Federal judge says Federal Judge says Terri Schiavo must die

World Net Daily ^ | Oct 10, 2003 | Sarah Foster

[amdgmary]

Federal judge says Terri Schiavo must die Rejects plea by parents to allow disabled woman to live

Posted: October 10, 2003

By Sarah Foster © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has ruled against Terri Schiavo, the 39-year-old brain-disabled woman, whose death by court-ordered starvation is scheduled to begin in four days. The ruling clears the way for her husband, Michael Schiavo, to remove the feeding tube his wife depends upon for food and hydration.

Bob and Mary Schindler (courtesy Bay News 9)

At the end of a three-and-a-half-hour hearing this afternoon, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara rejected a plea by Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler of Gulf Port, Fla., to assume federal jurisdiction over the case, refusing to acknowledge that her constitutional rights, in particular her 14th Amendment right to due process, had been violated.

He also rejected a request by the Schindlers for a temporary injunction on removing Terri's feeding tube, until she has received sufficient therapy and training to enable her to be spoon-fed.

He granted a motion to dismiss the Schindlers' petition made Monday by Schiavo's attorney George Mr. Felos, a well-known "right-to-die" advocate.

The case was argued in court by Christopher Ferrara, of the American Catholic Lawyers Association, co-counsel with Patricia Anderson representing the Schindlers and Terri herself.

Pamela Hennessy, volunteer spokesperson for the Schindler family, attended the hearing and pulled no punches in comments to WorldNetDaily.

"I sat there in the courtroom, and it seemed that he cut off every other sentence Chris made. He interrupted him endlessly. I don't think [Lazzara] let him finish too many sentences. I don't think Chris was really heard."

Gov. Jeb Bush

Not even the fact that the Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had stepped into the fight for Terri earlier this week by filing a friend-of-the-court brief on her behalf impressed the judge, said Hennessy.

"[Lazzara] didn't care," she said. "He said the governor's brief was well-written and he allowed him to be admitted as a friend of the court, but he said that [Bush] was only a friend of the court and had no power to intervene."

Hennessey took umbrage at the notion that as a federal judge he cannot take jurisdiction.

"Of course he can," she exclaimed. "[Terri's] constitutional rights have been denied. He could have stepped in, but nope – he washed his hands of it, he didn't want to get involved at all."

Michael Schiavo (Photo: WFLA-TV)

As WorldNetDaily reported, the Schindlers have been fighting with their son-in-law Michael Schiavo for 10 years over the lack of care and therapy Schiavo has provided for their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when, at the age of 26, she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under mysterious circumstances.

The contentious family dispute escalated into a major euthanasia battle in 1998 when Schiavo petitioned the Florida courts for permission to end his wife's life by disconnecting her feeding tube, insisting she is in a "persistent vegetative state" and that in casual conversations she had told him she would not want to be kept alive "artificially." Although Terri breathes on her on and maintains her own blood pressure, she requires a simple tube into her abdomen to her stomach for nourishment and hydration.

Terri Schindler-Schiavo before her disability.

Although Terri's parents and siblings have claimed for years that she recognizes them and tries to talk – and over a dozen prominent doctors and therapists have stated under oath that she is not in a persistent vegetative state and with therapy could be rehabilitated – a handful of doctors have testified she is "vegetative." They claim her expressions and vocalizations are simply reflex actions and that she will never regain consciousness. Despite a scarcity of expert testimony and evidence for Schiavo's position, Greer and Florida's appellate courts have consistently sided with him and Felos, his attorney.

When the seven-member Florida Supreme Court washed its hands of the matter in August by turning down an appeal by the Schindlers to review the case, the way was clear for Schiavo to starve his wife to death.

On Sept. 17, probate Judge George Greer, of the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, scheduled Oct. 15 as the day Terri's feeding tube would be removed.

At the same time but in separate rulings, Greer – who has been in charge of the case from almost the beginning – denied any rehabilitation whatsoever for the disabled woman. An Aug. 26 request by the Schindlers asking that their daughter be allowed an eight-week trial of speech, occupational and physical therapy, was summarily rejected by Greer along with a motion made Sept. 10 that she be taught to swallow food so she could be spoon-fed.

With the state courts closed against them, the Schindlers sued their son-in-law in federal court to block the scheduled Oct. 15 removal of their daughter's feeding tube. In their Sept. 22 request for a preliminary injunction, they asked Judge Lazzara that Terri be given therapy for a sufficient time to wean her off her feeding tube and return her to nutrition by mouth.

Today's ruling by Lazzara has destroyed that opportunity and the hopes of Terri's family and supporters that she would be allowed to live.

Terri's feeding tube is scheduled to be removed at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Physicians say her slow death by starvation and dehydration will take anywhere from seven to 14 days.

The Schindlers and their attorneys were unavailable for comment.

Legal documents and information on Terri's fight for life are posted on the family's website.

[yesnettv]

Educate yourself on the doctor "fix". Your statements are incredibly uninformed.

[Ethan_Allen]

Thank you for your post WFTR.

