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Parents say they're still barred from visiting Terri Schiavo

MITCH STACY
Associated Press

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The parents of a severely brain-damaged woman at the center of a contentious right-to-die case said Monday that their son-in-law won't let them visit their daughter.

Bob and Mary Schindler said they have been barred from visiting their daughter, Terri Schiavo, for the past seven weeks, ever since Clearwater police began investigating the appearance of what appeared to be puncture marks on her arms following a visit by the parents.

But an attorney for Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband and legal guardian, said the Schindlers have been offered the chance to visit - if they hire private security at their own expense to accompany them into her room. Michael Schiavo has been trying to remove the feeding tube that has kept his wife alive for 14 years, saying that would be her wish, but her parents have successfully blocked his attempts.

Last week, police finished the investigation of the arm marks, which were found in March shortly after a parental visit, and concluded that no crime had been committed. They said the marks were likely caused by the apparatus used to lift the 40-year-old woman in and out of bed at the nursing home where she lives.

Bob Schindler said the family attempted to visit Friday but were again turned away by order of Michael Schiavo. The family has sued their family to have visitation reinstated, and a hearing has been set for May 26.

"It's mean and it's cruel," Schindler said at a news conference Monday. "It's just something else to harass us."

Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, said that even though police found no evidence of a crime in Terri's room, the incident raised enough suspicion to warrant a more restrictive visitation policy. Raising concern was the discovery of a plastic adapter used to introduce fluids into the feeding tube, he said. Caregivers told police they had not used the part, which was found in Terri's clothing.

"We think that raises questions and suspicions, and we'll just let the judge decide ... whether it warrants supervision when Terri's family visits," he said.

Felos said the Schindlers also have shot video of their daughter in violation of a court order, and extra security is needed to make sure that doesn't happen again.

The Schindlers say they didn't do anything wrong on March 29 and resent having to pay for security to visit Terri, especially when an off-duty police officer is already stationed outside the room. Their attorney, George Tragos, called the incident involving the alleged needle marks "a red herring" designed to sway public opinion against the family.

The Schindlers have been battling Michael Schiavo in court for years over the fate of their daughter, who court-appointed doctors say was left in a persistent vegetative state after collapsing from a chemical imbalance in 1990.

Her husband has fought to remove her feeding tube, arguing that she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents doubt she had any such end-of-life wishes and believe her condition could improve with treatment.

The case garnered national headlines in October when the Florida Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush stepped in to save Terri Schiavo's life after a court had ordered the tube removed.

Michael Schiavo sued Bush, contending that the hastily passed law giving Bush authority to reinsert the tube was unconstitutional. A Pinellas circuit judge agreed, and that decision is under appeal.

Last week, the 2nd District Court of Appeal indicated that it wanted Schiavo's case expedited to the Florida Supreme Court. It gave Bush and Michael Schiavo 10 days to show why it should not be sent to the Supreme Court as "a matter of great importance requiring immediate resolution by that court."