posted on March 19, 2005 09:26:22 AM
This woman should have been allowed to die years ago. People quote all of these statements regarding the possibilities of recovery but the amazing thing is that the only doctors who have said anything positive have been the ones paid for by those trying to keep her alive. Every court appointed expert has said this woman is never going to recover.
The most disgusting part right now though is congress who is trying to put forth an order to reinsert the feeding tube because they want to supena her for testimony? Only in the US does a government believe that it can help clarify an issue with the testimony of a non verbal individual in a vegatative state.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 19, 2005 10:28:31 AM
Updated: 12:36 PM EST
Florida Woman Spending First Full Day Off Feeding Tube
Schiavo's Husband Attacks Intervention by Congressional Leaders
By Robert Green, Reuters
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (March 19) - As a severely brain-damaged Florida woman lay dying on Saturday, the husband who has long fought for her right to die assailed Republican congressmen for their last-minute attempts to keep her alive.
Michael Schiavo spoke out against the maneuvers in Washington a day after doctors followed a court order and removed the feeding tube that has kept Terri Schiavo alive for the last 15 years.
"They should be ashamed of themselves," he said in an interview with the CBS "Early Show." "Leave my wife alone. Leave me alone."
Intervening in the highly public right-to-die case, Republican congressional leaders sought in recent days to block the court order and keep the tube in place by subpoenaing Terri Schiavo to appear before hearings and committees later in the month. The move would have granted her protection as a witness in a congressional inquiry.
But the Florida state judge in the case, Circuit Judge George Greer, rebuffed the effort and said his order for the tube to be removed on Friday should go ahead.
Schiavo has been fed through a stomach tube since a heart attack starved her brain of oxygen in 1990, leaving her in what the courts declared was a permanent vegetative state. The dispute between Terri Schiavo's husband and her parents, who believe she should be kept alive, galvanized activists on all sides of the right-to-die issue.
AP
Michael Schiavo was at his wife's side as the feeding tube was removed.
Lying at the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, Terri Schiavo, 41, was expected to survive for up to two weeks without the feeding tube.
"I have a sense of relief for Terri," Michael Schiavo told CNN. "I feel that this is her time. This is going to work for Terri. She's going to finally be at peace."
LAST-MINUTE APPEALS
Congressional lawyers appealed Greer's decision before the Florida Supreme Court, which rejected it. Later Friday, the House Committee on Government Reform made an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to have Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted, but that application was denied.
House and Senate Republican leaders vowed to work through the weekend on new legislation to keep Schiavo alive.
House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay called removing the feeding tube "an act of barbarism" and said it was a moral obligation to protect her from the "fate premeditated by the Florida courts."
But Michael Schiavo, who said he spent Friday with his wife and planned to go back to her side on Saturday, said members of Congress were "stepping into my personal life and they're getting in the middle of something they know nothing about."
"It's sad what this government's doing. And if they do it to me they'll do it to everybody in this country. If they don't like the decisions, they're going to step right in."
Michael Schiavo, who is his wife's legal guardian, has long argued she would not want to live in her condition, and he won court permission to remove the feeding tube. That order has been sustained against numerous appeals.
AOL POLL RESULTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE BELOW
Was removing Schiavo's feeding tube the right thing to do?
Yes 55%
No 45%
Total Votes: 56,312
posted on March 19, 2005 10:29:59 AM
I just heard Teri's brother say that she is alert and tries in her way to communicate when her family is present...he goes on to say that more doctors have concluded that Teri can improve with therepy...than those who say she can't.
So..two completely different stories about this poor woman's prognosis...
posted on March 19, 2005 10:37:34 AM
maggie - The only testing that took place was in the first three years after her heart attack. And there are doctors that argued that WITH therapy her condition could improve. But since, over the years, her husband wouldn't approve of those therapies...we still don't know.
The only thing she NEEDS medically, to stay alive is to be fed through her tube. Many people live ONLY because of receiving their nutritition from a feeding tube. Other than that she requires nothing else to survive.
