The Schiavo Case, Sharon Kowalski, Families and Gay Rights

In 1983 there was another case that reminds me of the Schiavo case. The main difference, the main person in the case, Sharon Kowalski who was severely injured in a car crash in 1983 had a Lesbian partner. Sharon was deep in the closet with her parents and a major legal struggle ensued for years between Sharon parents' and Sharon's partner, Karen Thompson, of ten years over who would have control and decision making power over Sharon Kowalski's life. No one in this case wanted to allow Sharon to die. She was not being kept alive by tube or machine (for most of the time) but the parents and the lover disagreed bitterly on what kind of care was best for Sharon Kowalski. Sharon was mentally impaired from the accident but had the potential to learn to speak. Both sides were in dispute over where Sharon should live and who should be in charge. The parents were basically warehousing their daughter in a nursing home in a semi-rural area far from where Karen Thompson lived. Karen Thompson felt the parents were ashamed of the daughter's condition and of her lesbianism. Karen wanted to be in charge of Sharon's care.

In the end, Sharon's lover/partner won the case. By that time, the lover had a new lover not unlike Schiavo but continued to insist she was the right person to make decisions and knew what was best for her former lover which seemed the best course as the parents did not want to offer their daughter rehabilitation or recognition of who she was. In this case, as I remember it Sharon was able to communicate her preference for her partner although those communications were contested at times. As a result of the outcome of that case, Gay Rights protections were advanced and the stage was set for passage of domestic rights acts across the country. There asre still many Lesbians and Gay men in this country who are not covered by domestic partnership or legal contracts that ensure rights i.e. advanced directives that spell out who is to be in charge in the event one is mentally incapacitated or unable to communicate.It is still very posssible to legally contest the documents that exist today especially in those environment and locals where Gay Rights and Gay persons and their relationships are not respected.

The Kowalski And Schiavo case in spite of the positive outcome in favor of the "spouse" rather than the parents is a warning to all persons who do not have legal documents that spell out the formal relationship between spouse and spouse or even in many cases a close intimate or responsible party the person in question names to make decisions for her or him when she or he cannot. Coupled, Gay or Straight or Single we need to think about who will be in charge in case of mental diability or death. Who do you trust?

The issue of who should have the rights, parents or spouses is also being raised in the Schiavo case. Some Pro-Life supporters of Schiavo's parents feel parents should be able to prevail when advanced directives empowering the spouse have not been stated and I suppose when other factors come into play. Other factors probably relate to a negative judgment about spouses of people in vegetative states llike alzheimer's taking on new partners or lovers. This raises an interesting opposite view of what one would think traditionalists would desire given the emphasis in the fundamental Christian religion giving the husband the ultimate authorit. Moral forces are driving this tendency to appeal in favor of parents.

I personally think it would be a terrible overthrow of a system that has been working fairly well but only when a person who does not want a spouse to have authority in these situations takes care of the situation by having a durable power of attorney giving the authority to someone else who could be a parent. Most people do not think of parents outliving their adult children although it happens often enough. It is in Gay people's interest to have their domestic partnerships or "marriages" recognized in order to avoid homophobic persons who are often parents making end of life decision for adult children they do not understand or even have compassion for such as seems true in the Schiavo case. The daughter stated clearly as witnessed by two other person besides the husband that she did not want tubes keeping her alive when her mind was gone. It is not just a Gay issue. I am sure most heterosexual couples feel the same way and would rather trust a spouse who is also usuallly a contemporary with similar values rather than parents to make these decisions. As for single persons, many today designate a trusted other who shares similar valules to do the same thing.

To learn more about the Sharon Kowalski case, read The Sharon Kowalski Case: Lesbian and Gay Rights on Trial
Author: Casey Charles
University Press of Kansas, May 2003