Please contact Gov. Jeb Bush and ask him to contact the Republican caucus and
vote to remove Jim King from his leadership positions. He is majority leader. Offensive, anti-Terri's Law (which affects rights of all disabled people in her situation) quote follows:
Senate President Jim King said he expects some right-to-die changes to pass the House during the next legislative session, which starts in March. But he vowed to keep such bills from reaching the Senate floor. Even ostensibly good changes can be amended in destructive ways, the Jacksonville Republican said. When his parents died of cancer, King said, "I witnessed first-hand a lot of things that are worse than dying - some of the invasive treatments being done." King wrote many provisions in current law that give patients and families the right to withhold procedures. That legislation "is part and parcel of my legislative legacy."
See the statute below, courtesy of Doc Knox, out of JAX.
Then send on to Floridians for further action, please.
Glenn W. Knox, MD, FACS, PSC
Ear, Nose and Throat
Otology and Neurotology
Diplomate, American Board of Otolaryngology
Courtesy Clinical Associate Professor, University of Florida
3663 Crown Point Court
Jacksonville, Florida 32257
(904)292-9777
fax 292-1313
June 24th, 2003
Dear Governor Bush:
I have enclosed a petition for your consideration. We are urgently requesting that the Republican Caucus in the Florida Senate vote to remove State Senator Jim King from his leadership positions. We are also urgently requesting you to consider the suspension of Senator King as per Article 4, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution. The reasons for suspension are malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence and neglect of duty. Finally, we are asking you to consider introducing legislation to provide for the recall of state senators and representatives to avoid situations like this in the future.
Senator King has endangered the health and well-being of all Floridians by his failure to act in reasonable good faith to resolve the medical liability crisis. He has thus been instrumental in creating a public health crisis in the state. I respectfully ask that you consider these measures. I fully understand the gravity and the extraordinary nature of this situation. Thus I have presented a petition with as many signatures from Senator King's district as possible.
Sincerely,
Glenn W. Knox MD
Memo to: Florida Physicians and Patients
Cc: Duval County Medical Society
Re: Petition to suspend Senator Jim King
I have enclosed a petition for your consideration. If you and/or others wish to sign it, please either mail it to my office or drop it off. I am sorry that I cannot accept faxes or electronic submissions; original signatures are necessary. If the July 9th [2003] special session does not yield meaningful tort reform, the petition and signatures will be delivered to Governor Bush?s office. Please have each person who signs the petition provide their home address and indicate if they live in Senator King's district or work there. They must be registered to vote in the State of Florida. Thank you for your time and consideration.
BACKGROUND INFO
1) Last Acts' new mobilization
In view of Last Act's new mobilization (see article 1 with comments by Ron Panzer), it's important to know the background of it's leaders.
The decidedly right-to-die oriented agenda of Last Acts and Partnership for Caring is steaming right ahead with conscious cooperation from all the hospices, hospice organizations and other members of the groups... working together to lobby for changes in the laws of our states and the federal government, and work to change society's attitudes toward "choice" in dying to include assistance in dying, hastening death, as part of the end-of-life mission. The actions of these groups, while helping in many ways to promote better end-of-life care, threaten to sabotage the very best of end-of-life care, because "aid in dying" (killing the patient) is incompatible with dedication to provide the very best care till a NATURAL death occurs in its own timing! - Ron P.
[from LastActs.org]
LAST ACTS PARTNER CALL: HONORING OUR ACHIEVEMENTS, CHARTING OUR FUTURE TOGETHER
[excerpts only]
We are proud to announce the upcoming merger of Last Acts and Partnership for Caring. This new, national, nonprofit organization-Last Acts Partnership- presents many exciting opportunities for all its organizational partners. For example, Last Acts Partnership will engage in vigorous advocacy efforts in which all partners can participate. Last Acts Partnership's power to promote social change will be vastly increased as it coordinates, assists, and mobilizes Last Acts' 1,200 national, state and local Partners; Rallying Points' 360 local and state coalitions; and Partnership for Caring's 20,000 individual members. Through Last Acts Partnership, these individuals, organizations, and coalitions are already forming a powerful voice working to improve how people die in our society.
Together, we are empowering and engaging consumers, informing medical and health professionals, and acting as advocates for quality end-of-life care through policy reform.
http://www.lastacts.org/files/resources/declaxpcall.pdf
2) 2001 article by Rita Marker gives background information about such groups and their funding.
http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazines/2001/january/marker.html
