Appeals court ruling favors Terri Schiavo's parents

Boston Glob ^ | 1/13/04 | staff

[CFW]

Appeals court ruling favors Terri Schiavo's parents

The Associated Press Published on: 02/13/04

TAMPA, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush and the parents of a severely brain-damaged woman won two appellate court victories Friday in their quest to keep her alive against her husband's wishes.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that Bush's attorneys will be allowed to question witnesses in the court battle over a law that gave the governor authority to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube after her husband had it removed in October.

The appeals court also ruled that Pinellas Circuit Court Judge W. Douglas Baird did not follow judicial rules when he denied her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, the ability to intervene in the constitutional challenge to the law.

The appeals court ordered Baird to hold further proceedings on the issue.

Schiavo's husband, Michael, has been battling the Schindlers in court for years to remove Terri's feeding tube so she can die. He says she would not have wanted to be kept alive artificially.

The Schindlers doubt their 40-year-old daughter, who lives in a Clearwater nursing home, had any such end-of-life wishes and believe her condition could improve with therapy. Their daughter has been in a persistent vegetative state for more than 13 years after collapsing from a chemical imbalance.

[tutstar]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1077475/posts

You and I both posted about the same time LOL

[lilypad]

Maybe the appellate court are learning that people dont have any stomach for these lousy judges, like the Sarasota judge. Which I believe what we have here in Pinellas too.
It is about time something positive has happened to the Schindlers! Praise the Lord!

[TigersEye]

The appeals court also ruled that Pinellas Circuit Court Judge W. Douglas Baird did not follow judicial rules ...

Is that sort of behavior a regular practice of Judge Baird's?

[Dante3]

Finally some great news. Still, we have to keep following the situation.

[TheSpottedOwl]

YES!!!

[trustandobey]

Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers! Thank you Jeb for making this possible, and congratulations to the Schindlers and thank you for fighting this battle. With The Lords continued help, we will win this battle!

[varina davis]

BTT!

[Republic]

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3!!!!

FV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CYN, CYN, CYN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And pegita!!!

And EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

Praise the LORD !! I DO! I DO!!!! I LOVE HIM!!!

I am just so thankful to our Father and so very, very happy that the Schindlers' and Gov Bush will be able to shed light on this devastating tale of abuse and neglect!

Oh my gosh------------THANK YOU FATHER IN HEAVEN SO VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!

[Theodore R.]

This is Terri's Valentine's Day gift. Wonder what gift "Michael" has planned for her tomorrow.

Still, Baird is biased, and he will continue to try to kill her.

[wisconsinconservative]

Yes!!! Great news for Terri. Thanks for the ping!

[m4629]

Yes, this is certainly good news.

The sad part is, I'm afraid carlie's tragedy might have something to do with generating so much heat on the Florida judges for them not to act too blatantly stupid only for the time being. Need to keep the heat on. Baird, Greer, and Demers are still bad news.

[wisconsinconservative]

Pope Highlights "Precious Contribution" of the Sick
Says a Life Cannot Be Eliminated Because of Suffering

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 11, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II made an appeal to the Church and the world to rediscover the "precious contribution" of the sick, and stressed that no human life can be eliminated because of suffering.

During today's general audience, the Pope joined in spirit the events taking place in the Shrine of Lourdes, in southern France, which on World Day of the Sick attracted a crowd of 30,000 pilgrims.

At the end of the audience held in Paul VI Hall, the Pope addressed special greetings to Polish faithful, saying that "every human being, including those marked by sickness and suffering, is a great gift for the Church and for humanity."

"No one has the right to eliminate this being because of suffering," the Holy Father said. "The latter is a call so that every person who suffers will find, in his own environment, people willing to offer patient support and loving help."

"Suffering is always a call to practice merciful love," were the Pope's last words in Polish.

In his address to the general audience, which he gave in Italian, the Pontiff explained that World Day of the Sick "is a strong call to rediscover the important presence of those who suffer in the Christian community, and to increasingly value their precious contribution."

"From a simply human point of view, pain and illness might appear as an absurd reality," he observed. "However, when we allow ourselves to be enlightened by the light of the Gospel, we succeed in appreciating its profound salvific meaning."

"From the paradox of the cross," the Pope added, "springs the answer to our most worrying questions. Christ suffers for us. He takes upon himself the sufferings of everyone and redeems them. Christ suffers with us, enabling us to share our pain with him. United to the suffering of Christ, human suffering becomes a means of salvation."

Finally, John Paul II guaranteed his spiritual closeness "to all those who are feeling the weight of suffering in body and in spirit," as well as to all those who are "seeking to relieve their sufferings and, in so far as possible, to free them of illness thanks to the progress of medicine."

"I am thinking especially of health agents, doctors, nurses, scientists and researchers, as well as hospital chaplains and volunteers. It is a great act of love to take care of those who suffer," he added.

The celebration of World Day of the Sick culminated in Lourdes with a Mass presided over by Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers.

The Pope pointed out in his address that the Lourdes shrine was chosen as the focus of World Day of the Sick 2004 since this year marks the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

Four years later, in 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, introducing herself as "the Immaculate Conception."

[mickie]

Wonderful news today.

God has surely heard our prayers for Terri.

(I have tears in my eyes as I type this)

[txrangerette]

I am so THRILLED.

Justice in FLORIDA???

Yahooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

[nickcarraway]

ping

[longtermmemmory]

Have you EVER tried to get anything done in the courts on a friday before a three day weekend? Noon is the practical cut off.

This is good in one sense. Judge routinly tell citizens who don't like their rulings based on the law, write the legislature to change the law. Well that is exactly what happened here.

[NautiNurse]

This is really good news!

[FR_addict]

William Creel posted the same article, but his source gave a longer version of the article. I'm reposting the rest of the article here since the threads are now merged.

---

Attorneys for Bush and Michael Schiavo did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment.

The Schindlers' attorney, Pat Anderson, said she was "stunned" by the rulings, because Florida courts have ruled against her and Schindlers so many times in the past.


"It's been three years since the law has been followed in this case," Anderson said.

The narrowly crafted law that allowed Bush to order Schiavo's feedings resume was passed by the Legislature in special session in October specifically to save her life. Six days earlier, her husband had had her feeding tube removed with court permission.

Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, immediately sued Bush, asserting that the law violated Terri Schiavo's right to privacy and separation-of-power provisions of the Florida Constitution.

In fighting that lawsuit, Bush's attorney, Ken Connor, had sought to take depositions from seven witnesses, including Michael Schiavo and the woman with whom he now has a relationship, about issues relating to Terri Schiavo's' care and her end-of-life wishes.

Felos fought that effort, arguing that the issues raised by governor were irrelevant or were already covered when the witnesses testified in previous proceedings. Baird ruled in Felos' favor, but said he might allow depositions later if it was proven necessary.

But the appeals court said Friday that Michael Schiavo "failed to demonstrate good cause for a blanket ban on the taking of depositions."

[angelwings49]

WONDERFUL News!!! Thank you for the ping!

[Houmatt]

This is SUCH good news!