If you read statements from her family they say they know the reason her husband won't allow her to be seen in public...photographed...etc. [which hasn't happened for a number of years - the tape we see repeated on TV is an old one]...is that others would also believe she as enough 'life' in her to warrant leaving the feeding tube there.
We all know that different doctors can draw different conclusions...as to whether one will improve or not....but since NO MRI's nor PET scans were done....it's not on what any brain scan has shown...but rather on their 'educated' differing opinions.
A personal experience in my family was a stroke victim. Couldn't talk....couldn't swollow...couldn't move limbs..etc. Doctors prognosis wasn't good for improvement. Now you'd never be able to tell they'd even had a stroke. Doctors aren't Gods...and they've been wrong many times when people have gone into comas too. Terri is NOT in a coma...and according to her family, friends and THE MEDICAL STAFF that cares for her....she DOES respond to them.
Who is anyone to say someone elses quality is not to THEIR own liking? So...go ahead..starve her to death - rather than have her case reviewed by someone other that this judge who appears to ONLY care what the husband says.
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crowfarm - No matter how much you try to make this a 'bash bush' subject. It's not. It's not a republican vs democrat issue either. This case has been being fought by her parents for all but 2 - 3 years of the whole time she's been injured.
This is about an individuals right to life and whether others can give them a 'death' sentence like they've done to Terri or not. This sets a precident, imo. of the future 'calls' that will be made on who should be ALLOWED to live and who shouldn't....because of the difference in the severity of their illness.
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posted on March 19, 2005 10:38:18 AM
Maggie - personally I tend to believe the ones that were not paid by an involved party. Coutrt appointed docs have diagnosed her to be in a persistant vegatative state with no hope of recovery.
The only ones that have said this is all reversable are ones paid for by the parents.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 19, 2005 10:48:51 AMUh, no. YOU do. Where do you think Medicaid get the money? From you and from me and everyone else in this country whose working.
No kidding, cheryl? So...since YOU don't judge her life is worth spending the Medicaid money on....you think we should set a precident for making the decision on just whose life is 'worthy', and whose isn't of funding to stay alive? I sure don't.
Terri doesn't medically require being kept in a
medical facility. IF her parents/family had guardianship she could live with them. She ONLY needs to be fed through a tube. And maybe WITH physical therapy she can be taught to swallow again....like my family member was able to do.
For people who shout about people on Medicaid or welfare, you sure do change your tune at will.
Show me just where you think I changed any of my tune. I was pointing out just how her bills were being paid when her 'poor' husband was being defended by crowfarm [FALSELY] for having so many bills he'd have to file for bankruptcy. There IS a difference. Since there was still money's left THAT WERE MEANT TO BE SPENT ON HER CARE....the husband shouldn't have placed her in a hospice setting to begin with. His excuse for doing so? He was SAVING the money to pay for future legal bills....to starve her to death.
posted on March 19, 2005 10:51:33 AM
I'm sorry, but I have a bad feeling about this...and I keep reading things like, she (Terri) wakens in the morning, sleeps at night, smiles and cries with her family and only needs aid with eating... she is not dieing of a terminal disease, or is she suffering...so why pull the plug? If her parents are willing to care for her, why not allow them... I don't want government intervention... I am only thinking of Terri..she isn't in a coma, how are we sure there isn't someone trapped inside without any way to let us know....it is all just to horrible..
Let's put a face on this person..
posted on March 19, 2005 10:56:29 AM
fenix - Every court appointed expert has said this woman is never going to recover.
It is my understanding that imediately following her heart attack...and when the fighting over her care began between the husband and her family...the first court order was for two doctors from each side [=4] plus one court appointed doctor. For a total of 5. At that time...and again, without MRI's nor PET scans....3 doctors said they didn't believe she'd improve...and two felt she could.
Yes, since then the family has been trying to save her life...against the wishes of her husband...so they have had other doctors give their opinions on the matter.
But why in the world wouldn't the husband let the therapy begin so we could see whether or not it helped her at all? Can't just say...we'll it's our opinion it won't work...so no need to even try.
posted on March 19, 2005 11:00:08 AM
And in my opinion a vegetable doesn't smile...laugh...cry...follow objects around the room....etc.
