Terri Schiavo’s legacy: When to ethically stop life support

Terri Schiavo’s legacy: When to ethically stop life support 
Medscape; by Arthur L. Caplan; 8/30/25 
Hi. I’m Art Caplan. I'm at the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. Twenty years ago this month, from the time I'm talking with you, in March 2005, a young woman named Terri Schiavo was allowed to die. It was one of the most controversial, and probably the most important, end-of-life-care cases ever to unfold in the United States. ... Do we have to make a more precise diagnosis of permanent vegetative state before we get into arguments about what to do next? I do believe also that it's important, if you are dealing with someone who's terminally ill or has a serious illness, to get the discussion going early about who's in charge. We still have fights between husbands, families, sisters, and cousins coming in about who has veto power or decision-making power. The earlier we can establish who it is that the patient wants to speak for them if they can't, the better.