Who Was Terri Schiavo? Wiki, Biography, Cause of Death, Parents, Husband, Grave, Full Case and more
Terri Schiavo was a woman who became the center of a national and international debate over the right to die, the quality of life, and the role of the government in personal matters. Her case involved a long and bitter legal battle between her husband, who wanted to remove her feeding tube and let her die, and her parents, who wanted to keep her alive and hoped for a miracle. Her story raised many ethical, moral, and legal questions that still resonate today.
Terri Schiavo Wiki/Bio
| Name | Terri Schiavo |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Theresa Marie Schindler |
| Birth date | December 3, 1963 |
| Birth place | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Death date | March 31, 2005 |
| Death place | Pinellas Park, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Complications from cardiac arrest and removal of feeding tube |
| Resting place | Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park & Funeral Home, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Spouse | Michael Schiavo (m. 1984–2005) |
| Parents | Robert and Mary Schindler |
| Siblings | Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo and Bobby Schindler |
| Occupation | Insurance clerk |
| Known for | Being the subject of a legal and ethical controversy over the right to die |
| Links | Wikipedia- @Terri_Schiavo_case Homepage- Newsunzip |
Early Life, Birthday, Parents, Siblings
Terri Schiavo was born Theresa Marie Schindler on December 3, 1963 (age: 41 years, as of 2023), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the eldest of three children of Robert and Mary Schindler, devout Catholics who raised their family in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Her sister’s name is Suzanne Schindler Vitadam and her brother’s name is Bobby Schindler.
Terri was described as a shy, quiet, and kind girl who loved animals and music. She graduated from Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in 1982 and attended Bucks County Community College, where she met Michael Schiavo, a nursing student. They married in 1984 and moved to Florida, where they both worked in the healthcare field. She was a clerk at an insurance company, while Michael was a respiratory therapist.
Spouse
Terri and Michael Schiavo had a troubled marriage, marked by financial difficulties, marital discord, and her struggles with her weight and self-esteem. She suffered from bulimia, an eating disorder that causes binge eating and purging, and was severely underweight. She also had low potassium levels, which can affect her heart function. Michael claimed that he was unaware of her condition and that she hid it from him and her family.
The Collapse and the Diagnosis
On February 25, 1990, when Terri was 26 years old, she collapsed in her home in St. Petersburg, Florida, due to a cardiac arrest caused by a potassium imbalance. She was resuscitated by paramedics but suffered severe brain damage due to lack of oxygen. She was taken to Humana Northside Hospital, where she was put on a ventilator and given a feeding tube. She was diagnosed with anoxic encephalopathy, a condition that results from brain injury due to oxygen deprivation. She was transferred to Bayfront Medical Center, where she underwent several tests and treatments, including a thalamotomy, a surgical procedure that involves destroying part of the thalamus, a brain region that regulates consciousness and sensory perception.
After two and a half months, Terri’s condition did not improve, and she was declared to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), a state of wakefulness without awareness, in which a person has no voluntary movements, no communication, and no signs of cognitive function. She was moved to a skilled nursing facility, where she received round-the-clock care and therapy. She remained in this state for the rest of her life, although her parents and some doctors disputed the diagnosis and claimed that she had some degree of awareness and responsiveness.
The Legal Battle, Full Case
In 1992, Michael Schiavo sued the doctors who treated Terri for medical malpractice, alleging that they failed to diagnose and treat her bulimia and potassium imbalance, which led to her cardiac arrest and brain damage. He won the case and received $1.3 million in damages, of which $750,000 was put in a trust fund for Terri’s care and $300,000 was awarded to him for loss of consortium. He also received $600,000 from a separate settlement with the hospital. He claimed that he intended to use the money to provide the best care for Terri and to seek experimental treatments that might help her recover.
However, in 1993, Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers had a falling out over Terri’s care and Michael’s personal life. Michael Schiavo accused the Schindlers of interfering with her treatment and trying to take control of her money. He also admitted that he had a girlfriend, with whom he later had two children. The Schindlers accused Michael Schiavo of neglecting Schiavo, abusing her, and having a conflict of interest. They also alleged that he had a motive to kill her as he would inherit her trust fund and be free to marry his girlfriend. They demanded that he divorce Terri Schiavo and give up his guardianship rights.
