Terri Schiavo, Requiescat in Pacem

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 26 March 2005 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[Congressman Billybob]

By the time you read this, Teresa Schiavo may be dead of starvation as required by Florida Judge George Greer. Thousands of people have produced millions of words on this subject. I should write nothing, unless I have more to offer than the MSM (mainstream media). I do.

Personal experience colors what I say. On 1 January 1994, my mother was taken to Mission Memorial Hospital in Asheville with serious injuries from an auto accident. She’d suffered both a heart attack and a stroke after the accident. She was in a coma, but still alive.

Seven years before, her life was saved in that same excellent hospital, by emergency surgery to repair an aorta aneurism. She spent a week in intensive care, and told both her sons that she did not want to be “hooked up to tubes again.” In 1994, my brother was in a different hospital after the accident; decisions on my mother’s care rested on me alone.

Four different medical specialists were called in. I took their advice. I talked to all the grandchildren. Ultimately I made not just one decision, but a series of them, leading directly to my mother’s death, four days later.

I have not yet steeled myself to write the complete history of those four days. Someday I should, because advances in medical care mean that many more Americans will face similar decisions about family members. I understand what Terri Schiavo’s family are going through except the extraordinary time those burdens have been on their shoulders and their hearts.

That said, what can I offer on this subject? For the best medical discussion, I recommend Charles Krauthammer’s excellent column this week. On the legal side, events now are a direct consequence of a legal failure seven years ago, and the arrogance of judges who cannot admit error and merely dispense with the case, rather than take the tougher path and decide it.

The attorneys for Terri’s family should have filed for her divorce from Michael Schiavo seven years ago. He was clearly guilty of adultery. She was clearly blameless. I’m unaware of any divorce action brought by a “next friend” for a woman who cannot speak. But I am aware of divorces the other way – husbands and wives who obtained divorces from spouses who were profoundly disabled, or in prison, or who had disappeared. Turnabout is fair play.

Had Michael been removed as the husband, he would not have been named, or continued, as her guardian. Therefore, what is happening now would not have occurred.

Then there are Michael’s reasons for bias. He had three personal reasons at home (a “wife” and two children). He had hundreds of thousands of reasons in the bank (a million-dollar malpractice settlement). But Judge Greer also had reasons for bias.

In Florida, judges are subject to retention elections. In his last election, Judge Greer received substantial contributions from at least five lawyers who have represented Michael over the years. This is a matter of public records in Florida. None of the MSM have bothered to research and report on this.

Speaking of bias, ABC had its own mini-Rathergate this week. ABC touted a “memo circulated among Republican Senators” which sought to make political hay from Terri Schiavo. The memo is a fraud. It contains references any Senator or staffer would have known not to use concerning legislative business. It also lacks the standard cover sheet and initials of sender for all intraSenate memos. This fraud story was broken by www.Powerline.com; they have the details.

Like CBS, ABC rushed to broadcast with a forged document because it didn’t ask competent experts whether it was false. ABC was in a rush (dare we say biased?) to attack the Republicans. The bias has continued in an ABC poll that misstates the facts of the Schiavo case to produce false results. A day after this memo was exposed as a fraud, Lanny Davis cited it as true on Fox News. Given Davis’s history, that was predictable.

Lastly, on the Internet I’ve seen a brain scan of Terri Schiavo She has a larger gap of fluid than in a normal brain. But I’ve also seen the scan of a woman with a similar void – who was given up for brain dead – who recovered, and who corresponded with me and others and released her medical records, to present an alternative to the assumptions of “experts.”

What we have here is a gross failure of common sense and decency in state and federal courts. Terri Schiavo should be in the physical custody of her parents, who love her, not in the hands of her “husband,” who wants her dead. Her soul now and forever is in the hands of God.

About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu

[MarMema]

I have always been proud to be an American but now I am ashamed.

It has been interesting to hear what those newly here from other countries now think of us. I ran into a family at work from the Czech Republic the other day.

America has lost a great deal of respect around the world.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

"This does not compute for me that he's doing it to protect some cushy deal with the hospices. I sense something bigger and a lot meaner. He seems to have his heart in it too"

Please read my post again, out loud. Sadly, I think it covers the "bigger and a lot meaner" criteria, terribly well.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

I can't say a glib "love your tagline" but can say with the blackest possible 'humor noir' that it is DEAD ON. FReegards.

