OK. I'm game. I'll try to answer your question. Terri hasn't "answered the courts for herself" because she does not, at this time, possess the faculties to communicate her wishes for herself. That is not to say she has no wishes nor that she will never possess the faculties to do so. She requires an advocate.

Trust the past to God's mercy, the present to God's love and the future to God's providence." - St. Augustine
Hiraeth