Michael Schiavo Files Request With the SCOTUS, USSC Refuses to Take Schiavo Case

[ConservativeMan55]

Mod note: Calls for violence will result in suspensions

Michael Schiavo has filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking them to stay out of the case.

[rwfromkansas]

Wow. If Turley says it, and he is a big lib....it is big news.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Her parents are asking to be allowed to take her home and feed her."

I wish Michael would relent and allow them to do so.

It is however, my understanding that Terri can't swallow food.

[angelanddevil2]

"The problem here is that people want to discuss legal issues without using standard legal terms"

The problem here is that the judge made a decision without using standard legal terms. There is a definition of PVS in the Florida Estatutes that he disregarded; instead he took it from one of the doctors appointed by Michael Schiavo.

[green pastures]

My sister mentioned something of interest this morning. That the FL living will requires two witness, and that certain persons, including spouses, cannot act as a witness.

Not wanting to post without checking this out, I did find a copy of Florida's living will on the web in .pdf form. I will include the link here. Unfortunately, the document was locked and I couldn't copy/paste the info directly here.

The link is http://www.medlawplus.com/forminfo/livingwills/sample/floridalivingwill.pdf

Second to the last page. Letter C - Witnesses. "The following persons cannot act as a witness to a healthcare directive: ... 6. Individual who has a financial responsibility for Declarant's medical care, and 7. Individual related by blood, marriage, or adoption to Declarant."

So, Michael couldn't have been a signator on Terri's Living will if she had put one in place. But he can testify that she said she didn't want to live like this. It just doesn't seem right.

It's probably old news here on the forum, but I hadn't seen this before.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"...even one who is living with another common law wife..."

Florida State law does not recognize common law marriages. Michael was granted guardianship prior to his relationship with the other woman.

[TigersEye]

They are arguing that spousal right is absolute, inalienable and that no circumstance can intervene. If that were true of the right to life then criminals couldn't be executed and the inalienable right to liberty would mean that no one could be arrested or imprisoned.

[TomasUSMC]

Don't call Jeb. He has know about this for years. If he hasn't grown a pair by now, he must be in a vegetative state.

[BibChr]

Turley is that rare bird: an independently-thinking liberal. He said he was to the left of Clinton, but (IIRC) quite supported his impeachment. I link to an essay of his on the Schiavo case on my blog.

Dan
Biblical Christianity BLOG

[Cboldt]

No, my mother passed away from ALS, and at a time of her choosing because she drew the line at a ventilator.

I think we have a sort of cross-talk going on, my post was aimed at blackie. But I'm glad you chimed in.

You mention determination of self. When the determination of the self is contradictory, you need to err on the side of respect for life.

I agree.

As to Michael Schiavo's declaration of Terri's wishes, I suspect that if he couldn't sell the notion to the family, he's not selling a sound argument. It's suspect.

He didn't have to sell it to the family. He had to sell it to the court. And he did. And the legal system is circling the wagons around an abhorrent decision, and the medical profession is defending a practice that I personally find unethical.

[Anita1]

A feeding tube is not - lfe support.

It is what disabled people, handicapped people, and the incapacited - (Not terminal people) get to help them survive.

[Luis Gonzalez]

I read the definition and the Statutes...the Court met the requirements.

[TigersEye]

What do YOU base what YOU think she would have wished on?

The fact that she smiles when her parents visit her and trembles after her husband does.

[mondonico]

"Ultimately the whole purpose of government, indeed its only legitimate function when you strip away all the frou frou and look at its core, is to preserve and protect innocent life."

Indeed, as Reagan put it long ago in a Reason Magazine interview:

REASON: Governor, could you give us some examples of what you would consider to be proper functions of government?

REAGAN: Well, the first and most important thing is that government exists to protect us from each other. Government exists, of course, for the defense of the nation, and for the defense of the rights of the individual.

http://reason.com/7507/int_reagan.shtml

(The right to life being the most important "right[] of the individual" IMHO.)

[Dave S]

This case is changing the bias in the case of a dispute between relatives from life to death: her husband says she would want to die. Her parents say she wants to live. In the absence of her being able to speak, and in the face of such a dispute, it is best to have a bias in favour of life. That bias is overturned by this case, and hearsay, even when it conflicts with others, is sufficient to get one murdered by starvation and dehydration

Even if I accepted your argument it would only be true in the state of FLorida and all you have to do is get three more Senators to change their votes and you can change the law. Dont throw up your hands and say its all over, we are doomed. Nothing of the kind is true. Rather than telling me to explore my anal orifice you might want to try yanking your head out of yours.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Read the definition here.

[Cboldt]

IIRC, just skimming the document, the Florida satute requires two signatures, and at least ONE of the two can't be in the group you noted.

And I agree, it doesn't make sense that a person deemed by the statute to be "suspicious" in these matters is selected by the court to assert and carry out "the wishes of the patient."

[Luis Gonzalez]

You ARE joking...right?

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

And he's getting away with doing it before the President, the Congress, the Governor and the eyes of the world.

I can't begin to imagine how much he's getting off on this.

[TigersEye]

Why would I be joking? You base it on the hearsay of her obviously cruel husband. Who has better evidence?

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

He's trapped in an anthropomorphic box. He can't comprehend anything outside of what he would do.

This isn't about Terri. It's about him. It's a recurring theme among the anti-lifers.