Schiavo vs. Schiavo

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Oct 30, 2003

Maggie Gallagher has a knack for cutting through tangles of euphemism and spearing a problem through the heart.

Michael Schiavo, who wants the hospital to discontinue giving Terri food and water, is Terri's husband in the sense that 13 years ago he was married to her. He is now living with another woman, who has given him one child and is pregnant with another. A million-dollar medical malpractice judgment is at stake: If he divorces Terri, she would get it. If he gets the hospital to refuse her food and water, he and his concubine and their children will get it. The conflict of interest is palpable. Terri and Michael are no longer "one flesh."