In 1998, Michael Schiavo filed a petition to the Sixth Circuit Court of Florida, requesting permission to remove Terri’s feeding tube, which was the only thing keeping her alive. He argued that she had told him before her collapse that she would not want to live in such a state, and that he was honoring her wishes. The Schindlers opposed the petition, arguing that Terri had never expressed such a wish, and that she was a devout Catholic who would oppose euthanasia. They also claimed that Terri Schiavo had a chance to recover, and that they were willing to take care of her for the rest of her life.
The court appointed a guardian ad litem, a neutral party who would represent Terri’s best interests, and ordered an evidentiary hearing, in which both sides presented witnesses and experts to testify on her medical condition, her prognosis, and her wishes. The court also ordered an independent neurologist to examine Terri and give an opinion on her diagnosis.
After hearing the evidence, the court ruled in favor of Michael Schiavo, finding that she was indeed in a PVS, that there was no hope of improvement, and that she had made clear statements to her husband and others that she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means. The court authorized Michael Schiavo to remove her feeding tube, but stayed the order pending appeal.
The Schindlers appealed the decision to the Second District Court of Appeal, which upheld the lower court’s ruling in 2001. The Schindlers then appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. The Schindlers also filed several motions in the lower court, seeking to overturn or delay the order, based on new evidence, new witnesses, new treatments, or new legal arguments.
All of these motions were denied by the court, which found them to be frivolous, repetitive, or irrelevant. The court also rejected the Schindlers’ request to replace Michael Schiavo as Terri’s guardian, finding no evidence of wrongdoing or conflict of interest on his part.
On April 24, 2001, Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed for the first time, following the court’s order. However, two days later, the Second District Court of Appeal issued a stay, ordering the reinsertion of the tube, pending further review of the case. The court later affirmed its previous decision, but allowed the Schindlers to file a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied in 2002. The court also allowed the Schindlers to file a motion for relief from judgment, based on new evidence that Terri was not in a PVS, but in a minimally conscious state, a state of partial awareness and responsiveness. The court denied the motion, finding that the evidence was not new, credible, or sufficient to change the outcome of the case.
On October 15, 2003, Terri’s feeding tube was removed for the second time, following the court’s order. However, the next day, the Florida legislature passed a bill, known as “Terri’s Law”, which gave Governor Jeb Bush the authority to intervene in the case and order the reinsertion of the tube. Bush signed the bill and issued an executive order, citing his duty to protect the life and liberty of Florida citizens.
Michael Schiavo challenged the constitutionality of the law and the order, arguing that they violated the separation of powers, the right to privacy, and the due process of law. The court agreed with him, and declared the law and the order to be invalid and unenforceable. The court also ordered the removal of Terri’s feeding tube for the third time, on March 18, 2005.
The End of a Life, Grave, Death Cause
On March 18, 2005, after exhausting all legal remedies, Terri’s feeding tube was finally removed for the third and last time, following the order of Judge George W. Greer. She died 13 days later, on March 31, 2005, at the age of 41. Her death was peaceful and painless, according to the medical experts and the hospice staff. Her body was cremated and her ashes were buried at the Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park in Clearwater, Florida, as per Michael’s wishes. Her grave marker bears the inscription: “I kept my promise”.
Terri’s death marked the end of a tragic and controversial saga that touched the hearts and minds of millions of people. Her case raised important ethical, legal, and social issues that are still relevant and debated today. Her case also showed the power and the limits of the law, politics, and the media in shaping the public discourse and personal choices. Her case also revealed the complexity and the diversity of the human condition, and the need for compassion and respect for the dignity and autonomy of every individual.
Terri Schiavo was a woman who lived a simple and ordinary life, until she became a victim of a cruel fate. She was a woman who loved and was loved by her family and friends until she became the subject of a fierce dispute. She was a woman who had hopes and dreams until she became a symbol of a cause. She was a woman who had a voice until she became silent. She was a woman who had a life until she became a death.
The Political Intervention
Terri Schiavo’s case attracted widespread media attention and public interest, as well as the involvement of various political and religious groups and figures. Many people and organizations supported the Schindlers’ efforts to keep Terri alive, including the Catholic Church, the anti-abortion movement, the disability rights movement, and some members of the Republican Party. They argued that Schiavo was a human being with dignity and rights, that her life was sacred and valuable, and that removing her feeding tube was equivalent to murder.
They also questioned the credibility and motives of Michael Schiavo, and accused him of having a conflict of interest and a hidden agenda. They held vigils, protests, and rallies outside the hospice where Terri was staying, and sent letters, emails, and phone calls to the judges and the politicians involved in the case. Some of them even threatened violence or death to those who supported the removal of the tube.
