t
t
t
t
t
t
t
t
t
Schiavo Case Spurring Statehouse Debate
Sunday, April 3, 2005
The arguments surrounding Terri Schiavo will live on in statehouse debate and new laws if an emerging coalition of disability rights activists and right-to-lifers succeed in turning the national agony over her case into a re-examination of when and how our lives come to an end.
So far, only a few legislators in a handful of states have sought significant changes to their laws, which define the fundamental elements at stake - how a person can set limits on their medical care, who gets to decide what their wishes are, what evidence is needed to prove it.
None have yet become law and the chances for most, if not all, are slim this year, with some legislatures finished and many far along in their work for this session. But both Republicans and Democrats say the arguments aren't going away.
The debate is an effort to strike a new balance between one stance that argues that medical care and morality mean life must be pursued in nearly all cases, and another stance, crafted over decades of changing views about death, that some may choose to end drastically damaged lives that depend on artificial means.
"I really wanted to make sure we gave a default for life and not for death," said Kansas state Rep. Mary Pilcher-Cook, a Republican who helped revive a measure that would give courts a greater chance to review decisions to end life-sustaining care, lessening the role of guardians or doctors. "Our most vulnerable citizens are in fact in the most danger of losing their life without any recourse."
She was joined in her effort by disability activists, many aligned with liberal causes, and Democrats in the state House. The measure stalled in the Kansas Senate, however, as the session ended for the year last Friday.
"We don't want to get into the politics of the right or the left or whomever," said Michael Donnelly at the Disability Rights Center of Kansas. "This isn't about politics, this is about how we value or don't value the lives people with disabilities have."
His group had been working for years to revisit the issue, and came together with several conservative legislators to move the bill forward. Elsewhere, the National Right to Life Committee has produced model legislation and is working with legislators in several states.
Legislation has also been introduced in Alabama, Hawaii, Louisiana, Minnesota and South Dakota. The Louisiana bill is called the "Human Dignity Act"; Alabama's is the "Starvation and Dehydration Prevention Act."
Many measures predate recent weeks of attention to Schiavo, though some drew their inspiration directly from the agonized public debate over the 41-year-old woman's death - like one in Missouri introduced last Thursday, the day Schiavo died.
"I was gripped by what I was watching and couldn't believe the state of Florida would let this woman die in this manner," said GOP state Rep. Cynthia Davis. Her bill would bar anyone from directing that artificially supplied food and water be withheld or withdrawn without a specific written directive from the patient.
There's also a slew of legislation around living wills and other end-of-life issues that wouldn't further the aims of this emerging group - like a Nevada measure that would let a guardian end life-sustaining measures even if it's against a patient's known wishes, as long as it's in their best interests.
The views of medical care and ending life have shifted over the past 30 years as the country grappled with brain-damaged or coma-bound patients whose families said they shouldn't be forced to live a life they wouldn't want, starting with Karen Ann Quinlan in 1975, then to Nancy Cruzan in 1990 and now to Schiavo.
Critics say the medical community and society have gone too far. "When original advance directives were created, nobody contemplated that hospitals would refuse to treat ... It was usually just the opposite, doctors refusing to pull the feeding tube," said Burke Balch, director of the National Right to Life Committee's medical ethics center.
Now, he says, the presumption in the hospitals, the courts and in too much state legislation, is to go ahead and pull life-sustaining treatment when there is not enough evidence that the patient wanted it.
Doctors and bioethicists say that overwhelmingly, safeguards exist in hospitals and in courts to ensure that patients' and families' wishes and best interests are protected.
"Are they going to go out and undo all the hard work that people have done to make sure they can die without having to go to court?" said Dr. Jean Teno, associate director at Brown University's Gerontology and Health Care Research Center.
Most decisions, unlike the portrayal of critics, are made by doctors and families working together, she said. "My sense is that this approach is working."
Political agendas are hard to discount, as congressional leaders raise dire warnings against judges in Florida and Washington over their Schiavo decisions. That meshes with GOP efforts to put more conservatives in the judiciary.
But political stereotypes fell, too, with traditionally liberal leaders like Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader supporting Terri Schiavo's parents efforts to keep their daughter alive.
Advocates vow that the questions of civil rights and morality are going to win out.
"If there's any doubt, than life trumps death," said Donnelly, in Kansas. "I'm a quadriplegic, been that way for 28 years. I would hate for somebody else to decide my life is not worth living."
If you have lists, please ping them here.
If you are putting together a ping list, would you please add me.
Thanks.
April 2, 2005
Terri's family have arranged a funeral Mass to remember their daughter and sister. Supporters have been encouraged to join in prayer with the Schindlers.
Where:
Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church
5800 15th Avenue South
Gulfport, Florida 33707
When:
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
There will be a reception from 5.30 to 7.00pm at the Maria Center directly across from the church.
Services begin at 7.00.
Media:
The media has been asked to allow the family of Terri Schiavo and their many volunteers privacy at this time.
Offerings:
Terri's family has received flowers from so many people and are touched by these acts of kindness. They, literally, have no room left for more.
