Schiavo lawyers challenge 'Terri's Law'

AP | 10/29/03

[kattracks]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A hastily passed state law that empowered Gov. Jeb Bush to keep a severely brain-damaged woman alive is unconstitutional, attorneys for the woman's husband claimed Wednesday.

In a court filing, attorneys for Michael Schiavo challenged what Florida lawmakers dubbed "Terri's Law," which gave Bush the authority to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube be reinserted Oct. 21. They asked that the law be overturned.

The filing's major contentions are that the law violates Terri Schiavo's right to privacy under the Florida Constitution and the separation of power provisions of the state constitution.

Michael Schiavo has been battling in court for years to carry out what he says is his wife's wish to not be kept alive artificially.

His in-laws, Bob and Mary Schindler, have fought him, saying their daughter had no such wishes and is not in a permanent vegetative state, as a probate judge has declared. They say she is responsive and could improve with therapy.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

If Terri's life is saved, and Michael loses all appeals, who will be holding her parents' hand when she dies ten years from now? I know they won't have thousands of people supporting them, then. And, I don't know how they will deal with it. Personally, I don't know that a parent can ever get over losing their child.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

It used to be in MI, (haven't checked to see if the law was changed) that the spouse was responsible for child support, whether or not paternity was proven. So, if a wife cheats on her husband and gets pregnant, even though the child isn't legally his, the husband is still responsible for child support and is legally the father, unless he is proven not to be the biological father, and both spouses file papers with the court stating that paternity was negative.

I just wonder if Schiavo truly is the father of all three children... and if so, WHAT WERE THOSE WOMEN THINKING?!

[supercat]

I know they won't have thousands of people supporting them, then.

They would still have many. Some of whom probably wouldn't be alive were it not for Terri.

[Theodore R.]

No one knows whether the Schindlers will outlive Terri, or vice versa, unless Schiavo has HIS way. If Terri is spared and does not recover that much, she will probably be put at state expense in some nursing home. Let's hope she has the satisfaction of knowing how hard her parents tried to save her.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Is that in a transcript?

Because I thought he was saying that his mother was in hospice, and that is what he was refering to, I didn't hear mention of his father, nor did I hear him state explicitly that he withheld feeding and hydration... he could have meant that his mother had a DNR order, though. This doesn't necessarily mean that she didn't receive nourishment and hydration, it would depend upon how stringent her living will was.

Oh, and I bet you, his mother DID have a living will... why would his mother risk it, when she saw what Terri went through?

[Theodore R.]

As much as I distrust George W. Greer, I am by no means accusing him of having accepted a bribe. I think he is just a doddering old fool who enjoys the power that he wields at the expense of the innocent and helpless. He may be power-mad.

[Theodore R.]

It is still unclear. Did Schiavo or did Schiavo not starve and dehydrate his dying parents? Was this in PA? Or in FL? He said he "went through this" with his parents. I still don't think he would have admitted to having starved and dehydrated his parents even if he had done so on national TV.

Apparently, there was no major backlash against Schiavo from the gullible public. Probably 800,000 homes were tuned to the broadcast on Monday.

[Theodore R.]

No, he did not mention his father. But I think he said "parents" and not just "mother."

[Pan_Yans Wife]

How are you supposed to backlash against a man who is in hiding?

I watched the program, and found him to be questionable in character, and very controlling. I found his smirk to be off-putting.

However, I didn't think he was worthy of a response, actually.

What turned me off the most was his saying that Mr. Schindler fought with him over MONEY! I think that is a blatant lie. However, I don't know that EVERYTHING he said was a lie.

[Theodore R.]

What I meant was that CNN probably did not get a lot of calls and emails protesting Larry King's softball approach to Schiavo. Of course, they may have, and we just don't know.

[JustPiper]

Deborah Bushnell, another lawyer for Michael Schiavo, asked Chief Circuit Judge David Demers Wednesday to delay the appointment until the constitutional questions are settled.

Boy, they are really running scared. That's the libs, hurry, hurry make a mistake before the truth comes out

[Pan_Yans Wife]

You don't understand Larry King's role. He is not really an interviewer, he is a conversationalist, much like Tim Russert. Neither one of them see their role as that of "just the facts". Larry King is more entertainer than he is journalist.

And that is why Schiavo chose Larry King's program.

[JustPiper]

You come to FR in hopes of what?

[Aliska]

WHAT WERE THOSE WOMEN THINKING?!

They are desperate for a man. What were those women thinking who write to Scott Peterson? That should answer your question.

All states probably have slightly different applications of paternity laws, but the only way anybody gets away without paying child support is if they disappear or the girl won't name him.

[JustPiper]

The law should be changed to include parents. They had her for most of her life, then along comes this opportunistic gigilo and bam, she's in the hospital. BTW MS new baby was born last week.

[JustPiper]

He now has 3 children and been involved in this relationship for more than half of Terri's hospital confinement

[Aliska]

Did Schiavo or did Schiavo not starve and dehydrate his dying parents?

From LKL:

CALLER: Yes. Does it bother you that the death is so slow? Maybe Dr. Kevorkian-style would be a faster, more peaceful way?

SCHIAVO: Removing somebody's feeding is very painless. It is a very easy way to die. Probably the second better way to die, being the first being an aneurysm.

And it doesn't bother me at all. I've seen it happen. I had to do it with my own parents.

[freekitty]

What the heck is happening in this country. How are these people able to kill their spouses and why aren't the murdered victims families able to help?

This is horrendous. Some new laws should be enacted, immediately.

This is plain and simple for any reason murder. Terri's husband and Hugh Finn's wife should be charged with murder along with anyone associated. And not all of the power should be given to one person.

[freekitty]

Thank you rdrunner. I know how you feel, having had my own grandmother lay in bed because of a stroke for 7 years and my grandfather took care of her and would never think of killing her.

My own 18 year old cousin died as a result of a car wreck. The doctor's said she was a vegetable. She really was and only lived a day or two after the accident; but she died on her own. Even if she was a vegetable; her family would have given anything to see her live.

[ladyjane]

Interesting you would bring up the movie Gaslight. The more I have heard about Michael, the more I think of that movie. And in the end she survives!