Florida Loses Appeal in Terri Schiavo Case
 

Florida loses appeal in Terri Schiavo case
Feeding tube can be removed
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...home-headlines

Gina Holland
The Associated Press
Posted January 24, 2005, 1:11 PM EST


WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court refused today to reinstate a Florida law passed to keep a severely brain-damaged woman connected to a feeding tube, clearing the way for it to be removed. How soon that would happen, however, was unclear.

The Florida Supreme Court had struck down the law last fall, and the justices were the last hope for state leaders who defended the law in a bitter long running dispute over the fate of Terri Schiavo.

Her husband, Michael Schiavo, contends she never wanted to be kept alive artificially. But her parents told justices in a filing that their son-in-law is trying to rush her death so he can inherit her estate and be free to marry another woman.

The Supreme Court did not comment in rejecting an appeal from Gov. Jeb Bush, who argued that the state had the authority to step in and pass the 2003 law that ordered Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted six days after her husband had it removed.

The case goes back to state Judge George Greer, who already has ruled that the brain-damaged woman's husband could withdraw her feeding tube. Although several legal challenges are pending, the Supreme Court was considered the best hope to stop the removal of the tubes.

``It's judicial homicide. They want to murder her,'' her father, Robert Schindler, said today. ``I have no idea what the next step will be. We're going to fight for her as much as we can fight for her. She deserves a chance.''

The case was one of two right-to-die appeals pending at the high court. Justices are expected to decide in the next month whether to consider a Bush administration request to block the nation's only law allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients die more quickly. Oregon voters passed that law in 1998.

At issue today was ``Terri's Law,'' which the Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously was an unconstitutional effort to override court rulings.

The 41-year-old Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart temporarily stopped beating because of an eating disorder. In 2001, her parents lost an emergency Supreme Court appeal seeking to keep her feeding tube in place, but more appeals followed.

Terri Schiavo has lived in nursing homes. She can breathe on her own but depends on a feeding tube to stay alive because she cannot swallow on her own. She left no written directive.

George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, was hesitant to predict if pending legal motions would mean Terri Schiavo is kept alive for weeks, months or longer.

``The only issue here is when the courts are going to summon up the resolve to say, 'No more. We're not going to put up with these frivolous motions and give stays and permit any other delays,''' he said.

Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice chief counsel who represented the Schindlers at the Supreme Court, said: ``While there are still legal options available in Florida, the Supreme Court's refusal to take the case makes it more difficult for those legal options to prevail.''

Issues in dispute are whether she is in a persistent vegetative state with no chance of recovery, and if she had said before her illness that she did not want to be kept alive by machines.

Washington attorney Robert Destro, representing Florida, told justices to consider ``the most vulnerable of our citizens who cannot speak for themselves.''

Michael Schiavo did not file any arguments with the court, but his attorney had accused Florida leaders of engaging in delaying tactics to prevent Terri Schiavo from carrying out her right to die.

The case is Jeb Bush v. Michael Schiavo, 04-757.

I wonder how much of this case is just Mrs. Schiavo's parents refusing to face the fact that their daughter, who has been a vegetable for 15 years, will never recover. Saying that her husband, the one who holds power-of-attorney, wants to "rush her death" after 15 years of seeing his wife incapable of feeding herself is ludicrous.

I agree. Terry Schiavo is not alive; she merely exists.
I would never want to live the way she has for the last 15 years. I doubt she would've either.

I don't understand why Michael Schiavo doesn't just divorce her. He's been living with another woman for years, and they have children.

Unless it could be... the money?

I don't understand either . Or why doesn't he give POA to her parents with the stipulation that they grant him a divorce on Terri's behalf (I'm sure they wouldn't protest).

I'm not sure of all the legalities of it (or even what the laws are in Florida surrounding divorce) but in many states divorce laws have become very lax and broad.

In anyway, if we take nothing else from this, its the importance of having a living will/advance directives or some type of written instructions concerning the type of care you want (or don't want) if this happens to you. Terri was only 26 (same age as many of us) when she fell into this state so its never to early to have it.

What money?

I imagine whatever "estate" she had at 26 has gone to her medical bills.

In the event that someone does not have a living will, DNR order, or any sort of documentation stating their wishes, their spouse has the right to determine that.

He's her husband, that's his right.

