Posted on 08/05/2003 5:55:05 AM PDT by kattracks
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Attorneys for the parents of a 39-year-old Florida woman - who suffered brain damage under uncertain circumstances in 1990 - asked the Florida Supreme Court Monday to stop her husband from allowing her to die by starvation and dehydration. The woman's family has also launched an online petition asking Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to intervene in the case.
Terri Schindler Schiavo is scheduled to begin dying Monday, August 25. On that date, her nutrition and hydration will be stopped unless the Florida Supreme Court or Gov. Bush intervene.
George Felos, the attorney representing Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, told CNSNews.com Monday that there is no hope for her condition to improve.
"She is in a 'Persistent Vegetative State' (PVS)," Felos said. "We've had doctors testify, now, in two trials before the court, and the court is absolutely convinced she is in a vegetative condition."
But Terri's father, Bob Schindler, disputed Felos' characterization of his daughter's condition.
"People keep referring to her as 'being in a coma,'" he said. "She's not in any way comatose. She's responsive, she's trying to talk."
Doctors for the parents and siblings have argued that, with appropriate therapy, Terri's condition could improve.
"A speech pathologist just filed an affidavit last week stating that Terri is communicating now," Schindler said. "There is more evidence in court from physicians stating that Terri is not in a 'Persistent Vegetative State' than her husband has doctors stating that she is."
Supporters of the family have launched a website displaying video recordings of Terri purportedly attempting to answer questions, opening her eyes in response to instructions to do so from a doctor and responding to her mother's voice by smiling and turning her head.
Felos called the debate over Terri's medical condition "a red herring."
"Terri Schiavo didn't say, 'If I'm in a vegetative condition, I don't want to be kept alive artificially,'" Felos claimed. "She said, 'If I'm in a condition where I can't care for myself, I'm dependent on the care of others, I don't want to be kept alive artificially.'"
Terri's husband, his brother, Scott Schiavo, and his sister-in-law, Joan Schiavo, all testified that Terri had previously stated her desire not to be kept alive artificially. Both the initial trial court and an appellate court have sided with Michael Schiavo as Terri's legal guardian.
But Terri's parents have questions about the circumstances of the reported heart attack that caused Terri's brain damage, questions they believe should cast doubt on Michael Schiavo's fitness to be Terri's guardian. They point to an emergency room "admitting summary" from the night the brain damage occurred, which noted that Terri had a "rigid neck." One physician reviewing the records stated that the only other patient he had treated with a similarly "rigid neck" had been the victim of strangulation.
The parents also believe a bone-scan report supports their theory that Terri's brain damage is the result of an assault and not a heart attack. The parties in the dispute hotly contest the bone scan, which was completed 53 weeks after the event that led to the brain damage.
Three physicians have testified that, based upon the bone scan, Terri appeared to have been physically assaulted. The injuries they identified included "trauma to her ribs, her pelvic area, L1 vertebrae, spine, both knees and both ankles...a broken femur and a broken back."
Felos and Michael Schiavo's doctors also dispute those claims.
"What that bone scan shows is...an accumulation of calcium deposits in the joints," Felos explained.
He also dismissed the accusation that Michael Schiavo allegedly tried, unsuccessfully, to strangle his wife, cutting off the flow of oxygen to her brain, resulting in brain damage.
"They're hogwash," he said. "They make good copy, and they're good propaganda, but there's no truth to it."
Felos believes the attempts by the Schindler family to keep their daughter alive are based not on her condition or what caused it, but on their personal beliefs.
"This case really is about ideology. It's about the ideology of the parents and their attempts to impose their will on Terri," he charged. "The Schindlers are being supported financially, their lawyers are being paid by the fanatic anti-choice, right-to-life proponents in this country."
CNSNews.com was unable to speak directly with Schindler family attorney Pat Anderson to determine who, if anyone, is paying for her services. Felos acknowledged that he was receiving payment for his services from the medical malpractice award fund established to provide for Terri's rehabilitation. He said that he has not, however, been paid in more than a year.
The motion filed by the Schindler family attorneys Monday asked the Florida Supreme Court to review the appellate court's decision based on an alleged misapplication of legal standards in determining whether or not Terri Schindler Schiavo is in a "Persistent Vegetative State" and therefore, legally eligible to be removed from life support.
Felos will have 20 days to respond, after which the Florida Supreme Court may choose to hear the case or simply rule in favor of Michael Schiavo. Should the latter occur, the trial judge would set a new date to cease Terri's feeding and hydration. She would be expected to die within 10 to 15 days.
E-mail a news tip to Jeff Johnson.
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Now I totally dont understand. What am I supposed to report you for? I dont see any reason.
BTW, if it makes you feel you did your job, I did look at the videos yesterday afternoon. They do suggest she has some consciousness but then why have the courts disagreed twice? What does her husbands doctors say about that? Does she have brain waves?
I wrote JEB....and will be praying for a MURDER investigaton to open up on her lousy husband.
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