Could Honest Polling Have Saved Terri Schiavo?
During the tragic and horror-filled weeks leading up to Terri Schiavo’s death due to government sanctioned starvation and dehydration, public opinion polls indicated support for removal of her feeding tube. The media repeatedly said that Terri was in a “persistent vegetative state,” which clearly, she was not. A person in a persistent vegetative state doesn’t cry and show other emotion, or try to communicate with those around her, which Terri did until she was too weak to do anything but plead for help with her eyes. The media’s opinion polling questions, which generally gave a skewed if not blatantly false impression of Terri’s condition, insured that respondents, under the impression that it would be in Terri’s interest, would respond favorably to withdrawal of nutrition and hydration. After her death, the Zogby organization did a poll (April 5, 2005) revealing that 80% of Americans do not support denying food and water to a disabled person who is not terminally ill and has no writte
