DCF Considers Removing Schiavo from Hospice by Force

Palm Beach Post ^ | 3.23.05 | Dara Kam

[gopwinsin04]

State officials say they are considering removing Terri Schiavo from hospice, by force if necessary, despite numerous court orders upholding the removal of the artificial nutrition tube that has kept her alive for 15 years.

Lucy Hadl, secretary of the Department of Children and Families, said Wednesday morning that her staff is relying on a state law that gives the department the authority to intervene on behalf of a vulnerable adult who is 'suffering from abuse or neglect that presents a risk of death or serious physical injury.'

Hadl said that the DCF would have to file a petition in order to remove Schiavo, but that 'it doesn't mean we'd have to have judicial approval in advance of taking the action if we believed it met the threshold for doing it.'

Hadl said that seven years of court rulings backing Schiavo's husband Michael, in his contention that Terri Schiavo did not wish to be kept alive artificially would not stop the DCF from taking action.

'We're not compelled to look at prior judicial proceedings,' Hadl said.

What we are compelled to look at is the presenting circumstances and any allegiations of abuse and neglect that we have recieved. So we have to deal with those and fufill out statutory responsibility.'

[Jimmyclyde]

Terri may have made a remark when she was 20. Hell, I have said it. But look at Terri today. Her body is not in the stages of dying. She is not lingering. She is not being forced to endure the effects of a terminal illness.

.Her body has been in the stages of dying for 15 years now.

Terri's wish was for her not to live life like a vegetable.

[sobieski]

Where was her wish to be dehyrated? Did she ask to be starved?

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Thank you :-)

[Wallace T.]

Whatever name the state police force goes by, Highway Patrol or otherwise, these are, no doubt, certified LEOs under the command of Governor Bush; they are not meter maids with radar guns and 9 mm sidearms. They are the resource he must use to rescue Terri Schiavo from the death chamber of a hospice where she is staying. As far as it goes, I am sure that if a Florida highway patrolman knew of a crime other than a traffic violation that was taking place, he could arrest the alleged perpetrators.

Governor Bush must do the right thing by ending this judicially sanctioned execution. Her life will be saved, and judicial tyranny thwarted.

[Jimmyclyde]

Sorry, she never asked to be starved or dehydrated.

Sorry but she did.

That is how it is done.

[sobieski]

How do you know her wishes? What exactly did she say?

[rodguy911]

Keep tokin' on that crack pipe it will make your fingers fly. When is the last time Terri told you her wishes or does crack make you clairvoyant.

[Dog Gone]

I'm worried about the future.

[sobieski]

Where? When? You think 15 years ago she told PoS Schiavo "hey, I'd rather linger w/o water or food for two weeks than this". When did she say "Starve me" When, oh great neurologist/mind reader/lawyer.

[Dante3]

But it is NOT true, Terri never said she would want to be starved and dehydrated to death. She left no living will. In fact, Michael sued for a large amount of money for her rehabilitation, has stated that he doesn't know what she would have wanted. I sure would not want to be starved to death - it is a barbaric way to die.

We have here Judge Greer who is in a frenzy to have Terri die for whatever reason. And he has overstepped his authority, dismissed laws at his whim, and denied Terri due process.

[Rain-maker]

It is not want she wanted, it is based on heresay from a fornicating bastard producing husband... who only changed his mind after winning a malpractice suit.

Here fill up your headspace with some useful info and pray you don't go through what you are condoning:

---

Death by Dehydration Symptoms Regarded as "Cruel and Violent" in 1986 Brophy Case

March 23, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In 1986, a 45-year-old Massachusetts fire fighter named Paul Brophy was starved and dehydrated to death at the request of his family. Like Terri Schiavo, he had also been diagnosed as being in a "persistent vegetative state," by his doctors after suffering an aneurysm. Patricia Brophy, his wife and court appointed guardian, seven brothers and sisters, and five adult children all argued that Mr. Brophy would not have wanted continued treatment in his condition.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court accepted the judgment of the family, despite the fact that Paul Brophy had never expressed his medical treatment preferences in writing, and never explicitly referred to artificial feeding in his conversations.

