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Posted on Mon, Mar. 14, 2005

Fla. legislators make their move in battle over feeding tube removal

BY GARY FINEOUT

Knight Ridder Newspapers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - (KRT) - With just days left before Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is to be removed, the Florida Legislature moved once again to intervene in the case, rushing ahead Monday with a bill to keep the brain-damaged woman alive.

A vote on "Terri's Law II," put together by top Republicans in the House and Senate, is expected later this week and could go to Gov. Jeb Bush for his signature Friday, the same day the tube is scheduled to be removed.

In late 2003, after Schiavo's feeding tube had been taken out when a court order permitted it, Bush and lawmakers intervened in the long-running battle over her fate, passing a law that allowed the governor to have the tube reinserted. But that effort was ultimately struck down by the state Supreme Court, which ruled the law unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the governor's appeal.

In an effort to get around another legal challenge, legislators have crafted a much broader bill. It says no patients in a persistent vegetative state - Schiavo's diagnosis - can have their feeding tubes removed unless they meet one of several conditions, including:

(ASTERISK)They have left written instructions approving the denial of food and water.

(ASTERISK)There is "clear and convincing evidence" that before becoming incapacitated, they "expressly" directed the withholding of food and water.

(ASTERISK)Death is imminent and a feeding tube would not help.

"We as a state would have this position for this situation for these people," said Sen. Dan Webster, a Republican and one of the bill's sponsors. "The state would err on the side of life."

And to make sure the new law would affect Schiavo, a bill provision states it would apply to all Floridians in a persistent vegetative state who are still alive.

"Any life that exists and is presently here today deserves the benefit of this legislation," said Rep. David Simmons, a Republican and chairman of the House committee that approved the bill on Monday. "I don't care who it is."

Schiavo, who collapsed 15 years ago and suffered extensive brain damage because her heart stopped beating, can breathe on her own but requires a feeding tube for food and water. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, who says his wife once told him she would never want to be kept alive artificially, has sought for the past seven years to have the tube removed, but his efforts have been challenged by Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.

STRONG FEELINGS

The Schiavo case galvanized religious and conservative organizations, as well as those who represent the disabled. Those groups say the state should not allow guardians of an incapacitated person to deny food and water to someone who can't speak for herself. Many of these people were on hand Monday as the House Judiciary Committee voted 9-2 to approve "Terri's Law II."

But there were others who said this latest bill usurps family rights and cedes very personal end-of-life decisions to the government. They warned the bill could lead to tragic situations in which families are forced to keep a brain-dead loved one alive.

FEAR OF THE STATE

"I don't think I want the government in my bedroom and I certainly don't want them on my deathbed," said Jean Harden, a Florida resident who initially planned to speak in opposition to the bill but decided against it when she realized the committee planned to vote in favor of it.

While some Republicans said they may revise this provision, Rep. Dennis Baxley, a Republican and sponsor of the bill, retorted "what is snowballing is a culture of death."

Two Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee voted against Baxley's bill Monday: Rep. Dan Gelber and Rep. Curtis Richardson.

Gelber said he fears the bill would deny the rights of parents to decide what to do with incapacitated children, since it would be hard to decide if a child made an informed decision on end-of-life issues.

"I think we have to resist the impulse to insert our judgment into what is the most intimate of family decisions," Gelber said. "We can't simply make a law that is geared toward one scenario."

Baxley's bill will be heard by its last committee Tuesday and is likely to be passed by the House by the end of the week. Webster's identical measure is expected to clear its Senate committee today - positioning the two chambers to send the legislation to Bush by Friday.

Several last-minute court appeals are pending.

Lawyers with the Department of Children & Families on Monday appealed a judge's decision that keeps them from delaying the case.

The Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland is also considering appeals from Schiavo's parents.

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