Posted on 03/25/2005 4:33:23 AM PST by ex-Texan
Jeb Bush may take Terri Schiavo into state care
The war over the fate of Terri Schiavo was entering its final stages today as her parents clung to two slim hopes of preventing their severely brain-damaged daughter from being allowed to die.
The 41-year-old has been without food or water for almost seven days, after her feeding tube was removed last Friday on the orders of a Florida state judge.
Friends and lawyers say she is showing signs of dehydration - flaky skin, dry tongue and lips, and sunken eyes. Doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of the tube being removed.
"It's very frustrating. Every minute that goes by is a minute that Terri is being starved and dehydrated to death," said her brother, Bobby Schindler, who said seeing her was like looking at "pictures of prisoners in concentration camps".
But Brian Schiavo, the brother of Mrs Schiavo's husband Michael who has argued for her to be allowed to die with dignity, strongly disagreed, telling CNN that Terri Schiavo "does look a little withdrawn" but insisting she was not in pain. He added that starvation is simply "part of the death process".
One of the final hopes of Mrs Schiavo's parents lies in the federal courts. Last night Bob and Mary Schindler went back before a federal judge in Tampa, filing another emergency request that the feeding tube be reattached while they pursue claims that their daughter's rights are being violated.
District Judge James Whittemore previously rejected an almost identical request on Tuesday. He promised to work through the night to issue his new ruling.
The second and more dramatic hope lies in the hands of Jeb Bush, the Governor of Florida, who was last night considering the politically explosive step of ordering state officials to force their way into the hospice where Mrs Schiavo lies motionless and take her into state custody, in defiance of the US courts.
A Florida judge yesterday rejected a request by Governor Bush to allow the state to take custody of her, but the governor's aides afterwards refused to rule out further action.
The possibility emerged on Wednesday night, when Governor Bush declared that Mrs Schiavo - who court-appointed doctors say has been in persistent vegetative state for 15 years - had been misdiagnosed. He based his assertion on "new information" provided by William Cheshire, a Florida neurologist, who says that she may only be in a "minimally conscious" state.
Although Dr Cheshire, a leading member of the Christian right-to-life movement, did not examine Mrs Schiavo, he observed her for an hour on March 1. Governor Bush maintained that his testimony was compelling enough for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to take her into protective custody.
On Wednesday night, amid reports that Florida state officials were "mobilising" outside Mrs Schiavo's hospice, Florida Circuit Judge George Greer issued an emergency restraining order prohibiting DCF agents from seizing her.
Judge Greer then formally rejected Governor Bush's custody request yesterday. Last night he refused to hold a new hearing to assess Dr Cheshire's claims.
He also ordered the local sheriff's department not to allow state officials into Mrs Schiavo's hospice - but, under Florida law, the governor has the power, without court clearance, of taking a citizen into custody for a 24-hour appraisal if it is suspected they are in jeopardy.
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You are wrong.
He is acting like every other Judge in the United States. He has done nothing different. He alone determines, within his court, what can and cannot be admitted into court.
We do not have to like his decisions, but they are his to make. Jeb Bush understand that because he is an intelligent man and a good leader.
Because we want to save Terri's life.
Absolute nonsense! It's just oh-so-easy for you and others behind the keyboard to talk about taking action. But the anger at Jeb Bush - the man who has arguably done the MOST to save Terri, including working with Congress on last week's legislation - is very misplaced.
Wanna be angry? Get angry at that SOB judge who has twice defied Congress and the President, not mention the FL governor and legislature.
As is stated in another thread on an article by a doctor (William Anderson) in the Weekly Standard titled "Terri's Last Chance" there is no medical, legal or moral reason to not attempt a trial of natural drinking. He argues all the outcomes of such a trial, even if it results in a quicker death, are better than refusing to allow her to attempt to take food and water on her own. A decent and humane society, which we claim to be, owes Terri at least the opportunity to try to take a drink. Only Greer's order stops this and such an order is not within the power of a court to make or a guardian to enforce.
Jeb and George Bush should blast Judge Greer out of the water on this illegal order and immediately give her water by mouth. He is only getting away with this order by default because there has been so much focus on the feeding tube. We don't know if Terri could accept enough nutrition to stay alive but every human being has the right to try to take a drink of water! If it works, this could allow time to dismiss Greer for violating her human rights by his order and overturn the guardian decision.
So would I, if he were running again. But he's not.
Jeb Bush has disappointed the whole world.
Why?
*bump* This is about both. The ethics of forced starvation, as well as the errors of law that found from witness testimony that Terri would have ordered this course of medical neglect for herself.
Right on merry! Apparently, the emotional among us have forgotten that we are a nation of laws.
Good. I'm making a note to self to post an eagle with a tear in its eye.
The men who fought the American Revolutionary War rejected the "laws" of the King.
Today in America we embrace our new King, Judge George Greer.
Bush will not be up for re-election, he's in his second term.
I agree wholeheartedly. The executive branch can suspend habeas corpus, grant clemency, issue pardons, instate martial law. If this federal judge again denies the intent of Congress, then Jeb Bush must act in order to uphold the law. Sure, it will throw Florida into a mess, but Jeb Bush will survive as a man of principle and courage. If he doesn't do it, he comes across as a well-intentioned handwringer... why does Pontius Pilate come to mind?
Anyone who thinks that action is the answer, damn the law, and full steam ahead, should grab a gun and go there and get here. Or hire some mercenaries and send them in.
Then start praying for the other innocent people who will be hurt in all this—the wives and children of the police officers who are doing their duty outside the hospice. Or the bystanders who will catch stray bullets.
Thank you, Mr. Toad. Well Put!
Do you really believe that Jesus wouldn't have died if Pontius Pilate had decided otherwise?
Other people are pointing that out. What I am saying is that I would support him anyway. He is out of options here.
Indeed, remember people marched some years ago to highlight the needs of civil rights. They disobeyed the existing laws in order to make changes. People stood in the doorways of schools and universities to prevent other Americans from gaining entry to those schools and by disobeying the law, changes were made.
This is another time for civil disobediance by the Governor of Florida. Take DCFS in there, lead them in, and let the chips fall where they may...
G
So did the decisions of the officials who send troops in there.
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