Center Director Charity Scott featured in media as legal expert on Schiavo case

Professor Charity Scott, Director of the Center for Law, Health & Society, was featured recently in TV news segments as a legal expert on the Terri Schiavo case after Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube was removed in March, an action that prompted Congress and President Bush to enact legislation that would allow review of her case in federal court in Florida.

Professor Scott provided commentary on the legal battle over Ms. Schiavo's care for FOX5 News and WSB during the week of March 22, and she was highlighted on 11Alive on March 25th. Professor Scott discussed the case's lengthy history in the Florida state courts, the refusals by the U.S. District Court in Tampa to grant a Temporary Restraining Order that would require the reinsertion of the feeding tube, and the opinions of the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta that affirmed the lower federal court's decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.

On March 25, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution also published an opinion-editorial essay by Professor Scott, entitled "End-of-Life Instructions Ease Loved Ones' Burden." To avoid the tragic fight that Ms. Schiavo's familiy members were engaged in over her care, the op-ed emphasized the need for people to have frank conversations with their families and loved ones about what kind of health care treatments they would want to receive when, like Ms. Schiavo, they are no longer capable of expressing those wishes. To ensure that their instructions are clear, Professor Scott recommended that people reflect their wishes in written advance directives, such as a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.