Irreparable Harm

I found an article that was quite interesting in the archives section of the St. Petersburg(Fla.) times dated October 11, 2000. In summary, it was about a case where the State of Florida had attempted to withdraw Medicaid Funding from six Florida nursing homes that had "chronic patient care problems". U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore ruled in the case that the State of Florida had overstepped it's bounds by requiring the transfer of 249 poor patients in three of the homes to more suitable locations.

Three things strike me as odd about this case:

• Judge Whittemore was supposedly sympathetic that the company in this case, Vencor, had been denied due process when their Medicaid contracts were cancelled and that a more measured approach could have eliminated these problems.
• There was a concern about the "trauma" the patients would experience from being moved to another location.
• Patients might suffer irreparable harm if no restraining order had been issued.

My question is this: If you felt a more measured approach, concern about trauma, and the suffering of patients was necessary in a case involving the relocation of patients, why has the same standard not been applied to a case involving the life or death of one?

The decision in the Terri Schiavo case deserved at least that much.

Read the story: St. Petersburg Times 10/11/2000

That's My View... What's Yours?