Posted on 03/23/2005 10:15:06 AM PST by demlosers
AP
ATLANTA - Racing against time to save their brain-damaged daughter's life, Terri Schiavo's parents asked a federal appeals court Wednesday for an emergency review of an appellate panel's ruling that her feeding tube not be hooked up again.
In Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush renewed his call for the Legislature to step in and "spare Terri's life," and 10 demonstrators outside Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park were arrested trying to bring her water _ including a 10-year-old boy.
The request for an "expedited rehearing" of the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was made 10 hours after the three-judge panel had rejected Bob and Mary Schindler's earlier filing.
Schiavo's parents also have vowed to take their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida legislature.
A majority of the 12-member appellate court would have to agree to hear the case before it would be considered, said Matt Davidson, the court's calendar clerk. There was no immediate word on when the court would make that decision.
In their appeal, the Schindlers said their daughter's medical condition was "deteriorating rapidly." They asked that the full court order the hospice in Florida where Schiavo is staying to immediately transport her to a hospital "for any medical treatment necessary to sustain her life and to re-establish her nutrition and hydration."
In a 2-1 ruling earlier Wednesday, the three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit said the parents "failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims" that the feeding tube should be reinserted immediately.
"There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo," the ruling by Judges Ed Carnes and Frank M. Hull said. "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 concerning a question of law."
The ruling was the latest legal blow for Schiavo's parents, who have long battled Schiavo's husband over whether their daughter's feeding tube should be disconnected. State courts have sided with Michael Schiavo, who insists his wife told him she would never want to be kept alive artificially.
Doctors have said Terri Schiavo, now 41, could survive one to two weeks without water and nutrients. The tube was pulled Friday afternoon.
Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, said he was "very pleased" with the appeals court ruling. He declined further comment.
In a statement, the governor said he "could not be more disappointed in the decision announced this morning."
"Time is of the essence and I hope all who have the ability and duty to act in this case will do so with a sense of urgency," he said.
In his dissent to the appeals court ruling, Judge Charles R. Wilson said Schiavo's "imminent" death would end the case before it could be fully considered. "In fact, I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube," he wrote.
Wilson and Hull were appointed to the appeals court by President Clinton, while Carnes was appointed by former President Bush.
An appeal was pending in the 11th Circuit Court on whether Schiavo's right to due process was violated.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in Tampa also rejected the parents' emergency request.
Before the Schindlers' latest filing with the 11th Circuit, one of their attorneys said the couple will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "The Schindlers will be filing an appropriate appeal to save their daughter's life," attorney Rex Sparklin said. The high court has previously refused to hear Schiavo's case.
Howard Simon of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said the ruling pointed out the limited role of government in these matters and the need for a living will "to keep politicians out of your personal life."
"I do think we are coming to the end of this sad case," he said.
Protesters gathered outside the hospice again Wednesday, many upset by the rulings. "This is a clear-cut case of judicial tyranny," said Tammy Melton, 37, a high school teacher from Monterey, Tenn.
About a dozen people stood in front of the hospice to bring water to Schiavo, but police arrested most of them, as they have done to others who had similar motives in recent days.
Chris Keys, 45, of Burnet, Texas, held his 2-year-old daughter, Farrah, as he prepared to get arrested with three of his other children. The toddler was taken by her mother so police could handcuff Keys and the other children.
"Jesus said, 'Whatever you do to the least of men, you do for me.' I'm a little nervous but I think this is what God wants me to do," said Keys' daughter, Josie, 14. She and her brothers Cameron, 12, and Gabriel, 10, kneeled on the ground as police handcuffed them.
Michael Schiavo has repeatedly urged courts not to grant an emergency request and restore nutrition.
"That would be a horrific intrusion upon Mrs. Schiavo's personal liberty," said the appeals court filing by Felos.
The Legislature had stepped in before, in 2003, and her feeding tube was reinserted after six days at that time. But "Terri's Law" was later struck down as unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.