According to what I have read, there was a $1Mil settlement with doctors who originally treated her with her cardiac arrest. Schiavo has said that money is long gone and she lives on medicaid etc. He has no financial drain because of her condition.

Again, this is an active vs passive euthanasia topic.

What she said!
I know it is not a fun topic, but this is why folx should have a living will or at least have in writing how they want things handled if G-d forbid something happens to them

And most important have someone who will make sure they carry out the wishes vs the selfish wishes of other family members.

(this topic recently hit home for Mr. 1228's uncle)

Yes, you MUST let your love ones know what your wishes are and put something in writing, no matter how old you are. I work with young brain injured people everyday who never thought this would happen to them but you never know and you have to have a "plan". It's a sad case, but this lady isn't going to recover and hopefully her husband is carrying out her wishes. If only she had written those wishes down! I know personally, I would never want to live that way.

Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that everyone should give very serious thought to each and every aspect of what could happen to you, and what measures you would want or not want to keep you alive.

My father was totally against being taken off of life support, but because he didn't have it in writing (his death was sudden & unexpected), I had to fight several nurses and the ER doctor about this. My mother & brother were not up for that fight (like I was!), but he remained on life support until I noticed that blood was backing up in his ventilating tube. I would not wish that on anyone.

Whichever stand you take on this, when you are incapacitated, it's hard enough on your family without them having to fight tooth & nail to obey your wishes.

Most of y'all know that I'm in geriatrics, so I get my share of hospice cases. I INSIST that any DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders are visible from the moment any medical personnel enter the room - just so there is not doubt.

She should of been dead long ago. Her parents got Jeb Bush to step in and pull a last minute order, but that has proven to be wrong and a waste of the taxpayer's dollars.

Even if one's death was "sudden and unexpected," it's still necessary to have a plan for the unthinkable. I'm in my mid-20s, in impeccable health--and yes, I have documentation stating what I want done in the event of my total and complete incapacitation.

Feeding Must Continue for Florida Woman
 

http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArti...toryID=7705235


For the love of g-d, let this person die already.

:mad:

Sure, a divorce would be the easy way out but maybe he's actually trying to do what Terri would've wanted. Why would anyone assume he's in it for money? Maybe he knows she wouldn't have wanted this and is trying to put an end to it.

Why on earth do politicians get involved with cases like this? Isn't John Ashcroft behind what's going on with the Oregon law? It almost makes you wish a terrible illness on him so he can see what it's like.

I just don't understand how they can keep going back and forth with this. Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube was taken out and reinserted in 2001 and 2003. If she were a prisoner, this would be considered cruel and unusual punishment!

How much longer can this keep going on? Every time Michael Schiavo gets permission to remove the feeding tube, some (seemingly) random judge says "Nope".

Valkyrie, or another GC lawyer: Will there come a point when there won't be any more stays granted? Or will that possibility exist until every judge in Florida has the opportunity?

There comes a point in every person's life where we grow up and we are no longer controlled by our parents. Thank goodness for that! I feel like Terri's parents are trying to keep their daughter alive because they can't let go. I highly doubt Terri Schiavo would've wanted to live this way. Her care should be in her husband's hands; she should've been allowed to die years ago.

I think everyone SHOULD have down in writing what they want.

This happens on a weekly basis in my field (actually, daily, but I'm talking about my own experiences), and it amazes me how few people are willing to make their thoughts known.

Jay Sekulow is a joke, its not surprising that he is representing the victims parents.

This will continue to go on until she dies or the supreme court hears the case. They already rejected it twice, so that's not going to happen. The only thing that will end this sick excuse for attention is her passing.

Just curious -

Wasn't there a woman just last week, who had been in a coma for over 20 years, and suddenly started talking?

Is Terry Schiavo's case anything like that? I honestly don't know enough about it (and as usual, am pushed for time here at work!).

I think Terri's parents are devoutly religious and believe in "positive prayer" can heal all things... Well, maybe it can, may it cannot... I dunno.

However her husband has let go and moved on, so he needs to do what he must and be the father of his child he had with that other woman...

I know I could not live in Purgatory for the rest of my days... So, I do need to get my act together a give what little trinkets I have in this life to those who I love...

