Description: Every day, thousands of people quietly face decisions as agonizing as those made famous in the Terri Schiavo case. Lois Shepherd rids the case of its sensationalism to get at the complex issues so many people confront when dealing with end-of-life situations themselves. She looks behind labels like "starvation," "care," or "medical treatment" to consider what care and feeding really mean, when feeding tubes might be removed, and why disability groups, the faithful, and even the dying themselves often suggest end-of-life solutions that they might later regret. She includes valuable discussion about the pros and cons of living wills.
Review Quotes: ""If That Ever Happens to Me" is a wise and sober analysis written with the desire to draw constructive lessons from a national tragedy. Shepherd is to be congratulated for ratcheting down the red state-blue state polemics of Schiavo and for her careful parsing of the medical, legal, and bioethical dimensions of the case. To her credit, she conceives of a sensible alternative philosophy of care which will help define our collective obligations to those in liminal states of consciousness. This important formulation will lead to more proportionate care for this vulnerable population, balancing both their right to die with the right to receive care."--Joseph J. Fins, M.D., F.A.C.P., chief, Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medical College