The object is to hound Michael Schaivo and paint him as a villain until the end of his days.

There are only two ways for the opponents of Michael Schaivo's actions to justify themselves.

The first, the high road, is to accept the medical evidence, but to hold onto their opposition to the actions leading to Mrs. Schaivo's death on philosophical and/or religious grounds. One can disagree with this position but still respect people for their honesty in holding it.

The second is to try, retroactively, to turn Mr. Schaivo into an abusive husband. Active abuse was ruled out as a cause of Mrs. Schaivo's collapse. So the only path open is passive abuse, or neglect.

If it's his fault she was in the coma, this reasoning goes, he is wrong even though the doctors are right. Someone has to be to blame. Mr. Schaivo is elected to the position. He will be sacrificed so that his opponents will not have to look at their actions in a more realistic light. It's very important for them that he be a bad man.