Gov. Bush calls special session over Terri Schiavo

Firstcoastnews.com ^ | 10-20-03 | Cynthia Capers

[JulieRNR21]

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- According to a news release sent by the Terry Schindler-Schiavo Foundation, Florida Speaker Johnnie Byrd will introduce "Terri's Bill" during the special session Monday.

The bill would put an immediate moratorium on all dehydration and starvation deaths in Florida. Meanwhile, supporters of Terri Schiavo showed up Sunday outside a Pinellas Park hospice.

Doctors say Schiavo has been in a vegetative state since complications from a heart attack in 1990. Her husband was granted a court order that her feeding tube be removed, saying his wife wouldn't have wanted to be kept alive.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Hospice is where people send those who have exhausted their medical options. I said in a much louder tone in my emails this morning:
"WHAT THE HECK HAS SHE BEEN DOING IN HOSPICE????????? DON'T YOU ALL UNDERSTAND THAT HOSPICE IS FOR END-STAGE OF LIFE COMFORT, and NOT MEDICAL INTERVENTION?????????"

[dawn53]

This is what I have wondered too.

Hospice usually only accepts patients that have 6 months or less to live.

[Bobbisox]

OUR PRAYERS ARE BEING ANSWERED! WHAT IS HAPPENING IN FLORIDA IS ABSOLUTELY INHUMANE! GOD BLESS GOVERNOR BUSH! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

[dawn53]

I caught the end of a radio interview saying that a new judge had agreed to hear the case based on an appeal by a "disability rights" group.

Anybody else hear this?

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Christopher Reeve would have died long ago, according to this mentality.

[pc93]

The governor of Florida is the chief law enforcement officer. He has before him a case of Terri's Constitutional Rights being violated, as he stated in his amicus brief to the Lazzara court. He also has a judge protecting a guardian whom the judge appointed and that guardian is defrauding the very ward the judge placed in his care. Since the guardianship completely disenfranchised Terri Schiavo, the judge is, before the laws of Florida, also a guardian for Terri Schiavo, to insure that the guardian he assigned is meticulous in preserving her rights and properties. The judge has failed miserably to do this minimal oversight and even allowed now the execution of the ward. NOW, do you see why some are furious at this feckless governor for not doing what he swore oaths to do? It isn't a matter of a specific law that would cover Jeb's butt for him, it's about the governor doing what is right to save a citizen of Florida from a cruel and unusual death because he has the law enforcement authority to suspend (not cancel) the execution of a ruling by a suspect judge until a full investigation can be done. The suspension is fully warrantyed since the outcome of the suspect judge's ruling will be irreversible should the ruling be fully executed.
---

Well what can be done about it. It appears that he doesn't care if he has Terri's blood on his hands.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

WHAT??? WHERE????

[pc93]

OUR PRAYERS ARE BEING ANSWERED! WHAT IS HAPPENING IN FLORIDA IS ABSOLUTELY INHUMANE! GOD BLESS GOVERNOR BUSH! GOD BLESS AMERICA!
----
What prayers are being answered? That Jeb hasn't stepped in yet for someone who is being denied water and food for 5 days?

[Republic]

I caled kings's office....said I wanted to leave a message about Terri, but first I wanted to get some information so that when I posted it on FreeRepublic, it would be accurate. She asked if I was with the press, I said yes, the online people press, who like to verify the truth.

She put me thru to a press person who was not available and her mailbox was full--so she came back to me and I left my name and my phone number.

The questions she wrote down were:

Hospice is not in the business of killing people who are not terminally ill, in their end days, and who have exhausted all other measures of care, ie therapy. How is it that this hospice accepted Terri into their care?

And I asked for verification that Sen King has received the hospice of Florida hall of fame award, and IF it is true that sen King sat or sits on the Hospice board of directors.

She said she would get back to me.

[WackySam]

The live audio/video is back up, looks like their ready to re-convene. http://199.44.254.202/stations/channelA.asx

[dawn53]

I'm on the west coast of Florida, tuning toward WFLA 970 AM to listen to Rush. On my way (I was in the high 800's or low 900's), I came across the end of an interview on a religious channel with a woman (who sounded like Terri's lawyer) and the host.

The discussion was about Terri's law, and the obstacle in the Florida Senate, but also about a new judge agreeing to hear the case.

She said that the appeal was made by a "disability rights" group and actually carried more weight than appeals by parents. They were appealing on the basis of "cruelty in the death of a disabled person."

