998 bombing of an Alabama family-planning clinic, in which one police officer was killed and a nurse critically injured. Rudolph was captured in May 2003 in western North Carolina and then pled guilty in April 2005 to charges connected to the 1996 bombing, the 1998 bombing, as well as two 1997 bombings of a Georgia family-planning clinic and an Atlanta nightclub. Rudolph was sentenced in August 2005 to four life sentences, two 40-year sentences and two 20-year sentences. Related press releases are on-line here, here, and here.
(back to top)
|
|
|
Home / Calendar
The West Wing
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
The Colbert Report
Saturday Night Live
Commander in Chief
Law & Order
*
Issues
Resources
Site FAQ
Search via Google
Ripped from the Headlines?
West Wing: Santos discusses a lawsuit about intelligent design
West Wing: Electoral map as of the 10/9 episode; Santos needs to catch up big-time
SNL: The Miers nomination
South Park: Inspired by Katrina
Boston Legal: End to assault-weapons ban
Daily Show: A 2004 study found that 21 percent of young people regularly get their campaign news from comedy shows like the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live. So, some footnotes.
NOTE: All photos are copyright their respective owners.
| |
|
DISCLAIMER. The materials contained in this website have been prepared by Stephen Lee ("Author") for informational purposes only and do not contain or constitute legal advice. These materials may not reflect the most current legal developments, verdicts or settlements.
Furthermore, this information should in no way be taken as an indication of future results. Reading this website is not intended to create, and your receipt and/or use of the information contained herein, does not constitute an attorney/client relationship. You should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Reproduction, distribution or republication of material contained within this website is prohibited unless the prior permission of Author has been obtained.
(C) Copyright 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Stephen Lee. All rights reserved. Newsaic and FootnoteTV are registered service marks of Stephen Lee. Mirror Law and Footnote Comics are service marks of Stephen Lee. More information available here. Comments or suggestions to the Site Editor.
|
|
|
By Stephen Lee
| |