More recently, Florida lawmakers had failed to pass new legislation that could have prevented the removal of the tube. They may consider another bill Wednesday, and state Sen. Daniel Webster, the bill's sponsor, said it would be the measure's last chance.
"Today is it," said Webster, a Republican, who said Wednesday he still wasn't certain he has enough votes to push the measure through. "But I'm going to try."
The state House could take up the bill quickly if the Senate sends it, according to a spokesman for Speaker Allan Bense. After Wednesday, both chambers are in recess until next week.
Mary Schindler has pleaded with state lawmakers to save her daughter's life.
"Please, senators, for the love of God, I'm begging you, don't let my daughter die of thirst," she said Tuesday outside her daughter's hospice.
Terri 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.
An emergency filing to the high court would go first to Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee who has staked a moderate position on social issues.
In 1990, the high court ruled that a terminally ill person has a right to refuse life-sustaining treatment. And next term it plans to consider whether the federal government can prosecute doctors who help ill patients die.
Between those cases, the court has not said much, choosing to allow states to decide the issue.
Around the time of the parents' request to the full 11th Circuit, President Bush said he was watching the case and defended actions by himself and Congress to try to prolong Terri Schiavo's life.
"This is an extraordinary and sad case," Bush said during a news conference in Waco, Texas, with his counterparts from Canada and Mexico.
Over the weekend, Republicans in Congress pushed through unprecedented emergency legislation aimed at prolonging Schiavo's life by allowing the case to be reviewed by federal courts.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore of Tampa rejected the parents' request to have the tube reinserted, saying they had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at a trial.
Associated Press writers Mark Long in Pinellas Park, Fla., Errin Haines in Atlanta, and Samantha Gross and David Royse in Tallahassee, Fla., contributed to this report.
On the Net:
11th Circuit's decision: http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200511556.pdf
How do you feel about "due process" including polygraphs in the
Schiavo case and others like it? Polygraphs are not reserved for
criminal cases only are they? It's never too late for a man to be
able to prove that he loved his wife and that he is about to do her
will- a final act of love as they once understood it for themselves.
I think that for the Michael Schiavo's of the world, believing in love
is more to do with doing each other's will as they understood it for
themselves and not so much adhering to god's will.
I don't understand why this is not a criminal case. From the very beginning, there have been signs that Schiavo's motivation has been to see his wife dead. By whatever means it takes.
the full court will hear it
"AP
ATLANTA - Racing against time to save their brain-damaged daughter's life,"
BUT, BUT, BUT ,BUT The madia swears she is brain dead,
NOT brain damaged????
Any chance there,what is the composition of the full bench?
That should make for good footage.
A 10 year old boy does what Governor Bush and President Bush will not do.
The request for an "expedited rehearing" of the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was made 10 hours after the three-judge panel had rejected Bob and Mary Schindler's earlier filing.Apparently, the Schinders' attorney missed the 10 AM deadline, if the AP timeline is correct. (The panel decision come out around 2AM. Ten hours later will put the en banc appeal around noon.)A majority of the 12-member appellate court would have to agree to hear the case before it would be considered, said Matt Davidson, the court's calendar clerk.
Nevertheless, the full court can easily vote to hear the case.
The caregivers (doctors, nurses and whoever else) who are complying with the court order to withhold her nutrients are no better than those at Nuremberg who said they were simply following orders.
On another thread, I counted 12 judges appointed by Repubs and 6 judges appointed by Dems.
Why did it take them 10 hours to make the request?
Some people make me wince in doubt of their comprehension of the gravity of this situation. First-off, forget Scott Peterson. That's over for now. Try to get it out of your head...You can't believe in god more than you can believe in love. Mike and Terri Schiavo married each other and not the rest of the world or the church or the United States of America.
