Death With Indignity

A flurry of legislation brings Terri Schiavo's fate to a national debate

Michael Schiavo has long insisted that what he wants for his wife Terri is a dignified death. But a flurry of legislative maneuvering late last week showed how the predicament of one severely brain-damaged Florida woman--who has been in what doctors call a persistent vegetative state since 1990--is in danger of getting lost in the clash of political agendas. In an effort to head off the scheduled removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, the House of Representatives, led by Republican Tom DeLay, took the extraordinary step on Friday of issuing a subpoena for Schiavo herself, along with her doctors and family. The...

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