Schiavo Autopsy Report Shows Irreversible Brain Damage. The Pinellas County, Florida medical examiner's office yesterday released the autopsy report of Terri Schiavo. The report showed that, at the time of her death, Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state, an irreversible state of brain damage. Most of the media coverage of the story reports the autopsy report undercuts claims made by the Schiavo family and the politicians who supported their cause. In particular, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who is a physician, came under criticism from congressional Democrats for his actions in the weeks before Schiavo's death. ABC World News Tonight reported, "The autopsy report...was very direct," stating that "while she could have been kept alive longer, her brain damage was irreversible, that she had no cognitive function. In other words, she could not think or experience emotion." NBC Nightly News reported, "As to whether Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state, the doctors said they found nothing inconsistent with that diagnosis." The CBS Evening News reported, "Terry Schiavo was not aware of what was going on around her and would never improve." USA Today adds the autopsy findings "contradict contentions by Schiavo's parents and members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., that she had not been in a vegetative state and could have improved." Democrats, adds USA Today, said "the medical findings confirmed that Congress and Bush should never have tried to get the federal judiciary to overrule state court rulings. 'It's rare that you get such a total repudiation of one side,' said Rep. Barney Frank." The New York Times also reports the case has "given Democrats ammunition to use against" Frist. Further criticizing Frist, ABC medical editor Dr. Tim Johnson said on ABC World News Tonight, "The lesson to be learned is trust expert medical opinion when it is clear and confident. I think politicians who weigh in with medical opinions from a distance set a bad example. I was particularly upset with Senator Frist, who I think, as a physician should have known better." In an editorial, the New York Times says the autopsy results "should embarrass all the opportunistic politicians and agenda-driven agitators who meddled in Terri Schiavo's right-to-die case."
