Posted on 05/28/2007 9:33:12 AM PDT by wagglebee
The Christian attorney who fought to keep Terry Schiavo alive says the three leading GOP presidential candidates don't understand the important disability issues involved in the widely publicized 2005 case.
During a recent Republican presidential debate in California, the candidates were asked whether Congress was right to intervene in the Terry Schiavo case by attempting to prevent the state of Florida from removing the disabled woman's feeding tube. The answers varied.
Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, said he thought it "was a mistake" for Congress to get involved and the matter should have been left at the state level. Senator John McCain said Congress "probably acted too hastily." And former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani called the case a "family dispute."
David Gibbs III of the Christian Law Association says the United States gives greater due process to convicted murderers than to innocent disabled people. The former attorney for Schiavo's parents argues that Congress did the right thing when it intervened to provide her those rights.
"Many of the candidates are following the political wind, if you will, instead of showing leadership and saying, 'You know what? That was good public policy back then. We need to stand up for the disabled. We need to stand up for the senior citizens,'" Gibbs says. "We need to have that compassion for vulnerable people as opposed to taking the mindset that those people that just don't matter," he notes.
It is disingenuous, the Christian attorney contends, for candidates to claim they are pro-life but not be willing to grant due process rights to the disabled. "If you're pro-life, you have to be pro-life at every step," he says.
"Please understand: our founding fathers understood that you don't have any liberty, our Constitution doesn't matter, if you don't protect the innocent life of the citizens," Gibbs explains. "That's why they talked about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- your free speech, your freedom of religion, your right to own a gun or [receive] due process of law," he says. "If the government can kill you, you have no true liberty."
When Rudy Giuliani visited Florida he initially said he was in favor of assisting Terry Schiavo but later backpedaled from those comments, Gibbs points out. And in the recent GOP presidential debate, he says, only Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and Congressman Duncan Hunter of California got the issue right when they were asked about the Schiavo case.
When I worked with her, she was alert and oriented.To be oriented, the patient must identify person, place and date. Thus Carla Iyer is claiming that Terri Schiavo told her name, place, and date. Yet she only specifies that Terri Schiavo says words, such as "Mommy" and "pain" and one two word combo, "help me." A far cry from name, date and place. There's also this
Michael always demanded to see her chart as soon as he arrived, and would take it in her room with him. I documented Terris rehab potential well, writing whole pages about Terris responsiveness, but they would always be deleted by the next time I saw her chart.Any nurse that allowed someone not on staff to take the chart out of her sight should be fired. And if she thought her notes were being destroyed, why didn't she complain? All the way up to the agency licensing the facility? Not very credible.
Perhaps Erton1 has some additional comments on the testimony.
The autopsy confirmed that Terri was essentially healthy. She was not ill or dying. Her heart was strong. She was fine, in the sense fatima intended.
Except that her testimony doesn't say what you claimed it did. Unless there is another hearing or trial she testified at?
It's been interesting, but bedtime now.
You’re trying awfully hard to prove a negative.
Next, you’ll try to discredit the other nurses. (eyeroll)
And here’s an affidavit of a neurologist who changed his mind about Terri:
http://www.hospicepatients.org/terri-schindler-schiavo-docs-links-page.html
Do not fear truth!
Affidavit of William Cheshire, Jr., MD 03-23-05
Oh, and I couldn’t help but notice that you ignored THIS:
http://www.cnsnews.com/pdf/2003/bushnell.pdf
THIS shows that Michael Schiavo, and his friends, DID NOT want the truth to get out about Terri’s cognitive abilities. Terri was severely brain damaged, but NOT brain dead.
>> The allegation was made that Dr. Nelson needed to say specific things at Dr. Thogmartin's direction to keep his job.
What the heck are you talking about? I made no such allegation
The allegation was made, as you know quite well, by bjs1779.
After a good nights sleep, you might want to educate yourself more:
http://www.hospicepatients.org/terri-schindler-schiavo-docs-links-page.html
To “All” - lots of good info at above link, folks.
By the principles of what makes a witness credible, she was clearly the most credible witness of any. She had nothing to gain, and much to risk by coming forward with the truth. She backed up her claims contemporaneously by reporting Michael to the police over the suspected insulin injections. Her testimony is corroborated on many points by other nurses who worked with Terri. Mrs. Iyer has never budged one inch on any of it. She will tell you the story again today in every detail.
All the nurses (and others) confirmed that Michael was giving the orders. Some say he tampered with the charts. One of the facilities got a restraining order and had Michael thrown out for threatening the staff.
No, I don't know a thing about it. If you have a problem with him, talk to him and stop throwing crap my way.
Boy, that is an impressive collection of source material! Thank you, Sun.
YOU COULDN'T FIND HER TESTIMONY! Don't tell me what was or was not in the testimony until you bloody read it!
You’re welcome.
And since it has a bunch of affidavits from many doctors and nurses, the antiTerri people are going to be awfully busy discrediting each one.
That will take some doing :-) I've read them all, of course, but am very glad that somebody created this potent set of easy-to-use files. (Filing is not my strong point :-) )
These are all people who came forward on their own volition. They all did it pro bono. As I recall, Dr. Hammesfahr was reimbursed for some expenses, but not paid. I am pretty sure that the only doctors who got paid for testifying were the three who were in favor of killing Terri. That included Dr. Cranford. The lawyers imported him all the way from Minnesota because he ALWAYS voted to kill the patient. He was for sale. Cranford called himself "Dr. Humane Death." Dehydration is an awful way to die and not humane at all.
“These are all people who came forward on their own volition. They all did it pro bono.”
Well, that tells you something. Just good folks trying to bring the TRUTH to light.
Thank you! This is a powerful thread bringing into the open volumes of information and links as well as devastating analysis of the atrocities committed against Terri. I am honored to be associated with such talent.
8mm
What you said may have once had merit bout state power, but no longer. States are now mere appendages of the national behemoth and do as they are commanded or permitted. And I don’t have “faith” in state governments either for the most part. Would you believe Ed Rendell or Charlie Crist? Terri was exterminated by big government with the support of the clueless American people.
Duh. You didn't find the right testimony. But here's an item about the testimony you did find. You didn't mention -- why? -- that it, too, was damning to Michael, even if Jackie didn't refer to bruises this time. She did report the fight Michael and Terri were in that night, and vividly described Terri's distress -- only hours before she suffered the near-fatal injuries.
'In testimony on January 26, 2000 -- testimony largely ignored by the mainstream media -- a friend named Jackie Rhodes stated under oath that the last time she spoke to Terri, February 24, 1990 -- the day before her "collapse" -- Terri was "very, very upset" and "sounded like she had been crying. I asked her if she was okay. She said she had a fight with Michael."'
“I am honored to be associated with such talent.”
So am I, and thank you for YOUR constant, hard work.
Quotes from Bob Schindler (Terri’s dad)
Long before and during the malpractice trial, you made a number of commitments to Mary and myself. One of your commitments was that award money was to be used to enhance Terris medical and neurological care.
BOB SCHINDLER: And after the money came in, it was maybe two months after that, and I confronted him and asked him when are you going to begin Terri’s rehabilitation? And he told me to mind my own business. Now, he had, you know, promised that before. So it was a complete change. And that was the onset of the problem.
http://www.zimp.org/stuff/contradictions.htm
The visitors are in a house of cards, whether they know it or not. A lot of people have dirty little secrets. One slip and the whole thing comes down. If someone feels his guilty conscience and confesses... if someone has one drink too many and starts to talk... if one tries to blackmail another... down they all go.
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