"The law should also invalidate any previous guardianship agreements if the current guardian chooses to terminate the patient's life."

I agree, and I really don't know what the law says about this, but I ran across what Blackstone had to say about it:

Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England
Book the First - Chapter the Seventeenth : Of Guardian and Ward

" they forget, how much it is the guardian's interest to remove the incumbrance of his pupil's life from that estate, for which he is supposed to have so great a regard k...... This policy of our English law is warranted by the wise institutions of Solon, who provided that no one should be another's guardian, who was to enjoy the estate after his death...." http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/blackstone/bk1ch17.htm

Source:
Commentaries on the Laws of England
Blackstone, William, Sir, 1723-1780

[Ethan_Allen]

"In the short term, I would like to see the Bush administration take more positive action. The previous idiots made an armed raid in order to force a little boy to live in slavery on Cuba. I think it could be forgiven if the current administration stretched a point to keep an American woman alive."

I suggested this on another thread, but your presentation is much superior!

[Graymatter]

I'm no lawyer, but, when you appeal a decision, don't you usually get a different judge?
How is it the Schindlers can't get past this one judge?

[Humidston]

AMEN! Michael wouldn't have gotten to first base without that expensive lawyer who's banking a small fortune.

This whole thing disgusts me in a most primal way.

[sfRummygirl]

It was just found on another Terri, thread, the main one, that Judge George Greer is actually sitting on the committee that is set up for guardianship monitoring of people like Terri.
Yet again, corruption ala mode.....


Staff: howells@flcourts.org & janockoed@flcrts.org. Howell phone #1-850-922-4370. LOOK AND SEE THAT GEORGE GREER IS ON THE MONITORING COMMITTEE. HE'S THE
ONE WHO NEEDS INVESTIGATING!!!

Committee on Guardianship Monitoring

Charge from Administrative Order:

Investigate and report on various models for guardianship monitoring, including the use of professional investigators and volunteers. The committee has also been asked to develop performance
measures for the guardianship monitoring program.

Members:

Judge Mel Grossman, co-chair, administrative judge of the probate division, 17th Circuit

Judge Patricia Thomas, co-chair, 5th Circuit, chair of the Probate Section of the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges Karen Campbell, general counsel, Department of Elder Affairs Clay Craig,
attorney, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar

John DeGroot, Office of the Attorney General, special projects

Joseph George, attorney and former general master

John Grant, State Senator/Statewide Public Guardian

Judge George Greer, 6th Circuit

April Hill, director of the Elder Justice Institute, 13th Circuit

Steven Holloway, Dean, School of Social Work, Barry University

Maria Diaz Lowry, First Call for Help of Broward, Inc.

Richard Milstein, attorney, Elder Law Section of The Florida Bar

Chief Judge Donald Moran, 4th Circuit

Judge Belvin Perry, 9th Circuit

Steven Quinnell, guardianship attorney, Pensacola

Judge Susan Sexton, administrative judge of the probate division, 13th Circuit

ALL OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS COMMITTEE ARE DERELICT IN THEIR DUTIES TO PROTECT THE PERSON AND PROPERTY OF TERRI SCHINDLER-SCHIAVO.

Can someone please send this list to Governor Bush - emphasis on their failure as a Committee?

[Action-America]

In the long term, what we need is a law that would state that when someone is awarded a large cash settlement for ongoing care in a case like this, the cash should be paid from a trust directly to the caregivers or used to reimburse direct expenses to the family.

You could have knocked me over with a feather.  There's someone else on this thread who uses his head instead of his emotions.

You make an excellent point Bill.  In fact, that's what I have been trying to tell most of these people.  Instead of pulling a "liberal" and trying to change the law in the courts, they should be spending their time where it will do some good and where the Founding Fathers intended and try to change the law in the state legislatures and in Congress.  Our courts are far from perfect.  But, once a case has made it through the whole system, appeals and all, it's done and we should accept that the court made the best possible decision, within the law.  If we don't like the decision, then we need to change the law, so that future decisions will be more in line with the people's wishes and the law that you suggest makes great sense, as long as it makes provisions for living wills.

But, these emotional pleas, on a case by case basis, although they tug at your heart, get us nowhere.  Even if you win one case, you still have hundreds of other "feel good" cases left to fight.  If you change the law, you win thousands of cases, for years to come.  In short, you can waste your time on hundreds of individual "feel good" cases, maybe winning one or two and never make any real progress or you can spend your time usefully, fighting all of those cases at once, in the legislature and in Congress.  You won't get that warm fuzzy feeling, fighting the greater fight, that you get from those "feel good" cases, but you will be doing much more good.

You have proposed a solution that has merit.  I just hope that some of the people who are ranting about the judge in this particular case will spend a little less time ranting about individual "feel good" cases and more time trying to get such legislation passed.  But then, if such a law is passed, it presents an even greater problem.  What are all those bleeding hearts going to do with all that time, since there won't be any more "feel good" cases left to fight???  :-)

By the way, I like your site.  I especially liked your article about George Bush, the great moderate.  As I would expect, we have our differences.  But, it's easy to see that you approach politics from the logical position, more than the emotional position and I appreciate that.  I haven't had time to check out your site completely, but I will do so soon.

