Thread: Appeals court: Terri Schiavo parents cannot intervene

Originally Posted by Jolie Rouge

But within months of getting the settlement - he stopped ALL medical treatment. Ask yourself "WHY" ? Was all the seeking treatment just window dressing to gain sympathy and win the settlement ? The money was for her medical care and therapy - but within months of receiving the settlements he stops - even refusing to allow them to treat her for an infection.

How do you explain going from seeking exotic therapies to refusing basic care in a few short months -- the only thing that changed was the lawsuit was settled giving M. access to a LOT of money.


Yes, twice in fact. First time for 4 years ... to my DH for almost 16 years.

What does that have to do with the following question ?

I explain it by saying that after the failed trip to California several doctors deemed her PVS! Then a few months later the suit was won. I watched an interview of a man that was her guardian at law, those were his words.

I just can't imagine that if you were married and you told your husband you didn't want to live this way, you wouldn't expect him to uphold your wishes. I can't imagine going against my DH's wishes nor him mine.

Originally Posted by kidzpca

Family facing dilemma like Terri Schiavo's makes an agonizing decision
Wednesday, March 23, 2005



"We are at the point where we have decided to stop being selfish and let him go," Lori Marcinkowski said Tuesday morning. "It is a very, very hard decision.

"Does he have any quality of life? No, he doesn't. Is it more humane to keep pumping in the antibiotics or to let him go? Let him go," she said.

Great post kidzpca.
Bless this families hearts, my heart goes out to them.

Originally Posted by YankeeMary

I explain it by saying that after the failed trip to California several doctors deemed her PVS! Then a few months later the suit was won. I watched an interview of a man that was her guardian at law, those were his words.

I just can't imagine that if you were married and you told your husband you didn't want to live this way, you wouldn't expect him to uphold your wishes. I can't imagine going against my DH's wishes nor him mine.

The Guardian ad Litem appointed by Govenor Bush was Dr. Jay Wolfson. I saw him interviewed on Nightline Monday night. I agree, I was amazed at how unbiased this man was.
I can't find the transcript of the Nightline interview, but you can read his report on his findings here http://www.miami.edu/ethics/schiavo/...s%20report.pdf .

You can also read a Knight Rider interview here http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11175622.htm

And an audio NPR interview
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4544756

Originally Posted by fatesfaery

The Guardian ad Litem appointed by Govenor Bush was Dr. Jay Wolfson. I saw him interviewed on Nightline Monday night. I agree, I was amazed at how unbiased this man was.
I can't find the transcript of the Nightline interview, but you can read his report on his findings here http://www.miami.edu/ethics/schiavo/...s%20report.pdf .

You can also read a Knight Rider interview here http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11175622.htm

And an audio NPR interview
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4544756

Thats him..thank you very much! You must have watched it at the same time I did. He did a great job and I was real proud of him. I liked the fact that he actually "liked" Teri and was pulling hard for her.

just can't imagine that if you were married and you told your husband you didn't want to live this way, you wouldn't expect him to uphold your wishes. I can't imagine going against my DH's wishes nor him mine.

For the zillionth time... Terri told other people ( parents, siblings, people in a Bible Study with her ) the EXACT opposite of what her husband "claims" she has said.

No other person can seem to verify what he claims. In fact his ex-girlfriend ( the one "just after" Terri's collapse but before the one who is the mother of his children ) testified under oath that he lied when he said that Terri said anything of the sort. Judge Greer refused to accept her sworn testimony.

Judge Greer refused to accept the sworn testimony of several RN's who cared for Terri at Palm Gardens refuted M. accounts of being unable to swallow nesitating the use of the feeding tube. Judge Greer then denies petition to allow Terri swallowing tests.

Judge Greer refused to accept the sworn testimonies of the people from her Bible Study, who were so moved by her words that several had writen notes in the journals from the class ( otherwise known as documentation - something M. does NOT have. )

As late as 2000 Judge Greer refused to accept affidavits filed by 3 doctors state Terri can swallow and is not PVS.

