Dear Xxxxxx:
Thank you so much for contacting my office about the Terri Schiavo case. I appreciate this opportunity to respond.
As you well know, the Terri Schiavo case created a huge controversy across the nation and across the world. However, I believe that if the media had made the facts known in this case, there would have been no controversy and Ms. Schiavo would still be alive today. Terri Schiavo was a woman who was incapacitated due to resipiratory distress in 1990. She suffered brain damage, but the extent of that damage is still unknown, as she never underwent an MRI, PET scan or any other conclusive tests.
It must be remembered at the outset of this discussion that Terri Schiavo never made her wishes known regarding her potentially being in an incapacitated state by means of any legal instrument such as a living will. Her husband, Michael, won a million dollar lawsuit on Terri's behalf after she became incapacitated. The funds were to be used for her rehabilitation and care. In the years following Terri's disability, she was able to speak and was making some progress through physical therapy. However, in 1993, her husband refused access to any further therapy, and had her moved into hospice care. According to the nurse's affidavit, he would also wonder aloud what he would do with the money from the lawsuit once Terri was dead.
You see, when a person dies without a will, in most states that person's estate automatically goes to the surviving spouse. As Terri did not have a will, Florida state law provided that Michael Schiavo inherit Terri's estate when she died. It was only in 1997, seven years after Terri's incapactition, that Mr. Schiavo "remembered" that his wife had stated that she would have wanted to die if she were ever in an incapacitated state. By this time, Michael Schiavo was having an affair with another woman and now has two children with this woman.
The media often reported that Terri was on life-support; however, in truth she could breathe on her own and was not on any type of life support. Michael Schiavo and Terri's family fought for the past several years over whether Terri would be starved to death. A Florida state judge ruled that Michael Schiavo could spend the lawsuit money awarded to Terri for her rehabilitation to pay lawyers who were arguing for her death. Mr. Schiavo also refused to divorce Terri, even though her parents offered to take full responsibility for her. However, had he divorced Terri, he would not have been able to inherit any of her estate. Terri's feeding tube was removed on March 18, 2005. The judge in the case said that Terri would not be allowed to be fed by any other means, even though she was able to swallow on her own and take liquids without the fedding tube.
Because many in Congress believe that
all innocent human life is worthy of protection of the government, on March 21, 2005 Congress passed and the President signed into law S. 686, which allowed Terri's family to file suit in federal court to have her case heard as if for the first time. I believe that any incapacitated person who has been sentenced to death by starvation and dehydration should have the opportunity to be heard in federal court. That is why I am an original cosponser of H.R. 1332, the Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005. This legislation would allow family members who dispute the starvation of the incapacitated person to appeal the case to federal court, where it would be heard as if for the first time. Even murderers who are sentenced to death are so sentenced by a jury and have the opportunity to appeal to federal courts. Incapacitated individuals should also be granted appeal into the federal courts when there is dispute as to their wishes.
Terri's parents did file suit in federal court, but the case was not heard as if for the first time, as the law provided. Instead, the judges made a ruling based on the state court's ruling.
Terri Schiavo passed away after 13 days of starvation and dehydration. She had to be given morphine to stay calm during those 13 days , which clearly shows that this woman was not "brain dead." She could feel pain and was aware of what was happening to her. I believe that Terri's death was borne out of selfishness and a judiciary who overstepped its bounds and broke the law, as well as executive branch officials in the state of Florida who either failed to protect Terri or used force of arms to facilitate an innocent woman's starvation and dehydration.
I am hopeful that Terri's life will continue to have meaning as we debate issues as these in the future. I will continue to be vigilant in my work to enlighten the public as to the limited authority that judges have and how the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch must operate to preserve the right to life. I will continue to support the protection of innocent human life.
Thank you again for corresponding with my office and for giving me the opportunity to respond. Please do not hesitate to contact my office in the future.
Sincerely, John N. Hostettler Member of Congress
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