Paper Topic:

State of FL`s Right to Die

Florida 's Right to Die statues received nation and world wide attention in 2005 over the case of Teri Schiavo , a forty one year old woman who had had been , according to doctors , in a permanent vegetated state for over a decade . The husband of the woman , Michael Schiavo , was doing everything in his power , according to his own words , to end his wife 's suffering and to remove her feeding tube the only thing which was keeping her alive . This had been attempted before but Teri Schiavo 's parents had managed for

the governor of Florida , Jeb Bush , to have her tube reinstated . The inner family fight and the issues which were at the center of the case shed light on a subject which many people in this country have chosen to ignore . Death is an unpleasant event in one 's life and most people shy away from the conversation . Not only did the Teri Schiavo case shed light on the subject of death and the need for living wills , but also displayed an important question for the public to answer : Does one have the right to die by their own means ? And if so how and when will the state of Florida , as well as state legislatures all over the country regard the importance of ending one 's own life on their terms and not through natural means . These are issues which the state of Florida , quiet unexpecetntly , is being forced to deal . One thing is certain there are no shortage of heart felt opinions about the subject

In 1997 , the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not grant Americans the right to assisted suicides under the 14th amendment However , the Supreme Court also stated that the Constitution did not prevent an individual or his or her family from refusing life saving techniques along with nutrition and other life saving measures . Such decisions sparked a debate in this country which would not be bested until eight years later in 2005 with the Teri Schiavo case in Florida William Renquest , the chief justice for the Supreme Court at the time of that case , stated : Throughout the nation , Americans are engaged in an earnest and profound debate about the morality , legality and practiciality of physician-assisted suicide . Our holding permits this debate will continue , as it should in a democratic society ' Only a month later , the Florida Supreme Court said no ' to assisted suicide and that the state 's interest was in saving a person 's life . The case came before the State Supreme Court over the complaint of a 35 year old AIDS patient named Charles Hall who advocated his desire to end his own life . It seemed for now , that the question of assisted suicides , at least in Florida , had been settled

Such decisions seemed only to strengthen and embolden those who advocated assisted suicides and a grass roots campaign was started aggressively courting the attention of all of Florida 's 160 state lawmakers . Millions of dollars was...

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