Posted on 10/21/2003 12:34:19 PM PDT by NautiNurse
TALLAHASSEE - A state Senate panel Tuesday morning approved legislation that would give Gov. Jeb Bush the power to order the feeding tube removed from Terri Schiavo reinserted. The full Senate is expected to approve the bill Tuesday evening. The battle to save Schiavo shifted to the state Capitol Monday, where legislative leaders agreed after intense, daylong negotiations to grant Bush the power to intervene in the emotionally charged case. The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill 68-23 Monday night that would give Bush the authority to order the comatose Schiavo's feeding tube replaced, reversing a judicial order that other judges have upheld. Twenty-eight lawmakers did not vote.
The state Senate is expected to pass the same measure today and send it to Bush, who likely will sign the bill immediately. ``The proposed bill would allow for a stay in cases of withholding nutrition and hydration from patients in situations similar to that of Ms. Schiavo,'' Bush said in a statement. Once the bill is signed, Bush will have 15 days to issue a one-time stay. The move came just hours after an advocacy group for disabled people pleaded with a federal judge in Tampa to keep Schiavo, 39, alive long enough to investigate a claim that she is being abused by her husband. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday said he will issue a decision in the nationally watched case soon. Phones and computers across the state Capitol rang and chimed throughout the day as lawmakers were flooded with pleas to intervene in the Schiavo case. Earlier in the day, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, a Plant City Republican running for the U.S. Senate, opened the possibility of legislative intervention by confirming that he planned to propose legislation to ``save'' Schiavo. Rep. John Stargel, R-Lakeland, sponsored the bill. ``The family is elated,'' said Randall Terry, a spokesman for Terri Schiavo's parents who are trying to keep their daughter alive. ``They recognize there are still hurdles to overcome. They're praying Terri's health holds out until the governor can intervene to save her.'' Urging caution is Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville. King said he is leery of interfering in a case that has been vetted in nearly ``every court in the land.'' But citing ``unique and unusual circumstances,'' he signed off on what he considers a narrowly drafted measure that still delivers what Byrd and Bush want. ``If we are going to err, then let us err on the side of caution,'' King said. ``I just hope to God we've done the right thing.'' The bill gives Bush the power to issue a ``one-time'' stay under certain conditions. All are designed to fit Schiavo's case. Among them, for example, is a requirement that the feeding tube must have been removed as of Oct. 15 - the day Schiavo's tube was removed. Others stipulate that the patient have no written advance directive or living will, and that a family member is actively challenging the judicial orders. But the bill raised a variety of legal and constitutional concerns for lawmakers worried the Legislature was overstepping its bounds. ``This bill so oversteps our role, it not only sets a dangerous precedent, it turns democracy on its head,'' said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. In Tampa, an Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities attorney told Judge Merryday that the private agency received a telephone complaint Friday alleging Schiavo was the victim of neglect and abuse. The center is designated by the state to receive federal funds under a number of laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorney Gordon B. Scott asked Merryday to order that Schiavo be given nutrition long enough for the agency to investigate the abuse complaint. Such a temporary order, Scott said, would be in force for 10 days, after which Scott would be required to report any findings to the court. Merryday asked Scott whether the agency would be in court if Terri Schiavo had left written instructions expressing her desire not to be kept alive on life support. State courts have ruled in favor of Michael Schiavo's claim that his wife had verbally expressed those wishes. Scott said that if there were a legally valid written statement from Terri Schiavo, he would not have filed the request for the restraining order.
At the Pinellas Park hospice where Terri Schiavo spent her fifth full day without food or water Monday, the Schindler family remained upbeat while awaiting word from Tampa and Tallahassee. The family is praying that the Legislature acts quickly to force the hospice to resume feeding Terri Schiavo, said her sister, Suzanne Carr. ``She seems to be alert,'' said her brother, Bob Schindler Jr. ``But every day that goes by, we're getting into a crucial time for her. She's got an incredible will to live.'' The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reporter David Sommer contributed to this report. Reporter Allison North Jones can be reached at (850) 222-8382. Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837.
Do you prefer judges that side with a husband trying to do away with his wife based on the husband saying she said so?
Do you not see where allowing her death could lead? One step to open the flood gates of any person being able to claim that you said you would not wish to live in that manner and therefore killing you? Judges allowing a husband not to divorce his wife but to kill her and not asking why the husband has fought so very hard to kill?
This would mean any husband (or wife) could claim that a mate said they would not want to live. Therefore the mate would be free to murder with the court's blessing.
I think that under constitution and statutes, Bush probably did in fact have the legal authority to act, but in retrospect you're probably right in thinking he would have been squashed by the courts regardless.
The original Senate version provided that stays would remain until revoked, although the summary didn't say that. I haven't seen the new law.
A guardian ad litem is a person appointed by the state to ensure that a guardian represents the best interests of a ward. Guardians ad litem can sometimes be a pain, because their job is to be incredibly nosy about what's going on, but on the other hand that is their job.
What is supposed to happen in a case like Terri's is that if someone like the parents doesn't think the guardian is acting properly, they should tell the guardian ad litem who in turn has full legal standing to challenge the guardian. Indeed, the guardian ad litem is often the only person with legal standing to file actions against the guardian, so by eliminating Terri's GAL before Felos was able to run roughshot over Terri's interests with nobody being allowed to challenge it.
No kidding. I wish there were a rule that required court decisions to be able to function at least plausibly based purely on the Constitution and statutes, without citing any case law. Case law may be used in cases where the Constitution or statute are ambiguous, but there is something wrong when courts produce cases which cite case law with complete diregard for what the Constitution and statutes actually say.
Have you seen this in the news?
"Felos has five days to file additional arguments in a revised petition to overturn Bush's order. Once he does that, the state has five days in which to respond -- potentially granting Terri as much as a 10 day reprieve from further action denying her right to live."
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