BBC: Anger growing over Schiavo death

BBC ^ | Friday, 1 April, 2005, 07:17 GMT 08:17 UK | staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

A political row has broken out in the US after the death of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman at the heart of a long-running legal dispute.

Senior Republican Tom DeLay, who leads the House of Representatives, attacked the US courts for allowing Mrs Schiavo to die, calling them "out-of-control".

Mrs Schiavo, 41, died in Florida on Thursday, 13 days after a feeding tube keeping her alive was disconnected.

Her husband had fought for the tube's removal, saying it was what she wanted.

Mr DeLay promised continued support for Mrs Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who led the campaign to keep their daughter alive.

They disagreed with the verdict of court-appointed doctors, who said she was in an irreversible persistent vegetative state.

Divided country

"We promised the Schindler family that we will not let Terri die in vain," Mr DeLay said.

"We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president."

TERRI SCHIAVO CASE Feb 1990: Terri Schiavo collapses May 1998: Mr Schiavo files petition to remove feeding tube Oct 2003: Florida lower house passes "Terri's Law", allowing governor to order doctors to feed Mrs Schiavo Sept 2004: Florida Supreme Court strikes down law 18 Mar 2005: Florida court allows removal of tube 22 Mar 2005: Federal judge rejects appeal 23 Mar 2005: Appeals court backs federal ruling 29 Mar 2005: Federal court grants parents leave to appeal 30 Mar 2005: Federal court and Supreme Court reject parents' appeal 31 Mar 2005: Terri Schiavo dies Q&A: Terri Schiavo case

During a seven-year legal battle, state and federal judges consistently ruled against the Schindler family's attempts to prolong Terri Schiavo's life.

The US Supreme Court refused to hear their petitions, despite Congress passing emergency legislation and the support of President George W Bush.

Opinion polls have consistently shown a majority of Americans believed it was right to allow Mrs Schiavo to die.

Speaking after her death, Mr Bush said the strong have a duty to protect the weak.

"In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favour of life," he said.

'For Terri'

Michael Schiavo's overriding concern was to give his wife "a peaceful death with dignity", his lawyer George Felos said on Thursday.

Mr Schiavo was by his wife's side when she died.

Her parents were not at the hospice, and her brother said he was barred from her room shortly before the end.

"This death was not for the siblings, and not for the spouse and not for the parents. This was for Terri."

An autopsy is planned and is expected to show the extent of brain injuries sustained when Mrs Schiavo collapsed after her heart stopped beating temporarily in 1990.

[marylandrepub1]

These people think you have to kill to have rights(unless it's a hate crime=against liberals.)


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1374073/posts

[LOC1]

Why was only one man, Judge Greer, the determinant of the facts in Terri's case?

In most other cases, it is a jury that determines the facts. Certainly the facts in all capital cases are determined by a jury.

Qualified individuals can make wise judgments. An individual can also make horrific judgments. Our society has determined that groups of individuals are more likely to be wise. That is why we have city councils, company boards of directors, and jury trials. Groups of people tend to be "less imperfect" than single individuals.

Setting aside personalities, as distasteful as they appear to be, having only one person determine the facts seems to be the central failing of the judicial system in Terri's case. For the future, that failing could be solved by legislative action.

[maryz]

I wish just once one of these reporters would tell the truth and call it murder.

Someone on Fox (I wasn't watching so don't know if it was a reporter or interviewee) said today that two policemen were always present "to protect Terri." I was dumbfounded at that one!

[goldstategop]

Its not just anger over the state-sanctioned murder of an innocent person. There's a widespread feeling the culture is headed for the abyss. If this can happen in America, there are no limits on the unimaginable.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[madprof98]

There's a widespread feeling the culture is headed for the abyss.

Not widespread enough, unfortunately.

[Walkin Man]

Senior Republican Tom DeLay, who leads the House of Representatives, attacked the US courts for allowing Mrs Schiavo to die, calling them "out-of-control".

Tom is a huge hypocrite seeing as how he pulled the plug on his own Dad!

Were you "out of control" then Tommy???

[Noachian]

Senior Republican Tom DeLay, who leads the House of Representatives, attacked the US courts for allowing Mrs Schiavo to die, calling them "out-of-control".

Talk is cheap, especially for a politician. Let's see what DeLay does about the rogue courts.

[yldstrk]

Those polls were a lot of caca. The majority of Americans were appalled or if not are idiots.

[yldstrk]

Or the pollsters at the MSM were just polling each other.

[thoughtomator]

I would guess that her evident will to live constitutes the profession of faith.

[expatpat]

It was a civil case -- juries are for criminal cases. Of course, this was a capital case, in reality.

[Coop]

Tom is a huge hypocrite seeing as how he pulled the plug on his own Dad!

Hands down dumbest comment of the day, probably the week. It doesn't even make any sense.

[LOC1]

Juries hear civil cases as well. Contract disputes, for instance, can be heard by a jury.

[Walkin Man]

Yeah it doesn't make sense to justify killing an old man just because he is old and had no chance of recovery and keeping "alive" a woman who was brain-dead with not one thought in her mind for 15 years and zero chance of recovery as well.

But she was "young" so its all good!

But she fit some unknown new age requirement of the pro-life movement so she was worthy enough to "live"!

I guess the pro-life movement has no trouble bumping off senior citizens, interesting...

[Coop]

Hey Einstein, she wasn't brain dead. And it was a family decision with the Delays. And there were no broken bones with his father. And his father didn't "collapse" after a fight the day before and then being "discovered" by the same person who then went on a crusade to kill him.

Take away all those inconsistencies and flat-out falsities, however, and...

your comment is still stupid.

[68 grunt]

Ernest, everyone, it is in the MSM's interest to cause as much dissension amongst us as possible. Expect more stories pitting us against each other.

[over3Owithabrain]

FYI - the preview feature can be useful for more than a grammar check. One can read their own post and realize how stupid it sounds before posting.

[sinkspur]

Theresa Maria, Martyr of the Faith, pray for us.

She was not a martyr for the Faith.

[little jeremiah]

From another article:

"Morality does not require ventilating and pumping fluids through a virtual corpse that has no brain activity, but starving someone to death is wrong."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1375295/posts

[Nick Danger]

If Congress really wanted to save her life they would have done it.

They did do it. What happened afterwards is stunning. There is no "due process" in our system that can create a court order forbidding people from giving food or water to a starving person, as a consequence of a civil lawsuit.

That such an order was upheld by multiple levels of the federal judiciary, right up to the Supreme Court, was I'm sure quite a surprise to members of Congress.

There is nothing in our previous jurisprudence that would suggest that a state can deprive a citizen of life in a civil proceeding. This has heretofore required a criminal conviction, at the standard of "beyond all reasonable doubt."

These decisions are a Big Deal, and there will be consequences.