Schiavo autopsy results

As reported by Reuters, here are some of the key findings from the autopsy of Terri Schiavo:

• Schiavo was severely brain damaged and had no hope of recovery. Her brain weighed only about half what a healthy human brain would and the damage was irreversible.
• The findings were consistent with court rulings on clinical diagnoses while she was alive: that she was in a "persistent vegetative state." This means she was unable to think, feel, or interact with her environment.
• The brain damage also meant she was blind.
• There was no evidence she was abused, as Schiavo's blood relatives had suggested, or that her collapse had been caused by a strangulation attempt. The autopsy found any fractures could be attributed to severe osteoporosis, or weakening of the bones, which Schiavo suffered during the years after her collapse.
• She was dependent on tube feeding for nutrition and hydration. Contrary to suggestions from the parents, Thogmartin said Schiavo could not have swallowed if she had been fed by mouth and would have choked.

Another report by Reuters stated that "The autopsy found no amount of therapy would have helped to regenerate Schiavo's brain[.]" The same article contained quotes from two of the doctors who performed the autopsy. At a June 15 press conference, Dr. Stephen Nelson, a forensic pathologist, said, ""She would not have been able to form any cognitive thought. There was a massive loss of brain tissue." At that press conference, Dr. Jon Thogmartin, the Medical Examiner for Pinellas County in Florida, said, "Her brain was profoundly atrophied...This damage was irreversible."

Please keep all of this information in mind as you read the series of posts on Bush's "culture of life."