Bobby Schindler Makes a Point

Bobby Schindler, Terri Schiavo’s brother, has commented on a phenomenon I have also noticed: The propensity of the media to continually distinguish Terri’s case from other examples when purportedly unconscious people awaken, or dehydrations are stopped because the patient is found to be much more aware—as in the Haleigh Poutre and Ron Comeau cases. He writes about it in “Please Don’t Confuse This Story with Terri Schiavo.” Here are a few excerpts:

One can’t help but wonder if perhaps the mainstream media is feeling a growing sense of uneasiness regarding Terri’s death. In the two years since my sister died I have witnessed an increasing determination on their part to convince the public that she was “hopeless” and in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) regardless of any and all evidence to the contrary.

I believe this is happening because of the increasing number of questions now being raised as to the veracity of the PVS diagnosis, which was the litmus test used to kill Terri—a litmus test which is still being used to justify the killing of others who are said to be in this condition. Just last month researchers found that over 40% of the people diagnosed as being in a PVS are, in fact, misdiagnosed. This new study confirmed an already existing British study regarding the high rate of PVS misdiagnoses...There have also been a growing number of persons diagnosed as being in “vegetative” conditions, predicted by doctors to never to regain consciousness, who have unexplainably awakened.

He gives several examples of this ubiquitous media approach, and writes:

One has to wonder why the media goes to such extravagant lengths to distance Terri’s case from anything and everything that might connect her to a positive development or outcome. Perhaps it is because they realize just how culpable they are in her death. Rather than report the facts of her case, the media championed the cause of the so-called “right to die” movement. They wrote Terri off as “hopeless” from the beginning and never bothered to examine the reality of her situation. By trumpeting the decision of the judge who sentenced her to die, handling with kid gloves the “husband” who sought to kill her and giving a platform to euthanasia advocates, the media abdicated all responsibility to present the truth to the American public.

True, true, and true.

But what about Terri’s famous autopsy that confirmed she was PVS? Uh, it didn’t:

And let’s not forget the autopsy which did NOT prove that Terri was PVS. The fact of matter is that the media—incredibly—continues to distort the autopsy with the public believing, all the while, that it confirmed Terri was in PVS. Dr. Thogmartin, who performed Terri’s autopsy clearly stated, on at least three separate occasions, that he was unable to conclude whether Terri was in a PVS because it is a clinical diagnosis (person must be alive) and cannot be confirmed by autopsy. Even more significant was the statement of Dr. Thogmartin’s colleague, neuropathologist Dr. Stephen Nelson, who said he could not rule out that Terri may even have been in a minimally conscious state (MCS) which is a higher level of consciousness than PVS.

Of course, it didn’t matter to the Schindlers whether their beloved Terri was conscious or unconscious. They simply wanted to love and care for her for the rest of her days. Too bad the media is so intent on convincing everyone that her family was wrong.