Family Barred From Seeing Comatose Woman

Las Vegas Sun ^ | 10/22/03 | Mitch Stacy

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - The family of a disabled woman now under treatment by orders of Gov. Jeb Bush is barred from seeing her because her husband won't allow it, the family's attorney said Tuesday.

Michael Schiavo is Terri Schiavo's official guardian, and can designate who is allowed to see his wife. She had gone without food and water for six days under a court order that allowed her husband to remove the feeding tube that kept her alive for more than a decade.

Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday, acting under a hastily approved law by the Florida Legislature, ordered Terri Schiavo taken to a hospital where doctors could begin the process of rehydrating and eventually feeding her.

Attorneys for parents Bob and Mary Schindler said Terri Schiavo's brother, Bob Schindler Jr., was turned away Tuesday night when he attempted to see his sister. It was not clear what condition Terri Schiavo was in Wednesday morning, about 12 hours after she was moved from a Pinellas Park hospice where she was dying to Morton Plant Hospital in nearby Clearwater.

"They have been told Terri can have no visitors under Michael's order," said Tom Brodersen, a paralegal who is a member of the Schindler's legal team that has waged a years-long court battle to keep Terri Schiavo alive.

George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday morning.

The fight over Terri Schiavo's life took a dramatic twist Tuesday with Bush's intervention in the decade-long legal battle between the Schindlers and their son-in-law.

Michael Schiavo says his wife never wanted to be kept alive artificially and doctors have testified she is in a persistent vegetative state. The Schindlers dispute she had such wishes and say their daughter has enough functioning ability to laugh, cry and react to them.

Felos called the reinsertion of the tube "an absolute horrible tragedy for Terri Schiavo."

"The governor of the state of Florida does not have the right to trump a patient's personal choice," he said.

Felos said that on Tuesday, Terri was showing signs of massive organ failure and that the reinsertion of the tube is just prolonging her death. He said he did not know her condition Wednesday.

"She was literally absconded from her death bed in the middle of her dying process," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Observers wondered whether the Legislature and the governor overstepped constitutional boundaries by ramming through legislation that overruled the courts.

"It presents a new legal issue that I've never heard of," said former Florida Supreme Court Justice Stephen Grimes.

The feeding tube was removed last Wednesday after a court refused to intervene. Doctors said the 39-year-old woman would die within a week to 10 days without nutrition and water.

On Tuesday, an ambulance took Schiavo from a Pinellas Park hospice to Morton Plant Hospital after Bush issued his order to resume feeding her. A crowd cheered outside as she left. A hospital spokeswoman on Wednesday said she could not release any information on Schiavo.

Hours earlier, the Senate voted 23-15 for legislation to save Schiavo. Within minutes, the House voted 73-24 to send the bill to Bush. The governor signed it into law and issued his order about an hour later.

"It's restored my belief in God," said Schiavo's father, Bob Schindler.

Michael Schiavo, meanwhile, was "deeply troubled, angry and saddened that his wife's wishes have become a political pingpong," Felos said. "He, as many others, is absolutely stunned at the course of events."

Suzanne Carr, the woman's sister, called the lawmakers' action "a miracle, an absolute miracle."

Felos scrambled to try to stop Bush's order. He filed a request for an injunction, but Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer denied it on technical grounds. Felos refiled the request and State Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird also refused to grant it.

"We won. Terri won," her father said after the ruling.

Felos said he believes the legislation is unconstitutional. It is Terri Schiavo's right under the Florida Constitution to not be kept alive artificially, and the courts have affirmed that, he said.

Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe said the action by Bush and the Legislature "violates the core principles" of a 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The court ruled in a Missouri case that Nancy Cruzan, who had been fed through a tube for seven years, could be permitted to die if "clear and convincing evidence" proved that was what she wanted. Her parents had fought for the right to remove the tube.

Schiavo never signed a living will, which lets people exercise their right to die should they become comatose. But her husband says she told him she would never want to be kept alive artificially; her parents said she never told them of the wish.

"I've never seen a case in which the state legislature treats someone's life as a political football in quite the way this is being done," said Tribe.

Felos will have five days to file additional arguments with the judge and the state will have five days after that to respond. The judge will then hold another hearing.

"It is simply inhumane and barbaric to interrupt her death process," Felos said. "Just because Terri Schiavo is not conscious doesn't mean she doesn't have dignity."

Court-appointed doctors have described Schiavo as being in a vegetative state, caused when her heart stopped in 1990 from a suspected chemical imbalance.

[Coral Snake]

Im sorry but with my screen name I kind of resent that. Venomous snakes are SAINTS compared to any of the perps in this horror show.

[PleaseNoMore]

Having written professionally for many years

Hey now, that isn't fair. You never said that you were a pro. No wonder I always feel one upped when I disagree with you, lol. Nevertheless, you are quite eloquent and, whether I agree with your or not, I enjoy reading your posts. Though you profess atheism and I Christianity, I respect you and your firm belief in freedom of expression of religion. In my book you are AOK. :o)

Hope that your mom has recovered from her back surgery and that you have recovered from your trip to the "evil" dentist. Take care.

With that said and seeing that you are the professional writer I am requesting that you overlook any typos, grammar errors and abuses of literary devices in my post, lol.

[Rebelgrrl]

LMAO sure! Why not? Look at the hurricane in beginning of August. Opal came in October. Erin was at the beginning of August. Erin was the lower cat but crossed the state to make an appearance, Opal was the higher cat. Keep in mind that I just woke up. I'm a little sharper then, especially when waking up to get the mail and finding a lizard on the outside window, scaring the crap out of a half-awake rebelgrrl.



Hurricane Erin hit Florida twice Hurricane Erin hit Florida with a one-two punch on Aug. 2 and 3, 1995. Erin first came ashore from the Atlantic near Vero Beach as a Category 1 hurricane with winds around 85 mph on the 2nd. It moved westward across the state, weakening to a tropical storm over land. After moving back over warm Gulf of Mexico water, Erin regained hurricane strength before coming ashore again near Pensacola on the 3rd with sustained winds of 94 mph and gusts up to 103 mph. The storm blasted across Florida's Panhandle and southern Alabama before losing strength as it moved inland and dissipating into rain. Four deaths were blamed on Erin, and another seven people were reported missing at sea. The barrier island stretching from Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach absorbed the brunt of the storm as it came ashore near Pensacola. The storm blew trees onto homes, cars and businesses, peeled roofs from buildings, ripped shingles and siding off homes, and blew out windows. The county said 186 structures were damaged. President Clinton signed an emergency declaration to provide federal assistance to state and local agencies in 19 counties. Officials projected insured losses as high as $360 million from Erin's two-day trek through Florida, a fraction of the $16 billion in insured losses from Andrew in 1992. By The Associated Press

[Annie03]

Coral Snake-so sorry, no offense meant. I was writing fast and rattlesnake just came to mind in that simile. Of course, rattlesnakes are not "mean" and I'm sorry I insulted them by comparing them the this pack of devil. : )

[Coral Snake]

Actually "rattlers" as we call them where I live are meaner than Corals and cause the considerable bulk of snakebite related death in his country. However I stand by my belief that NO Venomous snake not even a KING COBRA, BLACK MAMBA or AUSTRALIAN TAIPAN or EITHER SPECIES is as EVIL as the Michael Schiavo, Gorge Felos, Judge Greer, Mary Labyak, Peter Singer quintet. When I'm not FREEPing or otherwise involved with my computer I am an amateur herpetologist. (As you can probably see by both my screen name and my defense of snakes as being less wicked than these demonics.)

[MineralMan]

We do not live in England, nor do we live in accordance with the traditions of the 18th century United States. We live in the 21st Century, and adultery laws are either gone or not enforced in any state in this country. Frankly, I do not like this man, but you cannot enforce a law for him alone. That is not the way this nation operates. The FL legislature and its governor have done their business. There it is. Now, we will see what happens.

[MineralMan]

"Then it should be enforced in Michael's case.

Seems we now even have to make a will to declare that if ill our parents should be allowed to visit us."

Sorry, but that is not how our system works. Unequal enforcement of the law is grounds for dismissal in any criminal court.

As for living wills, anyone who wishes to not be subjected to extraordinary medical measures should most certainly make out such a living will. I have one, and it states specifically that if I am in a condition where I will not recover, and am not in a position to state my wishes, no measures should be taken to prolong my life. My wife has the same thing in her living will. There will be no question on this matter if she or I ever end up in this unfortunate woman's position.

Sadly, that was not the case here, so the husband is the one who makes the rules. Or, that was the case until the FL legislature and Governor overrode the issue.

Now, things are back as they were, with this unfortunate woman being kept alive through a tube in her stomach. Is that what she would have wanted? I do not know. If it is not, then this is all a horrible bad dream for her.

That is why I have made my wishes very clear. I almost died from viral encephalitis 13 years ago. I was in a coma for several days. I did not have such a living will, and I was between an ex-wife and a wife-to-be. Fortunately, the doctors all believed that I might well recover, which I did.

I have enormous sympathy for everyone involved in this situation. I do not have any answers. I do know, however, that the huge group of people who are so adamant that this woman should be kept alive artificially after 13 years are not compentent to make that decision. They are not there. They are not involved. For almost everyone involved, this is a political issue. That is a shame.

What is my opinion on whether she should receive continued life-support? I have none. It is none of my business. It would be none of anyone's business if I were in that situation, except for my wife, and she has my living will, as does my attorney.

[Annie03]

I agree, Coral Snake. Snakes do what they gotta do. Humans do what they choose to do. M Sciavo, Felos et al are Satans own. Now, I think the reason "serpents" and "Satan" are put together is only this: A snake can slither up to you and right over your foot and you won't see it til its too late. Evil can sneak up on you just the same. Think we've seen that in this case. Best regards

[pgyanke]

I do my insulting in public... and my apologizing.

I'm getting too personally involved in this story... I reacted poorly and brought the tone of the conversation down a couple of notches. I'm sorry.

[First_Salute]

Bump --- affadavit by registered nurse Carla Iyer, who was employed at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in Largo, Florida from April 1995 to July 1996, while Terri Schiavo was a patient there.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

I accept you apology. I can understand how this story can affect you. If I acted in a way that provoked you, please accept my apology. Sometimes, in the heat of these things, we talk past each other and fail to communicate. Sometimes we irritate without intending to do so. I appreciate your coming forward. Thanks amigo.

[pgyanke]

Via con dios (sp?)