ZT Angel--

You'd think that once you are a certain age, you would need to not be controlled by your parents... However, I am living proof that my folks say all kind of chit to me because I made adult choices in my adult life and I pay for it 'cuz of their inadequacies... I don't even want to go into what my mom says to me on a daily basis... And I thought her new grandson from my brother would preoccupy her time, but for some reason, I must be all up in the mix... Why? PM me if you'd like... (this is just a vent)

the judiciary in FL is starting to look like breeding-grounds for a right wing judicial-activist version of the 9th-circuit.

Not that anyone will notice this post because of the weird GC technical issue going on but oh well.

DCF seeks delay to study claims of woman's abuse
Mike Thomas says Terri Schiavo deserves better
Feb 24, 2005

By John Kennedy | Tallahassee Bureau
Posted February 24, 2005
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...home-headlines

CLEARWATER -- A judge Wednesday barred the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube for 48 more hours while, in a surprise move, the state's social-welfare agency asked for an indefinite delay to investigate potential abuse of the severely brain-damaged woman.

Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer's decision to bar Michael Schiavo from removing his wife's feeding tube until at least 5 p.m. Friday was unrelated to a request by the state Department of Children & Families to intervene in the closely watched right-to-die case.

In fact, Greer refused to hear DCF's lawyer or consider her motion, saying it was not properly placed on his court calendar. Rather, he said, he needed more time to decide whether Bob and Mary Schindler should be allowed to pursue more legal and medical options to prove their daughter is not in a vegetative state and could recover.

But DCF's sudden entry in the case emboldened the Schindlers, who have been embroiled in a seven-year legal battle against their son-in-law over their daughter's care and end-of-life wishes.

"We are really elated. Forty-eight hours to us right now seems like six years," Bob Schindler said. "We've been complaining and complaining and complaining that Terri has been abused, but it's fallen on deaf ears."

But George Felos, an attorney for Michael Schiavo, said DCF's sudden interest in the case "reeked of political arm-twisting" by politicians in Tallahassee who ran out of options after Terri's Law was struck down as unconstitutional. Enacted in October 2003, the law empowered the governor to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted six days after it was removed by court order.

During the past six years, Felos said, the department has investigated "scores" of anonymous calls to its abuse hotline alleging abuse against Terri Schiavo, but not one of them has ever been substantiated.

"Lo and behold, all of a sudden, after six years DCF radically changes its position and decides that there is a need to intervene," Felos said. "Anyone can see what clearly is happening. The governor and the Legislature -- the politicians -- have tried to do an end run around the court system. They did it in October 2003, and that's what they're trying to do now."

For days now, anti-abortion activist Randall Terry, who is coordinating protest efforts for the Schindlers, has been urging Gov. Jeb Bush to declare Schiavo a ward of the state and have DCF take over her guardianship.

Earlier Wednesday, Bush told reporters he was exploring options to block the removal of the tube but added that there was only so much he could do. "I will do whatever I can within the laws of our state to protect this woman's life," he said.

Later in the day, Jacob DiPietre, a spokesman for Bush, would not say what the governor knew about DCF's investigation, or whether he asked the agency to intervene.

He also said DCF has an obligation to "protect children and vulnerable adults and to respond to allegations of abuse or neglect."

"If there is an investigation, the only way it can be started is by a call to the [DCF] hotline," DiPietre said.

Exactly what DCF is investigating was unclear Wednesday. Kelly McKibben, general counsel for the agency's District 7 headquartered in Orlando, asked the judge to seal DCF's motion. A clerk in the probate division said the judge said he would review the motion to see whether it was required by law to be filed confidentially.

For years, the Schindlers have repeatedly suggested that their son-in-law strangled their daughter the night she collapsed 15 years ago this Friday. That's why, they have asserted, she lost consciousness and suffered the irreversible brain damage that has left her in what doctors say is a persistent vegetative state.

That's also why, they've said, Michael Schiavo won't provide the treatment that would allow her to recover. He doesn't want her as a witness against him.

More recently, the Schindlers have blasted their daughter's care at the Pinellas Park hospice where she has lived for five years. On Tuesday, one of their spiritual advisers, Brother Paul O'Donnell, listed a litany of their complaints: At the hospice, he said, Terri Schiavo is kept in isolation and is denied music, visitors, cards, flowers, fresh air, and even lotions and dental care.

