Posted on 01/11/2005 11:01:27 AM PST by nickcarraway
Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) -- The parents of Terri Schiavo have asked a judge to end her estranged husband Michael's legal guardianship. Bob and Mary Schindler say Michael has numerous conflicts of interest which prevent him from doing an adequate job as Terri's caretaker.
The Schindlers say that Michael Schiavo should be removed as Terri's guardian because of personal, legal, financial and religious conflicts of interest.
David Gibbs, the lead counsel for the Schindlers, says "any one of these four conflicts of interest should provide the court with a sufficient reason to terminate Mr. Schiavo's guardianship and appoint a replacement guardian."
Though legally married to Terri, Michael has been living with Jodi Centonze for ten years and has had two children with her. He has refused the Schindlers' requests that he divorce Terri and allow them to care for her.
Should Michael grant Terri a divorce, he would likely lose the remainder of a $1.5 million medical malpractice judgment awarded to him supposedly to be used to pay for rehabilitative and medical care for Terri.
Though promising to spent most of it on care for Terri, Michael has racked up $500,000 in legal bills in his bid to end her life. If Terri dies, Michael inherits what remains.
The Schinlers' motion also cites Michael's failure to provide Terri with her own legal counsel to advocate her best interest during the years of court battles between the two parties.
Terri's parents are also concerned about religious conflicts of interest.
They have failed to win court backing of their argument that starving Terri to death by removing her food and water would violate her Catholic beliefs. In recent comments, Pope John Paul II called denying food and water to a disabled patient like Terri "euthanasia by omission."
However, they say in the motion that Michael should have done more to protest Terri's religious liberties and argue that she would have opposed a starvation death were she able to communicate her wishes.
The Schindlers also say Michael has prevented Terri from receiving communion from a family priest in her hospice room.
Attorneys for the Schindlers hope to depose Michael to support their motion, but he has previously refused to show up at two scheduled depositions.
This isn't the first time the Schindlers have made an effort to remove Michael as Terri's guardian. Citing his failure to file required care plans on an annual basis, they previously asked Circuit Court Judge George Greer to void the guardianship rights he enjoys.
Should the courts grant their request to replace Michael with Terri's brother Bobby, the battle over Terri's life would be over.
If the courts allow her feeding tube to be removed, this will be one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in our times. A while back Ihappened to be watching Larry King and her parents with their attorney were his guests and they were telling what happened the last time her feeding tube was removed (before the FL legislature acted and Gov. Bush signed the bill) and they said they had a policeman in her room and they were not allowed to go near her bed or touch her in any way and a priest was not allowed to give her the last rites of the Catholic Church.
One has to cry for these parents. Isn't it amazing that Michael Schiavo is the only one on the planet who says she told him she wouldn't to live if she were incapacitated in any way. We won't even mention the money. How quickly we want to kill someone - by omission - once they become inconvenient or if there is money somewhere to be had.
Terri ping! Let's keep up the prayers, phone calls, letters, and e-mails!!!
If anyone would like to be added to or removed from my Terri ping list, please let me know here or by FReepmail!
Thanks for posting this, Nick!
The fact that the wicked judge in this case got 65 percent of the vote on Aug. 31, 2004, tells us more about the FL electorate than did the 2000 presidential returns.
It amazes me how people like that don't disappear.... It's amazing how much most peple will take from someone even when they can see there is NO justice in the courts or anywhere else....
Press Release
1/11/2005
Schindlers File Petition to Remove Michael Schiavo as Terri’s Guardian
Robert and Mary Schindler, parents of Theresa Schindler-Schiavo, yesterday filed an Amended Petition with the Pinellas County, Florida, Probate Court to remove Michael Schiavo as their daughter’s guardian.
The Schindlers allege that four significant conflicts of interest exist that prevent Mr. Schiavo from continuing to act as the guardian for their daughter, Terri. The four conflicts of interest are: (1) Personal; (2) Legal; (3) Financial, and (4) Religious.
(1) Michael Schiavo has a personal conflict of interest with Terri Schiavo because for the last 10 years while Terri has lived in assisted-living facilities, Michael has been living in adultery with another woman who is the mother of his two children. Because he refuses to initiate or grant a divorce to Terri, her life has become an impediment to legitimizing his current familial relationships.
(2) In all of the legal proceedings to date, Mr. Schiavo has failed to provide Terri with her own attorney to represent her due process rights in court. Under Florida law, disabled persons have many personal rights that cannot be delegated to or defended by a guardian.
(3) Mr. Schiavo has a financial conflict of interest with Terri in light of the substantial estate he could expect to inherit upon his wife’s death. Instead of using the money awarded to Terri in a civil suit in 1992 for her ongoing care and rehabilitation as it was earmarked, Michael has spent nearly $500,000 on attorney’s fees and costs in his attempts to cause Terri’s death by starvation and can expect to inherit the remaining assets upon her death.
(4) Finally, Mr. Schiavo, who is not a Catholic, has not respected or protected his wife’s life-long religious beliefs. Michael has denied Terri the opportunity to attend Catholic Mass or partake in communion, and has ignored the Papal Declaration denouncing the removal of a feeding tube as contrary to Catholic doctrine.
Lead Counsel to the Schindler family, Attorney David Gibbs noted that “any one of these four conflicts of interest should provide the court with a sufficient reason to terminate Mr. Schiavo’s guardianship and appoint a replacement guardian.”
Attorneys for the Schindlers expect to depose both Michael Schiavo and the live-in mother of his two children in the next few weeks. The court-ordered deposition of Mr. Schiavo that had been set for September 2004 was postponed because of the Florida hurricanes.
A copy of this latest motion is available at http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/PetitionToRemoveGuardian.pdf
I'm praying they'll be successful with this. It's not enough just to save her life. We must also end the abuse.
Prayer BUMP for Terri
bttt
The whole state voted on this chap? Or just the county?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1310171/posts?page=5
Over 4,000 lurkers served... FV
Our need to pray Is manifest Before His throne We find our rest
The power of prayer He is the Source The unseen world A mighty force
Ask, seek and knock The scriptures say The door will open If you pray
Freeper Eternal Vigilance
Guardian: One who is legally responsible for the care and management of the person or property of an incompetent or a minor.
Now, how do we define "care"?
-He does not wish to provide care, nor does he care.
May the Spirit of God descend mightily upon all those who advocate the murder of this mother's child ... may they be gripped with horrendous fear of the Lord ... may they see the terror that approaches should they fall into the hands of Almighty God. Stay the hands of those who would end her life, that they might have life eternal in the Blood of the Lamb. Thank You, Merciful Father, that You are not willing that any should perish.
Continue to sustain mother and father and sister and brother ... uphold them in Your strength, encourage them in Your Word, and comfort them in moments of despair. Grace attorneys and friends, advocates and volunteers, strangers and petitioners, with wisdom and persistence ... and victory. In the Name of Jesus, Amen ...
Please add me to your Terri ping list.
Thanks,
KJ
Praying for Terri
I will be certain to pray the rosary today for Terri.
I'll be praying the rosary along with you for Terri and her family.
Oh God please open the eyes of the person/people responsible for making this decision! Let the truth of what michael's doing flood their conciousness so that there's there's only one way to rule--Give this wonderful woman's care to her parents NOW!
All the evidence (his "inheritance" upon Terri's death, the woman of 10 years and 2 kids...etc) still makes me wonder WHY the courts wouldn't agree that Terri's parents should care for her??
Still praying,
~misty
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