Terri collasped in 1990, M. instituded a DNR on her charts in Febuary of 1993, orders medical staff not to treat Terri for potentially fatal infection in August of 1993 and again in September of 1995 but it is not until spring of 1997 that he suddenly "remembers" Terri's allegedly stated 'wishes'. Oh, and just after he gets the ruling to pull Terri's feeding tube he announces his engagement to the mother of his children. Interesting timing, don't you think ?



I have stated my wishes, to my husband, my parents, my siblings, my friends, my doctor and my lawyer. For the past 19 years I have carried in my wallet a card which outlines my wishes - it is signed, witnessed and notarized and is next to both my driver's liscense and donor card.

My grandmother died a painful and protracted death from cancer at the age of 98 - the hospital would not give her anymore pain meds "because she might become addicted". I was working out how to give her an "accidental" overdose to release her from her pain when I was notified o her death. In fifteen years, M has not tried to "release" her - he has tried to eliminate her. I would have gone to jail to give my grandmother a painless death. M. has allowed her to suffer through untreated infections in hopes of her dying so he could inheirit. He has denied her treatments recommendby her doctors, kept her from rehab even when the doctors reported progress, and had anyone who showed her compassion removed from her care.

I have done everything in my power to protect my husband from having to make my decsion - I would not want him thinking he ordered the death I might choose. M. - by contrast - seems to revel in playing the poor martyed husband when his own words and actions show his true intent.

Schiavo's Parents Appeal to Supreme Court
By JILL BARTON

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - Their legal options nearly exhausted, Terri Schiavo's parents made a desperate appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, asking justices to order resumption of nourishment for their severely brain-damaged daughter.

The late-night appeal followed rapid-fire developments in the case, with a federal appeals court refusing to order the reinsertion of Schiavo's feeding tube and the Florida Legislature deciding not to intervene in the epic struggle. Refusing to give up, Gov. Jeb Bush also sought court permission to take custody of Schiavo, who was on her sixth day without food or water.

The desperate flurry of activity came as President Bush suggested that Congress and the White House had done all they could to keep the woman alive. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, says his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially and has fought for years with her parents over whether she should be allowed to die.

In the emergency Supreme Court filing, Bob and Mary Schindler say their 41-year-old daughter faces an unjust and imminent death based on a decision by her husband to remove a feeding tube without strong proof of her consent. They alleged constitutional violations of due process and religious freedom.

The filing also argues Congress intended for Schiavo's tube to be reinserted, at least temporarily, when it passed an extraordinary bill last weekend that gave federal courts authority to fully review her case.


Time is of the essence. Schiavo's feeding tube was removed last Friday and doctors have said she likely would die within a week or two at a her hospice.

The Schindlers' attorney, David Gibbs III, declined immediate comment on the brief to The Associated Press.


Supporters of Schiavo's parents grew increasingly dismayed Wednesday, and 10 protesters were arrested outside her hospice for trying to bring her water. ``When I close my eyes at night, all I can see is Terri's face in front of me, dying, starving to death,'' Mary Schindler said outside the Pinellas Park hospice. ``Please, someone out there, stop this cruelty. Stop the insanity. Please let my daughter live.''


Schiavo's tube was pulled Friday afternoon with a Florida judge's approval. By late Tuesday, her eyes were sunken and her skin, lips and tongue were parched, said Barbara Weller, an attorney for the Schindlers.

Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly from a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder. Court-appointed doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery.

Her parents argue that she could get better and that she would never have wanted to be cut off from food and water. Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, has argued that his wife told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially, and a state judge has repeatedly ruled in his favor.

The battle played out on several fronts Wednesday.

A three-judge panel from the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the family early Wednesday, and hours later the full court refused to reconsider; the vote breakdown was not provided.

Gov. Jeb Bush and the state's social services agency filed a petition in state court to take custody of Schiavo and, presumably, reconnect her feeding tube. It cites new allegations of neglect and challenges Schiavo's diagnosis as being in a persistent vegetative state. The request is based on the opinion of a neurologist working for the state who observed Schiavo at her bedside but did not conduct an examination of her.