(Liberals had better stop preaching about quality of life and start worrying about quality of death)

[Ciexyz]

well said.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Thank you for taking the time write this John. Yes much has been written by many,expressing diverse opinions-some reasonable and some ridiculous and uninformed concerning Terri's condition and her right to continue living or to be murdered. As always, your writings and opinions, cut through the clutter and separate the fact from the fiction in a way that all can understand, except those who deliberately opt to remain in ignorance.

You are a credit to your proffession as an attorney. (if only we could clone you a few hundred times) As I said before, your writing ain't too shabby either.

Freegards,

F.J.M.

[Antoninus]

No, you are not sorry...you are delighted in an opportunity to bash a Bush.

What are you, a mind-reader? If you seen my posts on FR over the past 7 years, you'd know that I give praise where it's due and bash when it's deserved.

If Jeb Bush allows this woman to be starved to death by judicial fiat, he deserves bashing. A Republican party that won't stand up for life is worthless.

[tcg]

What Have we Learned? What Will We Do?
Deacon Keith Fournier
© Third Millennium, LLC


The last “legal” effort to save Terri has been denied. The portals of disinformation continue to provide their global platform to the ministers of propaganda of the new regime of the culture of death. They have all the airtime they could ever desire in order to feign civility, call evil good and good evil, and continue to numb what is left of the conscience of a nation that long ago accepted the lie that there is no truth, that “freedom” consists in the raw power to do whatever one wills and that liberty is really license.

“Separation of powers”, the “political” ones insist, while Terri breathes her last breath, starved to death, powerless, because solidarity has been replaced by the worship of individual autonomy. “States Rights”, cry some others, ironically some of those whose own ancestors were once called “three fifths of a person”. Still others insist that this evil act should not be remedied by Executive action because to do so would violate “conservative” principles.

The ones who compromise with darkness begin their efforts to compromise the magnitude of all of this. They speak the platitudes of this age of utilitarian nihilism. Yet, Prometheus has been unchained. It is not accidental that this triumph of the will is all being played out on the day when we remember the One who embraced the whole world from the tree on Calvary. How utterly prophetic and profound it all is.

The God of Love Incarnate who walked the way of weakness and suffering now walks through the barricade in Pinellas Park, Florida and holds His beloved. Soon, He will take her home and she will be at peace. We who feel so helpless will weep.

In a house in Rome, a holy, frail man sits and weeps, praying for Terri and for the modern “Jerusalem” which has failed to recognize the time of its visitation. Yoked to the One whom Christians will soon recall walking the Way of Suffering, he offers his own suffering as a prayer. Unable to speak with words, his message is more powerful than ever, at least to those who have the eyes to see.

We who are Christians now enter the great mystery of the next Three days. Not long from now we will hear once again the account of the stone that was rolled away and the testimonies of that Event which exposes the darkness with light and turns the world upside down.

Then we will be sent, once again, into a world that God still loves, desperately in need of hearing and seeing Good news. Then, once again, we will also be sent once into the public square of civic participation for the common good.

What have we learned? More than can be addressed in this short piece. Besides which, the moment deserves more. It is time to pray, to mourn, to intercede, and to worship. However, make no mistake,this event has forever changed the political landscape. I just heard one pundit say that this will all be forgotten within months and will have no real political effect.

Really? Stay tuned.

___________________________________________________________

Deacon Keith Fournier is a Deacon of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia and human rights lawyer. Long active in policy work, he has been an advocate for Christian activism and proponent of a new Catholic action built around four pillars of participation; life, family, freedom and solidarity with the poor.

[NCSteve]

In his last election, Judge Greer received substantial contributions from at least five lawyers who have represented Michael over the years. This is a matter of public records in Florida. None of the MSM have bothered to research and report on this.

I hope when this is over, he is called to task for this gross conflict of interest. In the absence of such action, I hope political activists in FL will make sure the electorate is well aware of it next election. This man has no business on the bench. Remember, he is also the judge who refused to issue an order of protection, a while back, for a woman whose husband subsequently stabbed her to death. Judges are first and foremost supposed to be defenders of the people whom the law is written to protect.

[pinz-n-needlez]

Thank you for your elequent words, Lady Doc. You sum up my views on this.

I fear being in a medically needy state, and having the state instruct the doctors to disconnect support. But even more, I fear being in a merely not-so-healthy state and having the doctors getting their hands on me and plugging me in.

It will take a lifetime to figure out where to draw the lines from this end, before the state mandates where lines are drawn from the other side.

If I were an old, unhealthy retiree in Florida, with greedy children or grandchildren, my blood would be running cold this week.