Then it was over.

I guess I could go back and find the radio station again and see if I could call the station. I didn't catch the call letters, and wondered if anybody else had heard this on another report.

[syriacus]

http://www.fdhc.state.fl.us/Contact/call_center.shtml says

To file acomplaint against a hospice in Florida

call

(888) 419-3456 between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. Eastern Time Monday through Friday.

You will need the exact name and address of the facility, and dates, name of the patient, etc.

* To file a complaint about a health care facility, such as a hospital, nursing home, assisted living facility, home health agency or other type of health care facility.

The website says they take anonymous calls, though you will not receive any information if you are anonymous

[dawn53]

Okay, I went back and listened, it was WTBN, 910 on the AM dial in West Central Florida. I'll see if I can find a phone number and get more info from the station about the interview I heard.

[Calpernia]

>>>I thought Freepers got reassuring emails back from FL Senators or Representatives.

I've gotten NO response from ANY of my emails.

[nmh]

"Hospice usually only accepts patients that have 6 months or less to live."

Taking in terminally ill patients who have 6 months or less to live IS what they do. You can have your loved one at home to die and someone from Hospice will help both you and the loved one till they part. Normally they are compassionate people and handle aspects of death the typical person isn't aware of. It's done with resepct and dignity - not at all like what Terri is experiencing.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I wonder if this is what they could be referring to?


News: Press Releases

N.O.D. President Appeals to Florida Governor Bush to Intervene to Save Terri Schiavo's Life

Date: 10/16/2003

Disability advocates nationwide have been riveted and mobilized by the case of Terri Schindler Schiavo, a Florida woman who is at the center of a legal battle. Ms. Schiavo, 39, has severe disabilities as the result of a heart attack and collapse 13 years ago.

Her husband, Michael Schiavo, has argued for the removal of the feeding tubes that have kept her alive, contending that she is brain-dead and has no cognition nor chance for recovery. He says his wife told him she would not want to be kept alive in such a situation. Her parents, however, have steadfastly maintained and documented that their daughter responds to stimuli, is not brain dead, and could improve with rehabilitative therapy. They also say she would not have wanted to die before and that she does not now.

Their case is documented at www.terrisfight.org; this site also has information for people in Florida and elsewhere about how to help their effort to save their daughter's life.

N.O.D. President Alan Reich wrote to Governor Jeb Bush of Florida about this issue after a court ordered the removal of Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube on October 15. The matter is urgent as she is expected to survive for less than two weeks from that date unless her sustenance is restored.

---

October 16, 2003

Governor Jeb Bush
Executive Office of the Governor
The Capitol -- 400 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001

Dear Governor Bush:

Thank you for your efforts to save Terri Schiavo, who due to a court order has had her feeding tube removed and will surely perish unless intervention succeeds.

As you know, this case has gained national attention, and it is a major one for those of us who support the rights of people with disabilities to be treated humanely. Serious questions have arisen regarding whether Ms. Schiavo is, as those who advocate ending her life assert, in a terminally vegetative state. Her documented responses to stimuli suggest that that is decidedly not the case.

So long as there is any question that Ms. Schiavo may be cognitive, or have potential for cognition, the removal of her feeding tube is nothing short of murder. The fact that she has been denied access to any rehabilitative care adds to the crimes that have been visited upon her.

Of course, I am also troubled by the fact that much of why she is being "allowed" to die is her husband’s claim that she would not have wanted to live. This is hearsay, with no documentation but his word, and accepting it as evidence endangers the rights of all persons with disabilities who are not able to communicate.

While these questions persist, there is no reason to rush or hasten her demise. Haste will do harm, while further testing, rehabilitative efforts, and careful consideration of the case can harm no one.

I commend your efforts to date and urge you to continue tirelessly to do the right thing and to find ways to save this woman’s life.

Sincerely,


Alan A. Reich
President

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

And I asked for verification that Sen King has received the hospice of Florida hall of fame award, and IF it is true that sen King sat or sits on the Hospice board of directors.

Nuth-uhh...are you serious?

[Republic]

Totally.

[dawn53]

Just called the radio station WTBN in Tampa, and they said that the Judge's name was Judge John Moore. So is this accurate???? I don't know. Anybody have anyway to verify it.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The sad thing is this is 8th grade civics. It should have been initiated weeks ago. Everyone involved knew Terri's execution was approaching.