All the different doctors that have 'read/heard' about the case give their opinions without ever having seen her too. The judge...who has removed her feeding tube hasn't NEVER seen her either.
If there's any doubt at all....AND THERE IS....the reasonable way would be in favor of the patient....not against her.
Read some of what her health care workers have said about both how she responds and the actions [very unloving] of the husband that they've observed.
posted on March 19, 2005 11:21:21 AM
linduh the misinformed says, ""crowfarm - No matter how much you try to make this a 'bash bush' subject. It's not. It's not a republican vs democrat issue either.""
OK, then why are they discussing this in congress ?
MORE government interference! And the loudest whiners are Republicans who are always (or so they SAY) against MORE government. Just trying to show again what liars they are and it's sooooooo easy!
Jebby interferrd and made it political. Then one of the most unethical creeps in politics, Delay, starts spouting off about morals!
Then bush says he CARES about life !!!
Sorry, you can't read the posts on how casual he was about putting people to death. You, AS USUAL, only see what your tunnel vision allows.....no surprise there.
PUHlease don't try to come across as caring for this woman........you have never shown any sign of caring about anyone but yourself.
posted on March 19, 2005 11:24:57 AM
Sorry we disagree on this, Maggie,""and I keep reading things like, she (Terri) wakens in the morning, sleeps at night, smiles and cries with her family and only needs aid with eating... she is not dieing of a terminal disease, or is she suffering..."
If that's her life.....she's suffering.....think about it...if the only thing you had to look forward to everyday was THAT ???
On the eve of the removal of Terri Schiavo's life-sustaining feeding tube, while Florida legislators and members of the U.S. Congress scrambled to pass measures to intervene, President Bush weighed in on the matter.
In a statement posted to the White House website yesterday Bush sided with the parents of the severely brain-damaged Florida woman who have waged an exhaustive court battle to block the efforts of her husband, Michael Schiavo, who seeks her death.
"The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues," Bush stated. "Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern. It should be our goal as a nation to build a culture of life, where all Americans are valued, welcomed, and protected - and that culture of life must extend to individuals with disabilities."
The "serious questions and substantial doubts" Bush refers to are the fact that Terri has no written directive as to whether she would wish to have her feeding tube removed.
Michael Schiavo won a court order in 2000 to have it removed, claiming she was in a "persistent vegetative state" and had declared orally she wouldn't want to live in such a condition.
The Schindlers, however, insist their daughter, while severely handicapped, is responsive and demonstrates a strong will to live. They have sworn affidavits from nearly a dozen medical experts disputing the three court-appointed physicians' conclusions Terri remains in a "persistent vegetative state."
Terri Schiavo is not hooked up to any machines, but she requires the small feeding tube for nourishment and hydration.
The 42-year-old collapsed under disputed circumstances Feb. 25, 1990, suffering severe brain damage when her heart stopped momentarily. Michael Schiavo attributes the collapse to an eating disorder, but the Schindlers strongly suspect he tried to strangle her.
The Schindlers have pleaded with Michael Schiavo to divorce their daughter, pointing out he has been living with another woman for 10 years, with whom he has two children.
The elder Bush's statement echoed comments made by his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
"It breaks my heart we're in a situation where it's possible this woman could starve to death," the governor said yesterday.
In 2003, "Terri's Law" enabled Gov. Bush to intervene the second time Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. The law later was ruled unconstitutional, however, by the Florida Supreme Court, which said it violated the legal separation between the three branches of government.
Court documents and other information are posted on the Schindler family website.
Links to all "Terri briefs" regarding the governor's defense of Terri's Law are on the Florida Supreme Court website, public information.
--------------
A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones that need the advice."
- Bill Cosby
posted on March 19, 2005 11:43:05 AM
""" Bush stated. "Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern""
What a two faced liar......where was his concern for life when he was governor of the Texas Slaughter House????????
