Posted on 12/02/2003 11:28:31 AM PST by nickcarraway
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- An independent guardian appointed for Terri Schiavo told Governor Jeb Bush Tuesday that she deserves a permanent guardian other than her estranged husband Michael. He also claimed Terri is in a permanent vegetative state, but added that she should be re-evaluated by experts.
Under Terri's Law passed by the state legislature, an independent guardian was authorized to provide Governor Bush with recommendations about Terri's situation.
On October 31, Chief Pinellas-Pasco Chief Judge David Demers appointed Dr. Jay Wolfson, a professor of health and law at Stetson University in Florida, as Terri's guardian ad litem, despite the suggestion of bias from Terri's family.
Wolfson submitted a lengthy thirty-page report to Bush on Tuesday.
According to a source familiar with the report, Wolfson describes Terri as being in a persistent vegetative state. However, numerous doctors say otherwise and videos made by Terri's parents show her responding to doctors and her family.
Dr. William Hammesfahr, a neurologist from Clearwater, where Terri was hospitalized, is a recognized national expert on PVS and is a Nobel prize nominee. He says Terri's eyes clearly fixate on her family and she tries to follow the simple commands her parents give her.
"She looks at you, she can follow commands," Hammesfahr said.
Wolfson says Terri should be granted a permanent guardian other than Michael Schiavo. Among other concerns, Terri's family says has denied her appropriate medical and rehabilitative care he was obligated to provide from a medical malpractice award he received.
Wolfson also said medical experts should be brought in to evaluate Terri's cognitive function and her rehabilitative abilities.
Following the passage of Terri's Law, Wolfson told WFTS-TV in Tampa, Florida: "If this law stands the constitutional test of the courts, then it certainly implies the executive of our state has the prerogative of injecting the state into your life, or your family member's life."
Pat Anderson, the family's attorney, later told LifeNews.com that they met with Wolfson and were "very hopeful he can get his work done in the thirty days given to him."
Related web sites:
Terri's family - http://www.terrisfight.org
Incidentally, in Who's Who in American Law Felos' avocations are listed as: astronomy, tennis, gardening, baseball, piano. Somehow I can't imagine him either playing baseball or puttering in the garden.
Is there a way for you to get close enough to sing a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" and be heard in her room?
Uniform Case | Pinellas Case | Section | Case Type | Type |
522003CA008212XXCICI | 03008212CI | 020 | DECLARATORY | CI |
Style: | SCHIAVO MICHAEL | |||
vs. | BUSH JEB | |||
Jury Trial | STIP | NOTH | Reason | Type Disp. |
Y | ||||
Filling Date | Appeal Date | Judg. Date | Reop Date | Docket Date |
10/21/03 | 11/14/03 | |||
Case/Cat | ||||
DECLARATORY JUDGMENT |
10 Docket Entries, 12/01/03 to 11/26/03 |
Pages | Date | P/D | Docket Entry | Ver |
12/01/03 | DEFENDANT | STATEMENT FOR CASE MANAGEMETN CONF | F | |
12/01/03 | CLERK | FILE RETD TO CIV COURT RECORDS FROM APPEALS | N | |
12/01/03 | CLERK | APPEAL CLERK'S WORKSHEET W/ATTACHMENT | F | |
12/01/03 | PLAINTIFF | DCA ORDER: DENYING APPELLEES MTN TO EXPEDITE ETC #03-5123 | F | |
12/01/03 | PLAINTIFF | THE CIRCUIT COURT - INTL BRF DUE 120803 #03-5200 | F | |
12/01/03 | PLAINTIFF | DCA ORDER: APPEAL WILL PROCEED W/O A FORMAL RECORD PREPARED BY | N | |
11/26/03 | DEFENDANT | NOTICE OF INTENT TO TAKE DEPOSITIONS BY JEB BUSH | F | |
11/26/03 | PLAINTIFF | SUMMONS RETD SERVED JEB BUSH 112103 | F | |
11/26/03 | PLAINTIFF | NOTICE WITHOUT WAIVER OF FILING ATTD | N | |
11/26/03 | PLAINTIFF | OPPOSITION TO MOTION TO STRIKE | F |
NOTH | Notice of Hearing |
STIP | Stipulation |
Ver | Verified: F=Filed, N=Not Filed/Notice. There is no case file document associated with a notice. |
Guardian says Schiavo not likely to improve, wants to stay on case
By MITCH STACY
The Associated Press
12/2/2003, 4:53 p.m. ET
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) An independent guardian has concluded there is no likelihood a severely brain damaged woman at the center of a life-or-death legal battle will improve, according to a report delivered to Gov. Jeb Bush that was released Tuesday.
But as along as there is controversy in the case of Terri Schiavo, guardian Jay Wolfson is asking to remain on the case in hopes of settling the fight between her husband, her parents and the governor, the report said.
He also recommended that swallowing tests be conducted on Terri, to see if she would be able to eat on her own.
Wolfson, the University of South Florida professor appointed by a judge last month to investigate the case, had attempted to broker a settlement between Michael Schiavo, the governor and his in-laws in their battle over the fate of Terri Schiavo, the report said. But on Sunday the negotiations broke down and no agreement could be reached.
Wolfson had been charged with gathering evidence to support whether the stay enacted by Bush blocking the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should remain in effect.
Bush was moved by Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, to stop Michael Schiavo from ending his wife's life in October. Her parents have contended their 39-year-old daughter is disabled, but still hears and reacts to them.
Bush said Tuesday nothing in the report has changed his mind that it was right to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
"I see nothing in the report that changes any feelings I have about whether or not the stay should be lifted," Bush said, adding he respected Wolfson's effort. "I don't believe that's appropriate.
Bush said he agreed with the assessment that Terri undergo swallowing tests.
"That's the good news part of this," he said.
Wolfson said in his report that as long as controversy exists in the case, an independent guardian whose only charge is to look out for Terri Schiavo's interest should be appointed to represent her. Michael Schiavo currently serves as his wife's guardian.
Wolfson's lengthy report to the governor asks that he remain on the case until a resolution can be reached on what will happen to Terri Schiavo, who has been in a persistent vegetative state for more than a decade. A chemical imbalance caused her heart to stop beating and cut off oxygen to her brain.
Michael Schiavo has said his wife, who was raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., did not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents have said she has no such wish and say their son-in-law wants to be rid of his wife so he can marry another woman.
Wolfson wrote in the report that he has concluded from medical records that there is no likelihood of Terri Schiavo's improving and there is evidence she cannot eat or drink on her own nor can she consciously interact with her environment.
Wolfson also found that Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer, who originally granted Michael Schiavo permission to withdraw his wife's feeding tube, made that decision "firmly grounded" within Florida case law.
Attorneys in the case did not immediately return calls for comment.
The report was release shortly after a judge blocked Bush's attorneys from questioning some potential witnesses in the legal battle over the life of a severely brain damaged woman.
Michael Schiavo is suing Bush in Pinellas Circuit Court over the constitutionality of "Terri's Law," the hastily passed measure which gave Bush the power to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube six days after her husband ordered it removed in October.
Pinellas Circuit Court Judge W. Douglas Baird granted a motion by Michael Schiavo's attorney, stopping Bush's attorneys from taking depositions from seven people, including Michael Schiavo and the woman with whom he now lives.
Baird said that he may allow some questioning to take place later in the case.
Consider the source: By MITCH STACY The Associated Press
Wolfson doesn't have the bona fides to make any such claim. Reputable neurologists have testifed to the contrary.
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