When Michael Schiavo appeared on the television show, Larry King Live, he said that dying by dehydration was 'dying with dignity.' He told King, "It's painless, and probably the most natural way to die. It is a very easy way to die, probably the second best way to die, the first being an aneurysm."

Many commentators have included the term 'death with dignity' in describing Terri's impending death. Numerous newspaper editorials and letters to the editor have included references to 'just letting her go.' The medical effects, however, of a death by dehydration might give most of these people pause. Paul Brophy's attending physician described death by dehydration as cruel and violent.

One judge in the Brophy case dissented from the decision and included in his statements a portion of the evidence given by medical experts describing the effects of dehydration.

The removal of a nutrition and hydration tube, wrote Judge Lynch of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, would likely create some or all of the following effects before death.

The mouth would dry out and become caked or coated with thick material.
The lips would become parched and cracked.
The tongue would swell, and might crack.
The eyes would recede back into their orbits and the cheeks would become hollow.
The lining of the nose might crack and cause the nose to bleed.
The skin would hang loose on the body and become dry and scaly.
The urine would become highly concentrated, leading to burning of the bladder.
The lining of the stomach would dry out and the sufferer would experience dry heaves and vomiting.
The body temperature would become very high.
The brain cells would dry out, causing convulsions.
The respiratory tract would dry out, and the thick secretions that would result could plug the lungs and cause death.
At some point within five days to three weeks the major organs, including the lungs, heart, and brain, would give out and the patient would die.

[blueriver]

Where did you get the "countless" doctors - oh yes that is what they are saying on CNN. 5 doctors were supposed to look at Terri, 2 were handpicked by hubby, 1 was hand picked by Greer , 2 from the Shindlers. The 3 from hubby and Greer side said she was pvs. The other 2 said the exact opposite. The hubby Doctors and the Greer Doctors are the "countless" doctors you are speaking of and guess who Greer listened to? Get your facts strait.

[Wallace T.]

Says who, other than the adulterer Michael Schiavo, who, according to the testimony of three nurses assigned to help Terri Schiavo, refused to allow even rudimentary care of his spouse?

[sobieski]

come on, where and in what circumstances did Terri Schiavo say "I PRFER TO BE DEHYDRATED OVER WEEKS" or "PLEASE DO NOT FEED ME".

[Jimmyclyde]

So you support your argument with an article from a liberal rag like The Miami Herald. Gee, what's next - The New York Times, The Nation, salon.com, Chairman Mao's Red Book?

Your tin foil hat is a little to tight.

Stop labeling things that you don't agree with "liberal rags", trolls etc....

Try being a big boy for once.

Your friend,

Mr. Sheep

[sobieski]

Where did she say, Oh Genius Doctor, "Yes, Michael, I'd much rather be dehydrated, and not be given even a sponge of water over my lips".

[Jimmyclyde]

Says who, other than the adulterer Michael Schiavo, who, according to the testimony of three nurses assigned to help Terri Schiavo, refused to allow even rudimentary care of his spouse?

The adulterer Michael Schiavo? Hummm.

How about the bulimic Terri Schiavo?

[GopherIt]

You don't know what you're talking about. Have you seen her CAT?

All: don't waste any more effort talking to this guy, unless you like playing with yo-yos.

[nmh]

IF they ever decide to do this, they'll probably be rescuing a corpse.

It's ridiculous.

The more they dillydally, the more DAMAGE they do to Terri, let alone the suffering. At some point SOON, if they don't get her then they are GUILTY of abuse as far as I am concerned.

[GoreNoMore]

Discuss that with Nora, the RN that was relieve of her job from Hospice this week. Nora said that Terri, laughed at her jokes and recognized when she came into the room.

This is just sick, a family who wants her, a husband doesn't. I'm just so glad that Sarah Scantlin had a chance.