More Orwellian-speak to add to my collection. We're going to have to come up with Barbarian personality profiles based on Schiavo eumphemisms:
The "agonizing" hard decision:
If there is clearly no hope of this woman recovering, then the best thing to do would be to let her die (after 10 years, it seems this would be the case), but this is a hard decision to make.
The end the suffering plea (though the only suffering she has is court-ordered starvation): End this poor woman's suffering, already! And her husband's suffering! She died in 1990, her body just hasn't gotten the message yet - and neither have her parents.
The parents are the problem complaint:
I'm mighty pissed The NO Brain claim:
That a major portion of Terry Schiavo's brain NO LONGER EXISTS
The Hope she dies wish:
hope they leave the tube out and let her die this time, rather than her parents holding on to the shell their daughter has become. Crankydragon’scratches.com
The She won't feel a thing promise
She has no brain activity and hasn't had any for a long time. She isn't going to feel what's going on in any sense of the word, ibid
The Congress should never be in the business of saving lives announcement:
I know that _I_ wouldn't want to "live" that way, and I certainly wouldn't want Congress deciding, on religious grounds, when I should die.
The cry:
The man has been through most of the grieving process, and he's ready to let her go and get on with his own life. Unfortunately, her family and the right to lifers out there won't let him. I've told my wife, "Honey, I love you. But if you've been hooked to a feeding tube for 15 years, please don't expect me to put my life on hold until a miracle cure shows up."
The it's selfish not to kill philosophy:
it would be entirely selfish of me to keep him alive because I love him so much and couldn't deal with him dying
The prove your life meets my standards of living test:
Terri Schiavo, who can never live a life with any awareness. Just because she grunts at a balloon and laughs randomly (based on videos put out by very biased people - who probably don't show you the grunts and laughs she does randomly) does not mean she is living anything close to a life.
The don't confuse me with the facts rant:
Let the woman die already! This is all a gigantic moutnain being made out of the smallest mole hill. Let me show you the fact: Terri Schiavo died the second she got into the car crash. Her brain is a fluidy mess with absolutely no function what so ever. If you want to invoke God into all this than here: let her die with Christian dignity. Her parents are in such denial of the fact that their daughter is dead that now they make her loving husband who is trying to move on a scapegoat. I certainly can't trust anything that people who think their daughter is communicating to them by blinking say. In conclusion: let the woman die like she was supposed to, get Bush's political stunt out of the headlines, and let us all move on with our lives. And this site is right: Sworn enemy- Terri Schiavo.
The caring means killing feint:
is it still "caring" to condemn her to that appalling mockery of life?
The cost-benefit fumble argument:
a brain-dead vegetable draining her family's finances for the next 30 years commonsenseblog.typepad.com
The zombie bag o' bones depersonalizaton method:
Michael and the doctors watched his wife deteriorate into a mere simulacrum of humanity.... That's right, complete strangers felt the need to create tailor-made legislation to keep Terri's zombie body alive...a brain-dead political prop These pro-life wackos would rather keep this brain dead bag of bones breathing than consider that quality of life is perhaps more sacred than quantity.
The kill me if I ever look like a brain-dead vegetable request:
she will not suffer a bit, because she cannot feel or process pain in any way. If I become a brain-dead vegetable like Terri Schiavo, let me die.
I like your tagline. Soylent Green was a great futuristic movie. Scary how close we are coming....We are almost 1/3 of the way there.
What a beautiful thing this family has done. It brought tears to my eyes.
It should be a criminal case and I think it will be at some point. The question is will it be too late for Terri? Lets hope legislation passes quickly
Well we know that 1 pub will go the wrong way and 1 dem will go right.That leaves 4 dems we don't know about.
um, the article says there are only 12 judges on the entire court.
"AP
ATLANTA - Racing against time to save their brain-damaged daughter's life,"
Media cracking under the pressure.
NOTE AP NOW admits Terri is brain damaged, NOT brain dead.
I'm mighty pissed at the parents for making this a political issue.
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