Everyone agrees that Terry Schiavo\'s situation is tragic. Trapped for 15 years is a persistent vegetative state, some members of her familiy cling, understandably though almost certainly in vain, to the idea that she will one day recover. To heighten the tragedy, her family is deeply divided on the question of whether to continue treatment. But perhaps the most appalling thing is this: if treatment is cut off, she will die slowly and painfully of starvation. If her life must end, there has to be a better way to achieve it than this. When animals suffer like this we find painless ways to kill them. Why should we choose, in the case of people, to prolong the suffering instead of ending it.