Jeb Bush isn't superman, but he did a lot more than a craven politician would. I salute both Mr. Bushes. And I pray for comfort for the people who love Terri, especially her parents and siblings.

Pinz

[T'wit]

>> Please read my post again, out loud.

What I need to read more carefully is where my cursor is parked! I was trying to reply to a different post. Sorry.

[daylate-dollarshort]

"Lastly, on the Internet I’ve seen a brain scan of Terri Schiavo She has a larger gap of fluid than in a normal brain. But I’ve also seen the scan of a woman with a similar void – who was given up for brain dead – who recovered, and who corresponded with me and others and released her medical records, to present an alternative to the assumptions of “experts.”'

Hmmm.....Did her CT look like this with comments from Dr's like the following?

FOX News, March 24, 2005

Experts: CT shows little gray matter

By Bob Lamendola

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Scans of Terri Schiavo's brain show that the great majority of her gray matter where thinking and feeling occur has died off and been replaced by watery fluid, with no chance of growing back, neurologists said.

About 70 percent to 90 percent of Schiavo's upper brain is gone, and there's also damage to her lower brain that controls instinctive functions like breathing and swallowing, said three Florida neurologists who viewed 12 of her CT "computed tomography" X-ray scans.

"This is as severe brain damage as I've ever seen," said Dr. Leon Prockop, a professor and former chairman of neurology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, upon viewing the scans.

Dr. Walter Bradley, chairman of neurology at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, added: "I doubt there's any activity going on in the higher levels of her brain."

The assessments came as a neurologist for the state who saw the CT scans and examined Schiavo said he saw signs of awareness in her behavior and concluded that more extensive tests should be done.

Dr. William Chesire Jr. made his assertions in an affidavit that Gov. Jeb Bush used Wednesday to ask a court to reinsert her feeding tube while the state investigates. Cheshire sees patients at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and teaches at Trinity International University, a Christian institution. It's the latest example of specialists disagreeing over Schiavo's condition.

The CT scans the doctors examined were filed in court as part of the protracted legal fight over whether to disconnect Schiavo's feeding tube.

The Sun-Sentinel asked the three neurologists to view the scans via e-mail. They have not examined Schiavo personally and had no role in the court case. The scans were taken in 1996, five years after her heart stopped due to a chemical imbalance cutting off blood to her brain and leaving her severely incapacitated for the past 15 years.

The three neurologists said a scan of a normal upper brain, or cerebral cortex, is almost totally gray. Schiavo's scans show large black patches, which the doctors said were areas where cells have died due to a lack of oxygen and the tissue has shrunk. The dead cells get broken down and taken away, and those areas have filled with pools of cerebrospinal fluid, the doctors said.

The neurologists said they can't tell from a CT scan whether remaining tissue is functioning, but all three said they doubted that the neurons — brain cells responsible for thought — could survive the loss of oxygen that Schiavo sustained.

[BlessedBeGod]

You're a blessing to FR. Thank you.

[writer33]

Good stuff. I know. I'm trying to avoid writing about her too. There are so many people that have that I feel I have little to offer.

[First_Salute]

Toskrin is a neurologist and member of Free Republic

At: Feeding Tube Removed: Greer Gives Order - Toskrin's reply no. 2021:

I'm a neurologist who has followed this case from time to time; it's been about a year since I looked into it though.

The neurologic question seems to be if she if a persistent vegetative state (PVS) or what is called a minimally conscious state (MCS). From the videos I've seen, she probably is MCS, but just barely. In her case it's hard to be sure without actually being there during the exam. However, I understand that the videos are a few years old and that her condition may have deteriorated since.

I believe she has been examined by court-appointed neurologists who claim that she is PVS. That may be the case if she is now worse than the videos suggest, or if the videos are misleading. Unfortunately, her parents have chosen to associate with a group of doctors who are, to be polite, out of the mainstream in their practices and I don't trust their evaluations.

The bigger issue to me is whether Michael is competent to act in her best interests. Much of what he has done in the intervening time suggests that he is not.

I think if anyone has dropped the ball here, it is the Florida legislature and governor. They have had plenty of time to pass laws addressing the issue of next-of-kin and what to do when a spouse or child may not be acting in the best interests of the patient.

At: Feeding Tube Removed: Greer Gives Order - Toskrin's reply to supercat, no. 2053:

What should be clear, though, is that a 45-minute examination by a doctor is not enough to make a diagnosis that someone is in an incurable vegetative state.