The neurologist, William Cheshire of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, is a bioethicist who is also an active member in Christian organizations, including two whose leaders have spoken out against the tube's removal.

Ronald Cranford of the University of Minnesota, a neurologist who was among those who made a previous diagnosis of Schiavo, said ``there isn't a reputable, credible neurologist in the world who won't find her in a vegetative state.''

The long-shot custody request by Bush was made before Judge George Greer, the same judge who has presided over the case for several years and ordered the feeding tube removed last month. Greer planned to decide by noon Thursday on whether the case would go forward. He issued an emergency order Wednesday to keep the Department of Children & Families from reconnecting the tube.

The Florida Legislature also jumped back into the fray, but senators rejected a bill that would have prohibited patients like Schiavo from being denied food and water if they did not express their wishes in writing. The measure was rejected 21-18. ``We're heartbroken,'' Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj said. Gibbs also said he was disappointed lawmakers didn't try ``to help Terri and help future generations of Floridians.''

The Legislature stepped in before, in 2003, and Schiavo's feeding tube was reinserted. But ``Terri's Law'' was later struck down by the state Supreme Court as an unconstitutional attempt to interfere in the courts.

The Senate vote Wednesday came after a bitter debate, with Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler, watching from the gallery above the floor. He covered his eyes with his hands and lowered his head during the debate. ``I'm here pleading for mercy. Have mercy on Theresa Marie Schiavo,'' said bill sponsor Sen. Dan Webster, a Republican.

But Senate Democratic Leader Les Miller warned: ``By the time the ink is dry on the governor's signature, it will be declared unconstitutional, just like it was before.''


A lawyer for Michael Schiavo said he was pleased by what happened in the appeals court and the Senate. But he was bothered that the governor was attempting to intervene again. ``They have no more power than you or I or a person walking down the street to say we have the right to take Terri Schiavo,'' attorney George Felos said.


Meanwhile, President Bush suggested that he and Congress had done their best to help the parents prolong Schiavo's life, and the White House said it had no further legal options. ``I believe that in a case such as this, the legislative branch, the executive branch, ought to err on the side of life, which we have,'' the president said. ``Now we'll watch the courts make their decisions.''

Federal courts were given jurisdiction to review Schiavo's case after Republicans in Congress pushed through unprecedented emergency legislation over the weekend aimed at prolonging Schiavo's life. But federal courts at two levels rebuffed the family. ``There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo,'' Judges Ed Carnes and Frank M. Hull said in the 2-1 decision by the 11th circuit panel. ``We all have our own family, our own loved ones, and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision.''


Dissenting Judge Charles R. Wilson said Schiavo's ``imminent'' death would end the case before it could be fully considered. ``I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube,'' he wrote.



03/23/05 23:42


http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...0050323FLEV105

now this is a shame ....

Wed Mar 23, 1:55 PM ET


Gabriel Keys (foreground) is arrested by police officers for trespassing in Pinellas Park, Florida, March 23, 2005. The young protester attempted to take a glass of water into the Woodside Hospice for the brain-damaged Terri Schiavo. A federal judge rejected a request from the parents of Schiavo to order her feeding tube reinserted, dealing a blow to attempts by the U.S. Congress and the White House to prolong her life. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...4209066064.jpg

Originally Posted by Jolie Rouge

now this is a shame ....

Wed Mar 23, 1:55 PM ET


Gabriel Keys (foreground) is arrested by police officers for trespassing in Pinellas Park, Florida, March 23, 2005. The young protester attempted to take a glass of water into the Woodside Hospice for the brain-damaged Terri Schiavo. A federal judge rejected a request from the parents of Schiavo to order her feeding tube reinserted, dealing a blow to attempts by the U.S. Congress and the White House to prolong her life. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...4209066064.jpg

Sorry Jolie, I don't agree. That young woman could have choked to death on that water he wanted to give her. I know he meant well, but you just don't go giving water or anything else to someonne unless you know for sure they can handle it. He got what he deserved.