Posted on 04/07/2005 8:16:31 AM PDT by amdgmary
Judge George Greer, the Florida county jurist at the center of the Terri Schiavo case, ruled against a woman who was fighting to keep her husband alive in 2000.
While Greer has ruled consistently with husband Michael Schiavo, who seeks to terminate his wife's life by depriving of her of food and water, the parallel case suggests the judge may have a predisposition to removal of any life-support devices rather than an inclination toward the legal guardian.
The 2000 case heard by Greer involved the life of St. Petersburg lawyer Blair Clark, a University of South Florida professor. After suffering a heart attack Sept. 9, 2000, his children, who stood to inherit much of his estate, claimed they wanted to honor his wishes to remove him from a ventilator and feeding tube and allow him to die. His wife, Ping, however, believed his condition could improve with therapy and claimed only one month later treatments had not been given enough time.
Unlike Terri Schiavo, Blair Clark, 58, had a living will, which stated: "If the situation should arise in which there is no reasonable expectation of my recovery from severe physical or mental disability, I request that I be allowed to die and that life-prolonging procedures not be provided."
However, his wife believed there was still a reasonable expectation of recovery.
"His living will did not say, 'Don't save me, just let me die,'" his wife pleaded. "They want to kill Blair and I don't know why. I want to ask, 'What's the rush?' I'm the only one who wants to save him. Every time I say yes, they say no. I had to go to court to give him blood."
But on Oct. 24, 2000, Greer ruled in favor of the children and against the wishes of the wife, ordering all mechanical ventilation and intravenous nutrition stopped.
Ping Clark, of Chinese descent, argued that four days of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture treatments had showed promise. She asked only for 30 more days of ventilator support and treatments.
Clark relied heavily on the opinion of neurologists, some of whom claimed Clark's chances of recovery were no greater than one in a thousand.
"If you love somebody, one in 1,000 is a chance worth taking, argued Dennis Rogers, Ping Clark's attorney.
After the ruling, Clark's wife was distraught and couldn't bear to visit the hospital to watch him die.
"I cannot see him die," she cried. "I know how much he wants to live. They'll be guilty their whole lives for killing Blair Clark."
Clark died a week after the ruling, Oct. 31, 2000.
Schiavo's feeding tube was removed Friday by order of Greer at the request of her estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, who contends Terri had expressed a wish to not live under her present condition. Parents Robert and Mary Schindler dispute the court's finding that their daughter is in a "persistent vegetative state," citing numerous physicians who believe she is responsive and could benefit from therapy.
Yes. I've been told that too. Ask them if she's PVS or brain dead. There's a difference. Yeah we know she was concious and aware but there are some who'd rather believe Schiavo and 3 doctors than believe 6 nurses and 34 doctors.
My guess is they agree with the "right-to-die" doctor (I forget his name).
Dr Ronald Cranford. He calls himself Dr Humane Death. He's a professional witness for euthanasia. Yes. There's a list of doctors that testify. And he has no medical practice, he teaches (God help us!)
Greer's decision was not correct. The living will had no specific time designated. Now we see that Greer NEVER rules on the side of life but on the side of death.
Facts are facts. Be blind if you wish.
He needs to be taken out of the position of the ruler of who lives and dies - the man is a ghoul.
...Living wills should be more specific. That one was too vague.
.....
Yes it was.
Now - be sure to add a few specifics.
If I am determined to be in a total vegetative state with no possible hope of ever coming out of it (after a consult with at least 3 physicians from different locations and with total agreement of my wife, parents, heirs) and after all possible tests to verify the diagnosis plus the time to determine whether healing does come, not to exceed a period of 6 months and not to be less than 3 months, then I wish for all further attempts at healing to be discontinued. However, I do wish for hydration and feeding tube unless death is imminent from my illness.
Should my instructions not be followed as specified, I instruct my attorney to proceed with legal proceedings against the medical facility and doctors and to leave my material wealth to the following charity.
But "it's the law", right Sen. Frist?
We're assuming that the kids are hers. They may just have been his.
