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.
http://www.lifenews.com/bio760.html
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."
I keep reading this description of the guy. I'm not clear what it means to be "Nobel Prize nominated"? Is that an honor in and of itself - or can anybody send in a nomination? Wasn't Clinton nominated? I'd like to know something more about Hammesfahr other than that he was nominated by somebody for an award he didn't win. (I'm hoping that his credentials are impressive in other ways)