Schiavo has not been the only one

Does anyone remember Nancy Cruzan or Karen Ann Quinlan? Both women suffered from persistent vegetative states, and both families petitioned the courts to end their lives humanely. Apparently, we are doomed to repeat history, and doomed to learn nothing from the past.

Quinlan's family finally won the right to remove her ventilator, only she continued to live for another ten years. Cruzan's family eventually won the right to remove her feeding tube, and she lived a month. Read this for a concise summary of both cases. It has some interesting links to other sites as well.

"Following the Cruzan decision, the Patient Self Determination Act was passed by Congress to allow patients to make their own decisions about end of life care and/or routine care, should they be unable to make decisions for themselves. Advanced directives respect the individual's autonomy."

Congress has intervened once, on the side of patients. Now, is it going to reverse itself???