With the exception of the limits on visitors, Felos called the charges "lies and deceptions" aimed at "demonizing and slandering" his client. He also noted they've been reviewed and rejected by the courts who have labeled his client a devoted and loving husband.

And at least one allegation of abuse came from Michael Schiavo. In 2004, he banned all visitors from the hospice after an aide found what appeared to be needle marks on her arms after the Schindlers visited March 29. Police investigated and found no evidence of foul play.

But neither DCF nor any abuse allegations were the subject of Wednesday's hearing. That centered exclusively on the Schindlers' request for an indefinite delay in the removal of their daughter's feeding tube. Their attorney, David Gibbs, argued the stay was necessary to enable the Schindlers to appeal the last two courts ruling against them.

He also said they should have a chance to submit their daughter to tests to determine whether she is, indeed, able to communicate, as her parents have long contended. He cited a recent neurological study from Cornell University that showed that minimally conscious people have far more brain activity than previously thought.

"Suppose we are wrong?" he told Greer. "At the end of the day, all we did was make sure."

Felos, however, said the studies are irrelevant to Terri Schiavo, because they deal with people who have some activity in their cerebral cortex, the thinking part of the brain, and Terri Schiavo's cerebral cortex is all but gone. He urged the judge to put an end to what he called the Schindlers' "abuse of the court system."

"What we are seeing is the continued and apparently never-ending effort to defeat Mrs. Schiavo's rights," he said.

As the lawyers argued in court, Bush and Florida lawmakers were flooded with thousands of e-mails and phone calls from individuals and groups urging they take some action to keep Schiavo alive.

Towson Fraser, a spokesman for House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, said his office had received at least 10,000 e-mails and more than 300 phone calls by Wednesday afternoon.

Many were like that sent by Kelley O'Neal of Connersville, Ind.

"I am fed up with courts acting like dictators and tyrants," O'Neal wrote. "Please, you must take action now -- do whatever it takes to save Terri Schindler-Schiavo from being starved to death."

Legislation filed earlier by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, and Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, would prohibit a court from ordering a feeding tube removed from an incompetent person, unless the individual had prepared a document allowing such action.

The Republican-controlled Legislature is scheduled to begin its two-month regular session March 8.

i just cannot believe all this attention and tax dollars on a very settled situation. Her parents are just delaying the inevitable and need to stop using the justice system to promote their personal crusade. All the doctors have said she has no chance of improving, let alone recovering. This is not about euthanasia, it's about letting a dead woman pass on.


RUgreek

Well. Looks like she'll be vegging for a while longer:

TAMPA, Fla. - Terri Schiavo's parents asked a judge Monday to allow the severely brain-damaged woman to divorce her husband, accusing him of adultery and not acting in his wife's best interests.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._damaged_woman

Holy crap, if you read the last paragraph of the article, her parents are total control freaks. It sounds like they want to just completely mess with the arrangements her husband has just because they're not hers.

I do understand wanting her to be able to die at home, but part of me thinks it's really because they think they'll be able to save her there. Just let the poor woman out of the prison that her body has become.

I'm really happy that I'm no longer a Florida resident. At least my tax dollars aren't going towards this perversion of the law.

I haven't said this about anyone in a while, but the Schindlers are:

IDIOTS IDIOTS IDIOTS!

The Schindlers are trying to argue that Terri should be kept alive because her injuries are a result of domestic abuse or that Michael is forbidding Terri to go outside because he doesn't want her to improve (and then blab that he was the cause of her injuries). Terri has been seen by many doctors who all say the same thing: she is not improving. She hasn't improved in the last 15 years so what will make the next 15 any different? They need to just let their daughter go.

eating disorders are domestic abuse now? cool. Can I sue my parents for abusing me due to my low self esteem and negative self body image?

Supposedly, there are police reports that he hit her or something and there was a girl he dated after Terri's accident who claims that Michael is stalkerish. I dunno. Her parents insist that he would belittle her into becoming anorexic.
Still, even if he choked her until she stopped breathing and is now a vegetable because of it, it still won't change my opinion that the poor woman should be able to die in peace.

LOL, vicarious divorce, you gotta be shitting me? Oh I'm going to keep an eye on this one. There is no chance in hell this desperate trick will work.

Is it very wrong that I laughed when I read this? :confused:

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...n/11056190.htm

Agency seeks stay in Schiavo case

The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. — A state agency is seeking to delay the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube so it can investigate new allegations of “abuse, neglect or exploitation” by her husband.