He wouldn't have a "thriving" practice!
it's really scary what's being taught in ALL the universities, whether medical or academic....
They're being taught bio-ethics which have nothing to do with ethics or morals. It's just teaching when it's correct to murder and how to get away with it.
I was going to a doctor conglomerate that has it's own labs etc in the building. Assembly line medicine. In 8 years I've had 7 different doctors. Out of the 7, I had one that I liked. He actually talked to his patients and even the nurses loved him. He left the medicine factory. Then I left.
"I know that there are many in Germany who feel sick when they see this black uniform; we can understand that. It really makes no odds to us if we kill someone." - Heinrich Himmler.
The rule of the law is that she must die" - Judge George Greer
I totally agree with you.
Greer has no mercy, none at all.
What is the rush?
Why NOT give the wife more time.
What difference does it make, just a little more time. With a bit more time with if there was no improvement, perhaps the wife could have brought herself to carry out her husband's wishes. A month, 6 weeks and they are already in court? What is with the children (errr heirs) have they no compasion for their father?
We don't have a regular HMO and it still stinks. Labs etc are supposed to accept what insurance pays plus my deductable. I get threatening bills all the time. For hundreds of dollars. It takes months to get it sorted out. Just in time for the next round of blood work, pap smear, bone scan, mammogram etc. Pfffft!
You stated that just beautifully. I hpe you keep that on your computer someplace. You write really well.
In addition to a living will, a health care power of attorney should be executed, giving the named person(s) the authority to make health care decisions on behalf of the patient. In this case it is likely that the wife would have been named, which is pretty standard. Not that I necessarily agree with the wife's decision, but these documents are executed so as to avoid these kinds of situations.
I never post to you becasue frankly I think it jsut encourages you. But this time I will.
NEVER in all the court cases that you discuss, ever was the evidence re-examined. The evidence that Terri would want to be staved and de-hydrated to death. That was ruled on ONE TIME by George "Kill 'em Greer" and never again.
So to all of us who saw what you saw and saw Judicial Homocide, none of the other court cases mattered. Once a Judge Makes a ruling he can't be over turned unless he made a procedural error. Unless of course you are a Death Row criminal, then you get your case tried all over again in Criminal Court and a brand new Federal Judge looks brand new at the evidence.
Terri NEVER got her chance in Federal Court because she died befroe she could have a trial. The b*stard Federal Judges would not issue an emergency stay of inserting her feeding tube so that she could get her trial.
So don't mis lead everyone with how many times this was heard in court, the evidence was only heard one time, by George kill 'em Greer and no other Judge or Judges ever looked at the evidence again.
No they have compassion only for their own gain.
They wanted the problem over and see no need to pay for the medical care for an additional month.
With so many split families, there will be more and more cases where love is not the issue, money is. Love is grown by a parent raising a child, when they don't, the love is not as strong.
As well he should. The people who object to this show their true colors: they object to honoring the subject's wishes to die, no matter how they are recorded. This gentleman was quite explicit -- he wants to be allowed to die.
The operative words are "...no reasonable expectation of my recovery ...." Not some 'possible' expectation of recovery by means of acupuncture or experimental 'therapies', but "no reasonable expectation>" That is surely true. Judge Greer is right again.
Absolutely.
Is paraplegia "severe"? Yes it is, until you end up in your own wheelchair...
No, it's severe. Remember that for the living will to take effect, the subject also has to be unable to make his own decision. So, he's incompetent AND in a wheelchair.
Is aphasia and having your IQ knocked down to 40 "severe"? You bet
Absolutely, without question.
...until we find out first hand if our brain is still helping us to find joy and pleasure in the love and care of our family, and how it feels to be unable to tell the world to just let our family keep us comfortable and safe and leave us alone as long as we can feel and give love
No, that can be your 'living will', but in mine I definitely want to die. Take away food, water, oxygen, whatever. Put me out of my misery.
I like your version! Seems to keep money out of the equation for the interested parties. Probably ought to keep the name of the charity undisclosed until after your death, too, to make sure they don't have any say in pushing your over the edge.
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