Terri Schaivo article/?'s

Danielle Buechel

1. The central controversy in the Terri Schiavo case is whether or not the feeding tube that is essentially keeping her alive should be removed permanantly. This is clearly a case of ethics and responsibility and the key issue revolves around whether Terri will ever improve or recover and if keeping her alive is in the best interest of Terri or her family.

2. In the Schaivo case, the woman's parents claim to want what's best for their daughter and claim that she does in fact maintain a quality life. Terri's husband argues that his wife expressed her wishes not to be kept alive by prolonged measures.

3. Members of the Republican party have argued that there is medical evidence stating that Terri's condition was not hopeless and that medical breakthroughs could eventually improve her quality of life. The Democractic party members have argued against the Republican view saying that the situation has become a matter for "political gain" for Republicans. Democrats have also praised Terri's husband for trying to respect her wishes not to be kept alive under such circumstances.

4. The article I read delved into the complexities of the Terri Schaivo case and discussed the various memos and bills that have been proposed, passed and vetoed.

5. The level of complexity was "just right" in that the description of the events leading up to the case and the various court rulings and procedures were described in detail but without the complicated jargon that sometimes confuses readers.

6. I was especially impressed with the author's explanation of the case and the path is has taken through the court system. The article was easy to understand and described in great detail the process of passing legislation and bills.

7. The best part of the story was the comparison and contrast of the various view points and interests of the parties involved including Terri's parents and husband as well as the Republican, Democratic, Congressional and Presidential views. This article was very diverse in representing interests and the author used many great quotes to emphasize various points within the story; this is definately an aspect that I can use in my own reporting.

8. Overall there was very little about the article that I didn't like; although I feel that the flow of the story could have been improved upon. I will work harder in my own reporting to make sure that quotes and information flow and work together to create a more evenly spread and easier to read article.






http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-schiavo21mar21,1,3707116.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true