Short Take

Altered States

WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT DEATH & DISABILITY

Carol Levine

More than a year after the death of Terri Schiavo, discussions about her case remain highly polarized. What principles should guide decisions about people who can no longer speak for themselves? Who should make those decisions, and what do various religious traditions say about such cases? The debates may be provocative, frustrating, or both, but they usually take place on th (...)


 

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about the writer

Carol Levine, former editor of the Hastings Center Report, directs the Families and Health Care Project at the United Hospital Fund in New York City. This article is based on a presentation at “Reflections on the End of Life: Schiavo Plus One,” sponsored by the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture last April.

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