In a petition filed last week, the Department of Children & Families said it received the allegations through its anonymous abuse hot line. It sought a 60-day stay blocking the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, scheduled for March 18.

The department said the accusations include failure to investigate experimental medical procedures, denial of legal counsel, lack of communication and visitation, and lack of manipulation of Terri Schiavo's arms, “causing severe contractures.”

Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, and her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, are in a bitter legal fight over her life. Schiavo argues that his wife did not want to be kept alive artificially. The Schindlers say she had no such wishes and is not in a vegetative state, as court-ordered doctors have determined.

Judge George Greer is expected to hear arguments next week on whether the agency should be allowed to intervene.

Michael Schiavo denies ever harming his wife. His attorney, George Felos, said Friday that at least 89 complaints had been filed with the social services agency regarding Terri Schiavo, and none produced any evidence of abuse.

“The obvious question is: After 89 investigations, why is DCF compelled to file a petition to intervene in court now?” Felos said. “And the answer is that it's purely a political situation.”

Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, has intervened in the case before and has said he was searching for a way to keep Terri Schiavo alive.

Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage 15 years ago when her heart stopped beating for several minutes because of a chemical imbalance, possibly brought on by an eating disorder.
_______________________________________________

Interesting article.

$1-million offered to end husband's role

"A wealthy California businessman offered Terri Schiavo's husband $1-million Thursday if he walks away as his wife's guardian and lets the woman's parents take over.

Saying he wants to keep Schiavo alive, Robert Herring Sr. deposited the cash into his attorney's bank and awaits word from Schiavo's husband.

"It seemed like everybody was wasting a lot of money and wasting a lot of time" in the courts, Herring said in an interview. "So I came up with the idea to shortcut everything and make an offer."

An attorney for Michael Schiavo said the offer won't be accepted. Attorney George Felos said Schiavo turned down a similar $10-million offer about two weeks ago made via an attorney for an anonymous Floridian.

Previously, Schiavo also received an offer of $700,000, and that was turned down, Felos said. The lawyer said Schiavo once promised to his wife before her collapse 15 years ago not to let her live by artificial means.

"There is no amount of money anyone can offer him to induce him to betray his promise to Terri," Felos said. "He's simply not going to betray her for money."

Even if he changed his mind, Michael Schiavo would be powerless to stop the removal of his wife's feeding tube on March 18, Felos said. A court has ruled Terri Schiavo would not want to live by artificial means, and her husband can't reverse the court order, Felos said."

It looks as if, barring any last-minute intervention by Jeb, that this story will be over soon.

Feeding tube to be removed Friday afternoon

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/17/schiavo.ap/index.html

Now Congress is getting involved? WTF?

Hmm, I'm feeling a 10th Amendment violation of Florida's sovereignty powers. This can't be within the scope of Congress's power to grant standing on a case already decided. I'd like to see how this plays out if it actually passes.

I'd be willing to say this is even a bill of attainder against Terri because she'll be tortured without a trial by being granted this new legal status. Or maybe this also works against Michael because the intent of Congress is to single him out for this type of legislation.

Damn, couldn't they spend their time passing bills that help out people who need it more? Come on government, get back to work!


RUgreek

Fla. House OKs Bill to Keep Schiavo Alive

By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state House passed a bill Thursday that could keep Terri Schiavo alive, less than 24 hours before the severely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube is scheduled to be removed.

The Senate began debating a more limited version of the bill as lawmakers rushed to beat the scheduled removal of Schiavo's feeding tube.

The legislative action was part of a last-minute flurry of attempts to save Schiavo's life. Congress was also considering legislation to move the case to the federal courts, Schiavo's parents appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites), and Florida Circuit Court Judge George Greer scheduled a hearing Thursday to consider a request from the state to halt the removal of the tube.

The House bill would block the withholding of food and water from patients in a persistent vegetative state who didn't leave specific instructions refusing the artificial measure. It passed 78-37.

Read the rest of the article here.

Thanks Florida, you make California much more sensible to live in....

I'm all for Prayer and Hope, but with that comes COMMON FUCKING SENSE....it's been 15 years...let her rest in peace already.

I can't believe ppl have politicized this....oh wait, yes I can.