Agreed, but the length of the exam is not the most important thing. The patient will probably be the same at the start of the forty-five minutes as at the end. More important is seeing the patient over time, on different days and at different times. The doctor also has to rely on the observations of reliable staff for the assessment. If five nurses tell you the patient talked, then they're not PVS, even if the doctor didn't see it.

At: Doctor: The "Water" in Terri’s Brain is a Myth [CT Scan Found As Well As Bone Scan Of Terri] - Toskrin's reply no. 31:

I'm a neurologist and have read hundreds of CT scans. Two problems with this scan are that there is no name on it and it is only a single image of the multiple image complete CT scan.

That being said, I don't see any cortex on this CT image. There is white matter but the normal "cortical ribbon" that surrounds the white matter is missing.

At: Another Doctor in Support of Terri - Toskrin's reply no. 74:

Finally, we have the report of a disinterested neurologist whos affidavit is in line with what is observed on the videotapes and gathered from other testimony. His summary is a million times more credible than either Hammesfahr's or Cranford's.

Here's a link to his bio:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/neurology-jax/11736755.html

At: Neurologists see little sign of activity in Schiavo's brain - Toskrin's reply no. 251:

[A] conventional brain MRI is not definitive at all and would add little to the argument one way or another. A PVS diagnosis is based primarily upon serial exams over time and is supplemented by functional studies - EEG, PET, and functional MRI. Any functional test, however, is going to be secondary to the results of the examinations.

At: Neurologists see little sign of activity in Schiavo's brain - Toskrin's reply to cajungirl, no. 317:

[A] PET would show areas lighting up in response to stimuli. It shows in living color the function or working of the brain...

Yes, I know. I was just interested in what msuMD * thought was wrong with the statements about PET scanning in the affidavit. I didn't see anything wrong.

I'm a neurologist and have seen thousands of CT scans and I have to say I've also seen lots of elderly people walking and talking who have that amount of brain volume. But that's a little misleading. In Terri's scan, the occipital lobes and parts of the parietal lobes are totally destroyed with no recognizable structure. I can't say I've ever seen anyone walking around like that.

In her case, any structural imaging is irrelevant. If you don't see cortex, that doesn't mean it's not there. If you do, that doesn't mean it's functioning. The recent affidavit is the strongest argument that she is in a minimally conscious state rather than a PVS.

*msuMD's statement, in reply no. 248, had been:

This doctor must re-learn what in fact a PET scan does. First of all a PET uses tagged glucose to measure uptake in the brain. A MRI evaluates structures in the brain....all of which can remain normal in a person post hypoxic encephalopathy....and mean absolutely nothing.

At: Neurologists see little sign of activity in Schiavo's brain - Toskrin's reply no. 329:

I only saw the one picture, not all the images. Yes, you can do a PET with a stimulator. It looks like she has a shunt on the CT, but it's well documented that she also has a thalamic stimulator. She might have both. For what it's worth I would guess that she almost certainly would have had a MRI done in 1990 before the stimulator was placed.

The image:

[Buckhead]

A man of your erudition has certainly seen this magnificent quote from Cardozo, which fits this case so well:

Judges march at times to pitiless conclusions under the prod of a remorseless logic which is supposed to leave them no alternative. They deplore the sacrificial rite. They perform it, none the less, with averted gaze, convinced as they plunge the knife that they obey the bidding of their office. The victim is offered up to the gods of jurisprudence on the altar of regularity.

The Growth of the Law, in Selected Writings of Benjamin Nathan Cardozo 214 (Margaret E. Hall ed. 1947).

[Congressman Billybob]

No, my friend, I had not seen that excellent and appropriate quote from the great Benjamin Cardoza. Thank you for putting it up for all of us.

John / Billybob

[Zack Nguyen]

That's great! Can you link to this information? Thanks a lot!

[Redleg Duke]

Spoken like a true anarchist.

[Bogolyubski]

It's an excellent post, Congressman. Your down-to-earth comments are always welcome here.

[Bogolyubski]

That's a very good point. Of course, there are some of us who do not consider the majority of those wearing black robes as having any sort of real credibility anyway. I think they need to add an accessory to the costume, though - a black turban with a fake beard. That way, Greer and his ilk can look more like the Pagan Mullahs that the really are.

The judicial branch is utterly out of control, and the pols in the executive and legislative branches, who ostensibly are there to offer a check and balance, have washed their hands. Greer openly defied a Congressional subpoena. What do you think would happen to a mere citizen if they dared to do th same? Why hasn't he been cited with contempt of Congress and arrested? The Vichy Republicans are like the Wizard of Oz (Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain).