Posted on 10/25/2003 5:42:23 AM PDT by NYer
PINELLAS PARK - She smiles and cries. She recognizes her mom and dad. She is shy around strangers. She likes music and once smiled broadly when her brother told her he met Bruce Springsteen.
This is Terri Schiavo in the eyes of her family.
Mrs. Schiavo's family, doctors for the family and former caregivers held a news conference Friday to counter assertions by the husband, Michael Schiavo, that Terri is in a vegetative state and has no consciousness.
"It doesn't take a doctor to know that my sister reacts to me," said Mrs. Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler Jr.
"She listens to me," said Mrs. Schiavo's mother, Mary Schindler.
As the family pleaded its case, the American Civil Liberties Union announced it would join in the representation of Michael Schiavo to help overturn "Terri's Law," the measure passed by lawmakers Tuesday that allowed Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene in Mrs. Schiavo's case.
Bush ordered Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted after she went six days without food and water.
"Once the governor thinks it is the proper role of the Legislature and he set aside the judgment of the courts, that requires us to get the courts to declare that is just unconstitutional," said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
Michael Schiavo has said that his wife, 39, would not want to be kept alive by artificial means.
Court-appointed doctors and physicians hired by Michael Schiavo's attorneys have testified that Mrs. Schiavo has no consciousness. They describe her groans, the opening and closing of her eyes and her smiles as involuntary reflexes.
That testimony led a Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge to order her feeding tube removed on Oct. 15 before lawmakers empowered Bush to intervene.
Felos said family members often project meaning from random movements and sounds.
"That's a common phenomenon," he said.
Felos said his doctors and others appointed by the court have watched the family interact with Mrs. Schiavo and have not seen evidence of cognition.
"If you look at the hours of video there are many instances where the mother says "Hi, it's mom' to Terri," Felos said. "There's no reaction. Absolutely nothing."
Mary Schindler doesn't believe it and sees a daughter's love for her family every day.
"My daughter is not in a persistent vegetative state," she said. "She is not a plastic plant like Mr. Felos says she is. She is extremely brain-damaged, and she's a human being."
Bobby Schindler said his sister likes John Denver music and smiles when it plays. Before her brain was severely damaged in 1990, Mrs. Schiavo knew her brother loved Bruce Springsteen music. She bought him a Springsteen album in 1978.
After he told her he met the rock musician a year ago, Schindler said, "There was a smile on her face to light up the room. ... She showed elation."
Three doctors who have examined Mrs. Schiavo for the family said they are convinced that she retains some level of consciousness.
Dr. William Hammesfahr, a Clearwater neurologist, said Mrs. Schiavo's eyes fixate on her family and she tries to follow simple commands, such as when doctors ask her to pull against their arm.
"This is a case about a judicial system making an error," Hammesfahr said.
But Felos said doctors used by the Schindlers, especially Hammesfahr, don't have the credentials of physicians on the other side.
In a 2002 order by Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer ruling that Mrs. Schiavo could not recover, Greer labeled Hammesfahr a "self-promoter."
The judge noted that Hammesfahr testified that he had treated patients worse off than Mrs. Schiavo yet "offered no names, no case studies, no videos and no test results to support his claim."
"There is no doubt the judge looked at the credibility of the doctors," Felos said.
Mrs. Schiavo's sister, Suzanne Carr, said she believes her eyes.
Carr said: "It's not my imagination."
And no freaking judge is ever going to admit to making a mistake. It wouldn't suprise me if the judge was complicit in ordering her death sentence.
With Janet Reno being in Pinellas County at a democratic fundraiser, they didn't have any trouble getting her support for that position! Reno called their action "such a tragic mistake," saying the decision rested with the courts. With the ACLU and Janet Reno lining up on Judge Greer's team, how can anyone doubt what the right side of the fence is?
You got me thinking and I did some research. Apparently, the USSR was intent on not killing off incapacitated people because they wanted to improve the country's life expectancy numbers.
Do you know where to look to prove otherwise? Thanks.
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http://www.hospicepatients.org/Hosp-FL-Suncoast-entrypage.html
He may be a big pro death liberal but he also knows that a good scandal helps keep the TV ratings up. (Kobe is a good example of this.) And if this doesn't qualify than I don't know what does.
Both articles go to the heart of how this most grievous abuse of judicial discretion in American history could take place with the complicit passive and active participation of the media and the Roman Catholic Church.
The evil sister of legislative and executive slovenliness in Florida has reared it ugly head in the form of that states' judiciary system.
It should be clear to anyone that the 'emergency session' called by Gov. Bush and acted out by the legislature was nothing more than a concocted sham in an attempt to shield 'the system' from deserved public condemnation.
Terri was to be saved by the passing of 'Terri's Bill'.
In reality the bill did nothing to disarm the courts and Michael Schiavo. It was a blatant media fabrication (LIE) perpetrated on America, much the same the media's intentional misrepresentation of Terri as being comatose for the past thirteen years.
The bill did nothing to correct the blank check judicial power in Florida over Citizens labeled a 'ward' of the court - power given over to the courts by the Florida administrative and legislative branches of government.
There has never been a neutral advocate for Terri. This includes the individual now proposed by the court to act ad litem.
Further, it is unconscionable that the 'system' and the media refuse to acknowledge the obvious conflict of interest Michael Schiavo has in his court appointed role as Terri's 'guardian' - having fathered two children by another woman as Terri lies in her hospital bed.
As for the silence of the Roman Catholic Church, I would urge anyone with time to follow the money relative to how much the church is invested in convalescent homes where the disabled and aged are confined.
It would be interesting to learn how much money is passed on to the church from this vulnerable source.
It might also be of interest to learn if the same circle of medical and legal professionals are active in these 'homes' regarding their opinions relied upon by the courts about who's next on the 'right-to-die' assembly line shut off valve.
Seems like a very, very lucrative business - this 'dieing with dignity' thing. Especially if an institution was seriously strapped for cash because some of its agents couldn't control their sexual proclivities.
Could it be the Roman Catholic Church in America is conflicted about how it cares for its flock?
Is it possible this could be the reason for its luke-warm pronouncements which failed to directly challenge Florida's murder of Terri Schindler-Schiavo?
God only knows.
Not exactly. Terri's Bill was the ONLY hope to save her last week. The road is long and there will be many more obstacles up ahead. The governor put his political neck on the chopping block for Terri Schiavo and her family. You can be certain that he will pay a price for that act of mercy. May God bless him for rescuing her from the jaws of death, at the midnight hour.
Good idea. I'll ping you if I find anything useful.
My apologizes for the delay in responding. I've got an extremely full schedule right now and break away to help as much as I can. Should lighten up shortly.
Great idea. Thanks for the link also. I'll get the Hammershar links to FoxNews in an email right away. I am on an extremely tight schedule so I apologize for the delay.
Done, except for Horaldo for personal reasons.
Or you could decide for yourself. Look here.
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