Judge denies last ditch effort by Schiavo's parents

The St. Petersburg Times ^ | 10/17/2003 | The associated press

[walford]

A circuit court judge today denied a last-ditch effort by the parents of a disabled woman to reinsert a feeding tube that was disconnected by her husband. Supporters of Bob and Mary Schindler said the writ of mandamus would direct Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo. Leon County Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Sjostrom quickly rejected the writ. Randall Terry, the anti-abortion activist who has taken up the Schindlers' cause, said the legal move was made by the Schindler's attorneys in hopes it would give Bush legal standing to intervene. The governor has been sympathetic to the Schindler's efforts block their daughter's death, but has said he has yet to find a legal means to override court rulings that allow Michael Schiavo to disconnect the feeding tube. The Schindlers want the tube reinserted so law enforcement can investigate their allegations she has been abused by her husband. Michael Schiavo has adamantly denied mistreating his wife, and both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Pinellas County State Attorney's Office have declined to investigate such allegations.

[Ferret Fawcet]

Thanks for posting that, I was trying to remember where I saw that... Terri bolting up in her chair after hearing that others are planning her death, I would interperet that a negative reaction... I do not believe she wants to be "put out of her misery"

[alancarp]

EMail just sent to the Governor's office:

To The Honorable Governor Bush;

Though I currently reside in North Carolina, I lived 33 of my 41 years in the Sunshine State and wish to make a suggestion that may be available to you as a means of assisting Mrs. Schiavo.

The Florida Statutes under chapter 252 provide the Governor with a wide range of powers available via Executive Order. Most of these deal with handling widespread calamity or disaster. However, there is no requirement relating to the size or scope of such a disaster, only that you make the declaration that a threat exists that will impact the health or welfare of at least one of Florida's citizens.

Let me quote from 252.311:

"The Legislature finds and declares that the state is vulnerable to a wide range of emergencies, including natural, technological, and manmade disasters, all of which threaten the life, health, and safety of its people; ..."

The Statute permits you to mobilize health care resources in a declared emergency:

"The Governor shall employ such measures and give such directions to the Department of Health and the Agency for Health Care Administration as may be reasonably necessary for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of ss. 252.31-252.90 or with the findings or recommendations of such agency of health by reason of conditions arising from emergencies or threats of emergency."

I ask you, then, to declare a "minor" State of Emergency that imminently threatens the life of Mrs. Schiavo in order to permit the resources to be mustered that would keep her alive.

Yes, this would be an extraordinary step to take: but I believe that this is an extraordinary situation perpetrated by one man and one judge in an attempt to take away the life of one of your state's citizens against the wishes of blood relatives and family. The only reason the husband is being permitted to have standing in court has to do with a marriage contract -- that he himself has so obviously and blatantly broken.

Please act quickly. Thank you and God bless you.

Respectfully submitted,

[GovernmentShrinker]

This is not euthanasia. Euthanasia, which I support when it is clearly the wish of the subject or when the subject is clearly unable to sense anything, involves ending someone's life quickly and painlessly. Starving and dehydrating someone over the course of 1-2 weeks is as abusive to a person who wants to die, as it is to a person who doesn't.

[sweetliberty]

"both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Pinellas County State Attorney's Office have declined to investigate such allegations."

What is wrong with this picture???? There is evidence for crying out loud! And they won't even consider it??? Law enforcement went after Scott Peterson on less.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Maybe they suspect they will never get the backing of the courts when they need a warrant.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Terri bolting up in her chair after hearing that others are planning her death, I would interperet that a negative reaction...

That was just a normal muscle spasm! /sarcasm

[First_Salute]

You have been the bright spot in the day, and I cannot thank you enough.

[sweetliberty]

But it is my understanding that the same Judge Greer who ordered Terri's death also has allowed for her husband to carry out his desire to have her cremated Immediately, which means no autopsy. The whole thing is highly suspect and you would think that there are enough unanswered questions to warrant an actual investigation.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Unless you find grounds to impeach the judge, or to have a higher court overrule the judge, there is very little that can be done. That takes too much time.

Praying for a miracle is appropriate, of course. But it is getting down to the wire, and Terri is thirsty and hungry!

[Lurking Libertarian]

If I understand the case, the husband claims that the wife told him she would not want to be indefinitely sustained by artificial means in this type of situation? I guess I don't understand why so many people seem to be so angry that the husband is carrying out her wishes?

Ordinarily, I would agree with that position. The husband, however, has a big conflict of interest-- he is engaged to another woman and has two children by her. This makes many people (myself included) suspicious of what he says his wife's wishes were.

I think the law should require that a person who doesn't want to be kept alive by extraordinary means leave written instructions in advance. (Many states already require that.) It would avoid these horrible situations.

[Theodore R.]

Of course, this is euthanasia. It is putting a person to death for reasons determined by man: convenience, medical costs, rationed care, patient's wishes, etc. Whether it is called a "natural process" or not is irrelevant. It still results in death, as desired in this case by the guardian and the State of FL.

Were the feeding tube still in Terri, she would still be surviving.

[Jaded]

Your next of kin can override the DNR too.

