ABC Action News report 03/24/05 - updated 1:05 p.m.
CLEARWATER - After the Supreme Court denied to hear their appeal, the last hope for the parents of Terri Schiavo rests with Gov. Jeb Bush and the Department of Children and Families. But it appears that DCF missed a critical window of opportunity to intervene this morning, and now it may be too late.
Wednesday afternoon, Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer issued a temporary restraining order, preventing DCF from removing Terri from the Pinellas Park hospice where her life-sustaining feeding tube has been disconnected.
This morning at 8, DCF filed an appeal to Greer's order. When they did so, an automatic stay of the order went into effect, meaning that they could intervene.
The attorney for Terri's husband Michael, who opposes any attempts to prolong Terri's life, said he suspected DCF wasn't aware of that stay until he had filed a motion for a new restraining order.
"We were seeing stalling tactics by the attorney for DCF and also the attorney for the parents," George Felos said outside of court. "Frankly, I don't believe that when they filed their notice of appeal they realized that that gave them an automatic stay. When we filed our motion to vacate the automatic stay, my guess is, and our information is, they realized that they had a short window of opportunity and they wanted to extend that as long as they could."
Greer did not allow that to happen. Three hours after DCF filed its appeal, he closed that window by approving Felos' motion for an order to prevent DCF from interfering in the case while he considers their request to take guardianship of Terri.
Terri Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state since a 1990 heart attack, court-appointed doctors have found. Michael claims his wife said she did not want to live in such a condition, and he has tried for seven years to disconnect her feeding tube.
Terri's parents disagree with Michael about her end-of-life wishes, as well as doctors' findings that she cannot recover. They have fought for years to keep Terri's feeding tube connected, but a series of losses in court has resulted only in buying time for their daughter.
Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied to hear their latest appeal, leaving Gov. Bush and the DCF motion as the parents' most significant last hope.
"At this point in time, it appears every legal option has been exhausted," observed right-to-life activist Rev. Pat Mahoney. "Governor Bush is now the only practical hope for Terri Schiavo."
The motion before Judge Greer involves a Jacksonville neurologist with ties to a Christian medical group who believes Terri Schiavo is not in a persistent vegetative state. Dr. William Cheshire has not examined Terri, but recently saw her in person for an hour.
"The doctor at the Mayo clinic, he said she is in pain, she is communicating. We have to stop this, and our hope and prayer is that we can get it stopped before it's too late," stated David Gibbs III, the family's attorney.
Based on Cheshire's opinion, DCF is seeking to take Terri Schiavo into custody and presumably reconnect her feeding tube, using a law intended to protect adults from abuse. The move has drawn criticism from several other doctors who have examined Terri, and George Felos blasted Gov. Bush for his involvement this morning.
"It saddens me greatly that we have to run to court to get court orders to protect Terri Schiavo from the abuse by the state of Florida. The conduct of the executive branch of the state of Florida has been reprehensible in this case," Felos continued.
In addition to the DCF appeal, Gibbs this morning filed an amended appeal with a federal court in Tampa before the same judge who denied his appeal earlier this week.
Meanwhile, friends of Terri Schiavo's family said the 41-year-old's condition continues to deteriorate. Her tube has been out since last Friday, and she is only expected to live one to two weeks without it.
"She is definitely showing signs of dehydration and starvation. It's only a matter of time that she will go into kidney failure," Brother Paul O'Donnell said.
http://www.tampabaylive.com/stories/2005/03/050324schiavo.shtml