If you would like to send your condolences to the Schindler family in lieu of flowers, you may send a Mass Offering Card to the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church or a note to the Schindlers at the address below.
Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation
4615 Gulf Blvd #104-103 -
St Petersburg Beach, FL 33706
http://www.terrisfight.org/
BUMP
I for one did not think it would actually come to starving a helpless woman. I thought about driving to FL during the whole time -- but there was always one more thing to hope for; and honestly, I hoped there would be more than enough local people there -- to raise consciences, etc.
I did witness locally on Good Friday. Could not abandon her on that day of all others . . .
BUMP again
It's so simple, isn't it? And yet the waters have been muddied.
bump
Private message sent to you...Buddy B
1. The money from a lawsuit always goes into a trust fund to pay medical expenses for the victim. The money can never be used to pay for lawyers. If any is left when the patient dies, the remainder is either given to the state or returned to the original defendant. If any is left when the patient recovers to the point of not needing extraordinary care, the remainder goes to the patient.
2. The "findings" of a judge may be appealed. The appeals courts can and should look to see whether the original judge was right on the facts of a technical case and not just whether he followed the law.
3. If the spouse of a disabled person does something that is grounds for divorce, family or friends of the disabled person may file for divorce on that person's behalf. If the facts support a divorce, the divorce will be granted.
Bill
"I have disdain for the Naughty Nine Republicans in the Florida Senate who vote "No" which barred Terri from legislative relief. The GOP House Members who voted "No" on Terri, shame on them too. "
Floridians ought to write letters to editors, and/or call talk shows, to remind voters, which candidates voted against Terri - JUST BEFORE THEIR ELECTION.
And voters of other states shold do the same, when their reps/U.S. senators come up for reelection.
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 3, PLEASE STICK WITH US, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE...
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 4, DAY 5 OF HER DEHYDRATION -- PLEASE HANG ON WITH US
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 5 NO FOOD OR WATER FOR 5-6 DAYS
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 6- NO FOOD OR WATER IN THE 6TH-7TH DAYS - GOOD FRIDAY
Part 7 - EASTER SUNDAY -NO FOOD OR WATER 10-11TH DAYS- SHE'S FIGHTING TO LIVE
Terri Schiavo has passed away [03-31-05]
Theresa Marie Schindler... April Daily Thread 2005 CALL TO ACTION: Our Fight for Justice Continues
t
t
t
t
t
I've already contacted them to voice my displeasure.
Already supporting Jeb Bush for president after he FAILED to go in and get Terri???? Shame on you.
"...like a Nevada measure that would let a guardian end life-sustaining measures even if it's against a patient's known wishes, as long as it's in their best interests.'
Disgusting!!! But what do you expect from a state that sentences people to life in prison for "gaming crimes", but lets some murderers serve lesser sentences..
TERRI SCHINDLER SCHIAVO FEBRUARY DAILY THREAD 2005: TERRI IS OUR VALENTINE!
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 3, PLEASE STICK WITH US, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE...
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 4, DAY 5 OF HER DEHYDRATION -- PLEASE HANG ON WITH US
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 5 NO FOOD OR WATER FOR 5-6 DAYS
TERRI SCHIAVO DAILY MARCH 2005 PART 6- NO FOOD OR WATER IN THE 6TH-7TH DAYS - GOOD FRIDAY
Part 7 - EASTER SUNDAY -NO FOOD OR WATER 10-11TH DAYS- SHE'S FIGHTING TO LIVE
TERRI SCHIAVO: MARCH 30th DAY 13 NO FOOD/WATER...YOU CAN BE HER GOOD SAMARITAN.
Terri Schiavo has passed away [03-31-05]
Theresa Marie Schindler... April Daily Thread 2005 CALL TO ACTION: Our Fight for Justice Continues
Photos from funeral Mass for Terri Schiavo, victim-soul
BUMP!
Terri's tribute
My golden aura blazes bright
The inky sky tells me its night
My eyes won't blink My body betrays
The youthful grace of yesterdays
Gracious Lord from whom life comes
I ask you now your will be done
Take my soul and bring it home
I lie here still and all alone
Grant me mercy lift my strife
So I might start eternal life
I have known these many years
It was you who calmed all my fears
Take away my parents pain
So they might learn to live again
If I could speak I want to live
For those who take my life "I forgive"
The aura dims My soul takes flight
I greet my Lord this Starlit night!
Susanne Maloney Robertson
Author of the "Throw away child"
Today is Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Talk about the long arm of coincidence. On 60 Minutes
there was a segment about a FLORIDA case where a month
murdered her little daughter. DCF had taken the child
away because of abuse but a judge (I don't know who) returned the girl to the mother 7 days before the child died.
The new show Revelations - a segment took place in FLORIDA
Miami area and how a little girl who was struck by lightening was in a "coma". All the doctors said she was
brain dead and they wanted to harvest her organs.
Strange the similarity!
A new organization called Justice For Terri Committee is planning on hiring an investigatin firm to look into Terri's case.
I like the idea of hiring an independent investigative agency.
I posted information on the group here:
Scared to Death by The Starved to Death - ( Terri )
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1383882/posts?page=1#1