Posted on 03/22/2005 4:15:18 AM PST by amdgmary
WASHINGTON—Despite warnings that Terri Schiavo is nearing death, a Florida federal judge has slowed the frenetic pace of events surrounding reinsertion of a tube to feed the woman whose plight has become a symbol of America's wrenching right-to-die debate.
U.S. District Judge James Whittemore yesterday reserved judgment in the case, which drew more than 260 American legislators and President George W. Bush back to Washington for an extraordinary Palm Sunday debate, leading to yesterday's court hearing.
Bush was awakened at 1:11 a.m. to sign a bill moving the case to federal court after it passed a two-thirds majority in the U.S. House of Representatives early yesterday and the Schiavo case consumed this country all day.
"Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together (Sunday) night to give Terri Schiavo's parents another opportunity to save their daughter's life," Bush said in Tucson, Ariz., in his first public comment on the case. "This is a complex case with serious issues, but in extraordinary circumstances like this, it is wise to always err on the side of life."
Lawyer David Gibbs, representing Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, said their daughter was being murdered.
"If this court does not act quickly, the entire litigation will be mooted because Terri will die," Gibbs said. "There is not much time."
Some Republicans were privately unhappy with Whittemore, who did not even hear the case until 3 p.m. yesterday even though Gibbs had the Tampa court remain open all night in anticipation of a speedy hearing.
But the lawyer representing 41-year-old Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo — who has been battling the parents for more than a decade — said the judge was showing the independency of the judiciary after the extraordinary congressional intervention.
"We are very hopeful the judge is going to recognize that there is no possibility Mr. and Mrs. Schindler can ever prevail in this case and we're hopeful he will deny the temporary injunction," said George Felos.
Schiavo's feeding tube was removed last Friday. It has been removed under court order twice before being reinserted, once under court appeal, once by legislation passed by Bush's brother, Governor Jeb Bush.
The woman is still breathing on her own, but doctors estimate she would survive no more than a week or two without nourishment and hydration.
The hostility between Schiavo's blood family and married family was on display again yesterday. Her father said she smiled when told she was going to be fed. But Michael Schiavo's brother Brian said anyone who thinks Terri Schiavo responds to anything "needs a mental health examination."
Whittemore's consideration shows the legal battle still looming for Schiavo's family despite the spirited endorsement in Congress.
Her husband's efforts to allow her to die were reviewed by 19 Florida judges in six courts since a 1990 heart attack brought on by an eating disorder robbed Schiavo's brain of oxygen, leaving her in "a permanent vegetative state."
Brain scans that were part of the Florida state court record showed the part of Schiavo's brain that controls thought and voluntary movement had atrophied. The brain stem, which controls involuntary movement such as breathing and blinking, remains intact.
Bush, along with the Republican senior leadership, have come down firmly for what they euphemistically call "the culture of life," generally acknowledged to be a moniker for the anti-abortion movement.
But polls yesterday showed that most Americans felt Congress overstepped its jurisdiction in diving into the middle of an intensely personal family fight which had been repeatedly decided by a state court.
The move by Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, was widely seen as a response to pressure from a religious right voter base that the party must count on for support in next year's mid-term election and the 2008 presidential race.
But there were questions as to whether Bush had changed position, based on a bill he signed in 1999 while Texas governor.
The Advance Directives Act in Texas allows for a patient's surrogate to make end-of-life decisions and spells out how to proceed if a hospital or other health provider disagrees with a decision to maintain or halt life-sustaining treatment.
The Texas law, first raised by a Florida Democrat debate in the House of Representatives Sunday night, would appear to allow Schiavo's husband to remove the feeding tube with the backing of his doctor.
The White House denied that was the intent of the Texas legislation and said Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was spreading "disinformation."
Doesn't look like HE'S missed too many meals.
HE's a pig.
He does bear a striking resemblence to that repugnant creep Clinton, when The Bent One was slamming down Big Macs and fries.
Terri ping! If anyone would like to be added to or removed from my Terri ping list, please let me know by FReepmail!
These reporters are absolute idiots.
Fwiw, I have come strongly to suspect that a primary motive in killing Terri is to retain control of, and quietly destroy, her medical records. That is, I suspect that the records would show criminal abuse of Terri and possibly the embezzlement of her treatment funds.
Somebody with the power should subpoena those records at once.
Foxnews has been biased but not some of the reporters. I read the Asman Report and My Word by John Gibson and they are on Terri's side. Linda Vester seems to be also. Of course, Hannity is.
Not one dime of Terri's money has gone to hospice. It was spent on a house with an oval pool, Mercedes, lawyers, etc. Michael is living pretty large with his concubine and their bastards, but he can't afford Terri's food bill, don't you know.
"Michael is living pretty large with his concubine and their bastards, but he can't afford Terri's food bill, don't you know"
Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel!
btw, I agree with you.
Yup, give that judge credit, he's sure showing that cowboy President and that rough rider Congress the independency of the Judiciary. Yes indeed, we know now who really rules in this country. And its telling the Prez and Congress to roll over and play dead.
If I told you how I really feel, I'd be banned from the Internet for life.
That's simply not true. The GAL had access to all of the records in the case, including the financial records of the trust fund, and specifically noted that there was never any hint that Terri's money had been misspent.
I'm not lying. Do a search. The money was spent on lawyers and Michael's lifestyle. It was not spent on hospice.
I'm not lying either. Here is a link to the report of the Guardian Ad Litem appointed under "Terri's Law" to advise Governor Bush. http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/WolfsonReport.pdf
The report specifically notes that there is absolutely no evidence of any financial wrongdoing, and that the financial records of the trust fund were completely open.
Please provide me with a link or links proving that Schiavo spent the malpractice settlement on himself.
I've already read Wolfson's report, thank you. I've also read the report that shows the breakdown of where the funds were actually spent, with the blessing of the court. If you really think Michael bought that house and cars on a burger flipper's pay, you need a course in economics. It would have been possible for him to find some other source to pay for his schooling to become an emergency room nurse after he bought the house on his burger flipper pay, and maybe he did. His lawyers have all been paid for out of Terri's rehabilitation fund, with the blessing of the court. I don't have the link to that report, and I'm too busy to look for it right now. Maybe someone who has it will see this post, and provide the link. Or, if you google around a bit, you can probably find it. Or you can just go on believing that burger flippers make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year so they live high on the hog, drive around in expensive cars, and hire lawyers out of their own pocket to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Frankly, I don't care what you believe. I've told you the truth. It's up to you to decide whether or not to believe it.
"I've already read Wolfson's report, thank you. I've also read the report that shows the breakdown of where the funds were actually spent, with the blessing of the court. If you really think Michael bought that house and cars on a burger flipper's pay"
I think if you had actually read Wolfson's report, you would know that out of the total malpractice award, $700,000 went into trust for Terri's care, and Schiavo received $300,000 of his own for loss of consortium. This was his own award, for his own damages, and he could spend it in any way he chose. Unfortunately, "truth" isn't the equivalent of "what I want to believe."
Look at that picture! Look at those fat cheeks! Hasn't missed a meal in months...
Yes, that's what I was suspecting. He won't get any money anymore and he is so pissed off about it that now is a matter of pride for him to win over her parents.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.