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As far as I've read, there is no provision for a completely independent medical evaluation, nor any provision for more than a single judge to have control over the gathering of medical evidence. Thus Michael Schiavo was able to heavily skew the medical testimony (to some extent, apparently, with Judge Greer's cooperation) towards his own position.

There is also no provision for formally changing the procedure when the legal guardian -- in this case the husband -- has a clear conflict of interest, financial and/or other. Nor is there any provision for formally changing the procedure when there's a conflict between close relatives and the legal guardian (or for that matter between two parents, as far as I know). What if Terri and Michael had already been divorced, and Terri's parents disagreed with each other on whether to keep or remove the tube?

These things really urgently need to be spelled out in the law. Where the law is vague or incomplete, abuses are invited to proliferate.

Judge Greer dismissed Terri's first Guardian ad litem, who had agreed with the doctors who stated she could be rehabilitated. Then Greer fully cooperated with Shiavo's side and let them all skew away.

There is also no provision for formally changing the procedure when the legal guardian -- in this case the husband -- has a clear conflict of interest, financial and/or other.

Terri's parents petitioned the court for Guardianship, which was filed in November of last year. (See above petition.) Judge Greer very cleverly set Terri's feeding tube removal for Oct. 15th of this year, and set the guardianship hearing afterwards, for November 7th (I believe it was either the 4th or the 7th), so she'd be dead and the guardianship question would be moot.

It appears that there are procedures, but the problems occur when there is only one judge with an agenda, who is handling the whole matter.

While enacting "Terri's Law," the FL legislature recognized that there are issues needing resolution, and said that the entire subject must be addressed in the near future.

How would these questions apply to the example you made of a brain damaged infant?

BTW, there is so much facinating testimony in the Schiavo case. For example, there are the depositions of three nurses who cared for Terri at various times. One quotes Michael as yelling, "When is that bitch going to die!"

he needs to drop any pretense that he has any concern for law, procedure and the orderly administration of justice.

You mean, as "Judge" Greer has already done?

You may be interested in these Affidavits:

Heidi Law, Certified Nursing Assistant, Affidavit

10. At least three times during any shift where I took care of Terri, I made sure to give Terri a wet washcloth filled with ice chips, to keep her mouth moistened. I personally saw her swallow the ice water and never saw her gag. Olga and I frequently put orange juice or apple juice in her washcloth to give her something nice to taste, which made her happy. On three or four occasions I personally fed Terri small mouthfuls of Jello, which she was able to swallow and enjoyed immensely. I did not do it more often only because I was so afraid of being caught by Michael.

Carla Sauer Iyer, RN, Affidavit

11. When Michael visited Terri, he always came alone and always had the door closed and locked while he was with Terri. He would typically be there about twenty minutes or so. When he left Terri would be trembling, crying hysterically, and would be very pale and have cold sweats. It looked to me like Terri was having a hypoglycemic reaction, so I'd check her blood sugar. The glucometer reading would be so low it was below the range where it would register an actual number reading. I would put dextrose in Terri's mouth to counteract it. This happened about five times on my shift, as I recall. Normally Terri's blood sugar levels were very stable due to the uniformity of her diet through tube feeding. It is medically possible that Michael injected Terri with Regular insulin, which is very fast acting, but I don't have any way of knowing for sure.

Carolyn Johnson, Certified Nursing Assistant, Affidavit

3. During this assignment I took care of Terri Schiavo several times. The first time I saw her my duties were being explained to me by the nurse on duty. Terri Schiavo was lying in bed. Another patient, also a young woman about the same age and in the same condition, was sitting up in a chair, with a drink cup and straw in front of her. 4. I asked why Terri was not up in a chair, too. I learned, as part of my training, that there was a family dispute and that the husband, as guardian, wanted no rehabilitation for Terri. This surprised me, as I did not think a guardian could go against a doctor's orders like that, but I was assured that a guardian could and that this guardian had gone against Terri's doctor's orders.

Additionally, please consider the following, before claiming that Gov. Bush is the one acting in a farsical manner:

May 7, 2001 - Dr. Hammesfahr (neurology), filed a six page affidavit with the court stating Terri was not in a Persistent Vegetative State, ...
June 1, 2001 - Attorneys Anderson and Eckert filed a court motion, which included five additional affidavits from physicians (neurologists) stating Terri was not in a "persistent vegetative state," ...
June 18, 2001 - Schiavo's attorney filed an affidavit from Dr. James Barnhill, reiterating his trial testimony that Terri is in an irreversible vegetative state. The statement goes on to maliciously attack the credibility of the six neurologist’s affidavits.
August 7, 2001 - Judge Greer ignored all the evidence presented to him and ordered to have Terri's feeding stopped on August 28, 2001. In his written court order, he admitted he did not read six of the seven doctor's affidavits.