In that regard, you might find some interesting things on Action America.  It has been a while since I posted anything new there.  Since the site has grown in popularity (over 310,000 hits in a single month), we have been overhauling the entire site offline.  Updates to the site have been further delayed, since I am also in the process of writing a book and closing some major business deals.  Even so, most of what is posted there is of a more or less timeless nature.  As does your site, we try to take the logical, rather than the emotional route.

Thanks for the voice of reason.  I was beginning to feel all alone.

 

[MeekOneGOP]

Terri's feeding tube is scheduled to be removed at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Physicians say her slow death by starvation and dehydration will take anywhere from seven to 14 days.

Prisoners on Texas Death Row for murder get better (more humane) treatment than this when they are rolled out for execution. They are given a sedative before taken to the death chamber. Then they are given another sedative by needle before being given the chemicals that ends their life. The process takes a couple of minutes and is painless and humane. It's like being put to sleep and they never feel a thing. This seems inhumane to the girl and her friends and family.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Florida ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[maestro]

Correct!

Amen,.......MORE Grace and Mercy,........In Jesus' Precious Name, Amen!!!

[phenn]

24-Hour Vigil Begins
TAMPA BAY? Terri Schindler-Schiavo, age 39, will have her feeding tube removed at 2PM on Wednesday, October 15, unless Governor Jeb Bush is persuaded to intervene.

On Monday, October 13, at 12 noon, Terri?s family and friends will begin a 24-hour-a-day vigil outside the Woodside Hospice where Terri lives. Hospice Woodside is located at 6774 102nd Avenue N. (near 66th Street N and 102nd Avenue N) in Pinellas Park, Florida. The vigil will continue until Terri is rescued by Governor Bush, or killed.

Terri?s family asks that you please come to the vigil as we call on Governor Jeb Bush to save her life. Your presence is welcome for any length of time, day or night.

---

October 13, 2003 Statement from the parents of Terri Schindler-Schiavo--Bob & Mary Schindler:

We love our daughter very much and we want her home. Over the last 13 years, Terri has laughed with us, cried with us, talked with us, and even tried to get out of her chair. The accusations that Terri is in a coma or is a "vegetable" are a lie.

We beg Michael Schiavo, and those working with him to end our daughter?s life, to let her come home to her family. We will sign any agreement you want, giving you all monies related to Terri?s collapse and any insurance money that may be forthcoming. You take the money. We just want our daughter.

---

The family especially invites you to be at the vigil in front of the Woodside Hospice for press conferences scheduled for:


Monday, October 13, at noon
Tuesday, October 14, at noon, and
Wednesday, October 15, at 2PM

**For those who live in the Tallahassee area; if you could attend a vigil in front of the Governor?s Mansion please contact us immediately.

Terri?s parents have invited Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, and Gary McCullough, director of the Christian Communication Network, to help save her life.

"It is inconceivable that a tin-pot judge has ordered the starvation of this young woman. All of us need to do everything in our power to rescue Terri from this cruel death. That duty begins with Governor Bush." ?Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue

[Salvation]

Quash euthenasia bump!

That's what this is the beginning of.

Killing those inferiors (remember Hitler's plan?)

[Salvation]

**This is the ROE V. WADE OF FORCED EUTHANASIA OF DISABLED PEOPLE**

This is so true!

[MeekOneGOP]

Amen ! ...

[MeekOneGOP]

I was under the impression that Jeb couldn't intervene.
If he CAN, I hope he DOES (and bet that he WILL !) ...

[honeygrl]

I think the judge and the Felos guy are buddies and maybe the judge knows enough about a few other judges to keep them out of the picture.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but man, this case sure sounds like a conspiracy.

[Theodore R.]

The Supreme Court has nationalized or incoporated abortion under Roe v. Wade. But it has not nationalized euthanasia. Euthanasia policy is left to the 50 states. It's another inconsistency of the Supreme Court. So the federal court in Tampa would not hear the Schindler's pleas. People who ever expected a clintoid judge to help were overly optimistic.

[honeygrl]

"I heard that a guard will be posted at Terri's door at hospice while the tube is being removed. "

So, I wonder what would happen if a bunch of people got there before the guard and had a little peaceful sit-in in front of the door, letting only people in that could be trusted not to remove the tube. They probably wouldn't let anyone into the front door anyway I guess. *sigh* Michael Schiavo should stay inside during thunderstorms, God may just decide to strike him with lightning once his wins his own little twisted lottery. Maybe he'll even get into that special little place in hell where the hijackers of 9-11 are now and their 72 virgin goats.

[EggsAckley]

I still don't get it. Why can't someone set up a private facility for Terri and just take her there. Give the husband the money and a divorce decree, and send him packing. Why is she a prisoner of the state?

I must say, your observation about a possible conspiracy certainly is looking more and more likely.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Kidnapping.