My father made a living will 9 days before his death. Until that point it was strictly "hearsay". We talked about it until he made me cry, because I didn't want to let go. My brothers were not privy to the conversation. They were as opposed to my decisions as was one of the Doctors. Then I pulled out the papers.

I suppose the sticking point here is- Is Terri suffering? You can keep someone alive on life support long enough for the organs to heal and function normally or reasonably so. The young woman, IIRC Karen Ann Quinlan, in the 70's where this whole 'right to die or be unplugged' started was on life support long enough for her bodily functions to work on their own. After that, she was on a feeding tube for years.

As much as people dislike the husband, he could have pulled the plug years ago. So at one time even he had hope. Would a court give him a divorce?

[walford]

"I suppose the sticking point here is- Is Terri suffering?" [No, the sticking point is - is she human, is she present (not brain-dead). Even if she is suffering, she has a right to live - it should not be up to a court to decide to kill someone against their will, because they are deemed unworthy. See my post below from another thread:]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1003134/posts?page=58#58

"As much as people dislike the husband, he could have pulled the plug years ago. So at one time even he had hope. Would a court give him a divorce?"

Michael Schiavo doesn't want a divorce - he wants to inherit the malpractice award upon Terri's death and marry his 'shack-up honey' [TY Dr. Laura] whom he has knocked up twice since his wife has been hospitalized. He wouldn't get the moola if he divorced her. Also, do a search on threads on this subject on FR. There are theories that allege that if Terri were to regain the ability to communicate [she has been denied any rehabilitative therapy], the mysterious original cause of her current condition may shown to be the result of 'foul play.'

[Krodg]

As much as people dislike the husband, he could have pulled the plug years ago. So at one time even he had hope. Would a court give him a divorce?

Jaded,

He fought for money to assist him in caring for her and won. He immediately denied her any therapy and tried to stop all medication. Her wish to die is heresay from him and his family. He has stated he doesn't want a divorce because her family will not respect her 'wishes'. The family suspects it was foul play by him that caused her collapse, so they have been fighting. The family wants to take care of her and he wants her dead....he and his new family win.

BTW..back before he won the money she was responding and being fed with a spoon....he put a stop to any chance she had.

[Jaded]

I've seen bits and pieces of this and some of her web site. I am by far not as knowledgeable as some posting. It's a difficult decision at any stage of it.

If he doesn't want the responsibility he should get a divorce. The money was for her and not him, he should get a job. Really, if he is that adverse to the situation, he should just go the-f away and let her parents care for her. It's that easy.

jaded

ps. i try to always look for the good in people, sometimes it's very very difficult.

[PeyersPatches]

But, here is my question, who will take care of her (both physically and mentally) if her parents take over gaurdianship and then pass away. It seems great for them to want her until the end of their lives, but what happens to her after that?

---

She has siblings that appear up to the task. Her brother was on Hannity:Corpse the other night and very upset that his sister was being basically murdered in a very cruel way, from what I could see.

[walford]

"If he doesn't want the responsibility he should get a divorce. The money was for her and not him, he should get a job. Really, if he is that adverse to the situation, he should just go the-f away and let her parents care for her. It's that easy."

[Unfortunately, the media have successfully portrayed this issue as a fight over a woman they describe as 'comatose' or 'vegatative.' They cite certain 'doctors' who say this is so. They do not say that these doctors are hand-picked by the adoring hubbie. Other doctors are forbidden by the presiding judge. There are doctors who have seen the videos of her http://host85.ipowerweb.com/~friendso/vid.html and swear she is conscious and aware. http://www.wtlv.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=9362

"ps. i try to always look for the good in people, sometimes it's very very difficult."

Some people are evil. Looking for good in evil serves whom?

[pinz-n-needlez]

Now you understand the frustration of the folks here. :-)

He won't go away, because he only gets the $$ if he's her husband when she dies. And if she doesn't hurry up and die soon, there won't be any $$ left.

Repsonding to another Freeper's point... Removing a feeding tube is hardly 'pulling the plug.' And she has loving family who would walk through fire for her. The evil coincidence of lawyer and judge in Florida is heart breaking. Once this precedent is set in Florida, I hate to think what will happen to all those old folks who moved into the state. I'm sure more than a few of them are regarded as burdens by their next of kin. :-/

Prayers for a peaceful and easy death for Terri. The state has no mercy.

[TaxRelief]

One thing all Freepers can do easily is to go to to Google News and search on Terri Schiavo. Google news moves things up automatically based on the number of searches and links through to articles. Go to it Freepers, ! Let's make this headline news!

[Krodg]

If she had put her wishes into writing or if he had used any of her rehablitation money on her..there wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, one person now has the court's approval to say that another person wants to die based on nothing but heresay. What next? We shoot someone and get our family to say they wanted it? Kinda scary where this could lead.

ps. i try to always look for the good in people, sometimes it's very very difficult.

Yeah, me too. I used to say that I had faith in my fellow man....then I realized what a stupid statement that was. My faith is in Christ and His will be done. My human mind screams to fight against the husband that has used the pro-death courts to free himself of honoring his vows to one woman while raising a family with another. The Spirit within me tells me that even though I may never see the good that comes from this.....God has a plan and it will not be forsaken. I believe, I pray and I fight.