Terri Schiavo brought national attention to the issue of what quality of life is and what would be considered extraordinary treatments. Terri’s husband and parents were divided on this issue, with her husband claiming Terri would never want to live in a vegetative state being kept alive by a feeding tube. Her parents felt her life was precious and their faith supported keeping her alive. This very painful situation was publically played out in the US court system for 15 years with numerous court decisions that supported the removal of the feeding tube, only to have it replaced by legal challenges from Terri’s parents. After exhausting all court challenges, in March of 2005 Terri’s feeding tube was removed and she was allowed to die.
Link to article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/schiavo/
It takes a village: How South Korea is investing in social networks to address its aging population
Posted on November 30th, 2010 this article on the The Myth of Alzheimer’s Blog looks a some of the global approaches to managing a growing population with ‘Aging Brains’.
