Posted on Mon, Mar. 14, 2005
Fla. lawmakers weigh feeding tube bill
SAMANTHA GROSS
Associated Press
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/nation/11135525.htm
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Lawmakers proposed a measure Monday aimed at preventing Friday's scheduled removal of a feeding tube that is keeping brained-damaged Terri Schiavo alive.
The legislation, which could come up for final votes in the Florida House and Senate as early as Thursday, would block doctors from denying food or water to someone in a persistent vegetative state with the intention of causing death.
Schiavo, 41, has been at the center of a bitter court battle between her parents and her husband, who wants to remove her feeding tube so she can die. A judge has cleared the way for the tube to be removed Friday.
The measure would make exceptions for living wills and some other advance directives.
Civil liberties advocates said they still objected.
"They're proposing to violate the rights of a smaller category of people - I don't think we should be exultant over that," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
Court-appointed doctors say Schiavo cannot regain consciousness. Bob and Mary Schindler, who believe their daughter is aware and can recover, have fought her husband in court for nearly seven years. Michael Schiavo contends his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially.
This is the second time the Legislature has considered measures aimed specifically at keeping Schiavo alive. In 2003, lawmakers passed a bill that allowed Gov. Jeb Bush to order doctors to restore Schiavo's feeding tube. That law was thrown out by the Florida Supreme Court.
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Barricades around the hospice where Terri Schiavo lives
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=12509
Victims Rights Group Wants Gov. Bush to Stop Terri Schiavo Starvation
http://www.lifenews.com/bio778.html
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 14, 2005
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) -- A victims rights group that has come to the aid of Terri Schiavo and her parents is calling on Florida Governor Jeb Bush to issue an executive order to preventing doctors from removing the disabled woman's feeding tube on Friday.
Ted Hires, president and founder of the Justice Coalition, a Florida-based group, told a crowd of more than 300 people holding a rally over the weekend outside the Florida state legislature.
Hires says he wants Governor Bush to send the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, where Terri lives, to prevent her starvation, scheduled for Friday.
However, the last time Governor Bush tried to intervene, a Florida Supreme Court called it an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.
The Justice Coalition also wants Governor Bush to appoint a special prosecutor and the FDLE to look into the cause of Terri's collapse in 1990.
A bone scan conducted on Terri a year after her collapse showed evidence of physical trauma and possible abuse -- leading some to speculate that Terri may have collapsed because she was abused by her now-estranged husband Michael.
“After a thorough review of Terri Shiavo’s case and seeking the opinion of legal counsel, I have concluded that Terri Schiavo is most certainly a victim," Hires said.
"There is a very real possibility that an act of domestic violence caused Terri's present condition. The public has a right to know the truth regarding these criminal allegations and until they are investigated, we will not know the answers," Hires added.
Former Schindler attorney, Pat Anderson, had requested an investigation two years ago, but representatives of the Florida Department of Children and Families told her that supervisors in the region looked into the case by chose not to get involved.
Hires said he didn't believe that answer.
Hires reminded the crowd of Terri supporters that Michael prohibited Terri from receiving most medical care and any rehabilitative treatment after he and Terri won a medical malpractice award.
Michael had initially promised to use the money on medical care and treatment, but has instead used it to pay legal bills to move ahead with Terri's starvation.