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Terri Schiavo Shouldn't be Starved, Florida Agency Argues Before Judge
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2005
Clearwater, FL (LifeNews.com) -- A Florida state agency told a local judge on Wednesday that there should be a 60 day reprieve before Terri Schiavo is starved to death so it can investigate allegations that she was abused and neglected.
Department of Children and Families supervisor Susan McPhee told Circuit Court Judge George Greer that Terri's estranged husband Michael has denied her medical treatment and isolated her in her hospice room with the blinds closed and prevented her from going outdoors.
Those are just some of the "30 detailed allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation" the agency received in a 34-page document in February.
"This is a heightened situation because we are talking about the life of Terri Schiavo," DCF attorney Kelly McKibben said at a hearing before Judge Greer Wednesday, according to an AP story.
However, the Associated Press reports that euthanasia advocate George Felos, Michael's lead attorney, scoffed at the delay request.
"DCF is simply acting as an arm of the executive branch to try to undo a court order they don't like," Felos said.
He says Judge Greer has no jurisdiction to allow the investigation to proceed and claims dozens of previous complaints to DCF failed to substantiate any allegations against Michael.
Judge Greer could rule on the 60 day delay request as early as Thursday.
Other DCF concerns include Michael's failure to follow state law and provide an annual guardianship and medical care plan for Terri, failure to provide Terri with medical care and rehabilitative therapy as he told a court he would do, and lack of moving Terri from her bed which has caused her "severe contractures."
"The allegations ... go to the heart of whether abuse, neglect and/or exploitation has been perpetrated by the guardian such that any relief afforded by this court to this guardian prior to the conclusion of such investigation would be tragically misplaced," the petition said.
DCF adult investigations supervisor Michael Will wrote the paper.
Do you happen to have the DCF email address handy-I would love to write to Michael Will, DCF adult investigations supervisor, and thank him and encourage his team to stand up against greer and felos....felos LOVES to outrage greer by always making this a contest between the executive and the judicial branches of government, loves to tease Greer with the threat of impotence if he relents and actually demonstrates fairness.
Judge Greer admitted he made a technical error in evaluating the date of the conversation, but he ruled Wednesday that it had no bearing on his ultimate decision to allow Michael to starve Terri to death.
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Terri Schiavo Judge Rejects Motions on Medical Testing, Stopping Starvation
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2005
Clearwater, FL (LifeNews.com) -- On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge George Greer rejected two motions put forward by Terri Schiavo's parents Bob and Mary Schindler. One asked that Terri be given neurological tests prior to her estranged husband Michael starving her to death and another sought to overturn Greer's initial starvation order.
The Schindlers have argued that Terri should be given extensive neurological tests using new medical technology.
On Tuesday, Schindler attorney David Gibbs presented affidavits from doctors and other medical professionals who, based on seeing videotapes of Terri interacting with her parents, believe that her condition would improve if she received the medical care and rehabilitative treatment Michael has denied her for years.
Gibbs told Judge Greer that Terri deserves another neurological evaluation because the last one that she received was in 2002.
"We do believe Terri should get this benefit," Gibbs said, according to an AP report. "She deserves to have the tests run."
Greer rejected the request and noted that doctors and the court have already determined Terri's condition, wrongly claiming that she is in a persistent vegetative state.
Meanwhile, Greer threw out a request to overturn the 2000 ruling allowing Michael to remove Terri's feeding tube. That ruling has been tied up in courts ever since.
Gibbs says say Judge Greer misinterpreted a conversation Terri had with her friend about Karen Ann Quinlan, another disabled woman previously in the national spotlight over euthanasia. Terri had told a friend she would not want her food and water taken away, as happened to Quinlan.
Judge Greer admitted he made a technical error in evaluating the date of the conversation, but he ruled Wednesday that it had no bearing on his ultimate decision to allow Michael to starve Terri to death.
Michael is set to take Terri's life by removing her feeding tube on March 18 unless Judge Greer postpones the date.
Dr. William Hammesfahr, a Nobel Prize nominated researcher who is an internationally recognized expert on cases of brain-injured patients, disagrees with Greer about Terri's condition.
"We, and others I know, have treated many patients worse than Terri and have seen them regain independence and dignity," Hammesfahr said.
"There are many approaches that would help Terri Schiavo," Dr. Hammesfahr explained. "I know, because I had the opportunity to personally examine her, her medical records, and her X-rays."
Let's pray that the DCF will take Terri into protective custody.
I'm sure they have the right to do that. Or they better have the right.