AND, How old are this woman's parents and how long will they be around and who will take care of her when they're not there?
posted on March 19, 2005 11:57:34 AM
Oh so now....if one doesn't have extended family beyond parents, who may be in their 50's, then go ahead and starve them to death huh? I don't think so. But in her case she has other family that are also not wanting to see her starved to death. Again why don't you READ about her case and find out all of her family that wants to see her live.
posted on March 19, 2005 12:09:41 PMWhat a two faced liar......where was his concern for life when he was governor of the Texas Slaughter House????????
Apparently you don't know the difference between Teri and CONVECTED MURDERERS ON DEATH ROW
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I wouldn't want to live? in the condition she is in. My opinion is one of personal experience. One of my sister is in a rest home, living in a vegetative state for the past 20 years. She was born with Cerebral Palsy, no way would I live like that.
---------------
Schiavo's Money Is Nearly Gone
Brain-damaged woman's malpractice-suit damages were used for her long-term care.
By MITCH STACY
The Associated Press
PINELLAS PARK -- As the battle over Terri Schiavo's life rages in the courtrooms and halls of government, the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman lies in a hospice bed, dependent on Florida taxpayers and charity for her care.
The $1 million received by her and her husband, Michael, in a medical malpractice case in 1993 is nearly gone, lawyers say, spent on her care and the husband's legal quest over the past seven years to stop her artificial feedings so she can die.
Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have fought their sonin-law every step of the way in a bitter saga that could be entering its final chapter as the courtordered removal of the feeding tube approaches Friday. Wednesday, a Florida appeals court rejected another request from the Schindlers to block the removal.
In a case where both sides have accused the other of being motivated by money, hardly anybody is getting paid anymore.
Michael Schiavo's lawyers say they have not been paid in more than two years. David Gibbs III, whose Clearwater law firm represents the Schindler family, said he is working for free, although a national anti-abortion group, Life Legal Defense Foundation, has paid some of his expenses and previously paid a Schindler lawyer.
"We committed to help the Schindlers as a law firm whether they could pay or not," said Gibbs, whose rapid-fire filing of court motions trying to save Terri Schiavo's life has kept judges busy for weeks.
Just $40,000 to $50,000 remains of the money won in the malpractice case after Terri Schiavo's heart stopped in 1990 and left her in what courtappointed doctors say is a persistent vegetative state. Deborah Bushnell, one of Michael Schiavo's lawyers, said the money is being saved for litigation expenses.
The money is held in a trust fund, and a judge approves all expenditures, from lawyers' fees to the woman's haircuts.
Terri Schiavo lives at the Woodside Hospice -- part of a non-profit hospice network in Florida -- among terminally ill patients. She is permitted to stay there for free because she is considered indigent, Bushnell said. Patients who can afford it pay roughly $80,000 a year to stay at the hospice.
Citing privacy laws, hospice spokeswoman Louise Cleary would not answer questions about the Schiavo case but said, "We never turn anyone away. If they need our care, we take care of them."
Terri Schiavo's medical costs -- which Bushnell says are relatively small -- have been paid for the past couple of years by the state's Medicaid program for needy people.
"She's a healthy female," Bushnell said. "The problem is that she doesn't have a cerebral cortex."
Bushnell said she has been paid $80,309 since getting involved in the case in 1993. George Felos, who was hired by Michael Schiavo about the time he began the effort to remove his wife's feeding tube in 1998, has been paid $358,434, according to Bushnell.
Neither lawyer has petitioned the court for payment since 2002.
Although she did not have a specific accounting, Bushnell said more than half of the $700,000 earmarked from the malpractice award for Terri Schiavo's care was spent for that purpose, with the rest going toward litigation. Michael Schiavo got about $300,000 in the malpractice case, but Bushnell said she does not know how it was spent or if there is any left.
Michael Schiavo did not respond to a request for an interview through his lawyer.
He had sued medical professionals who he said failed to recognize symptoms that caused his wife's heart to stop beating. Doctors said the heart failure was brought on by a chemical imbalance thought to be caused by an eating disorder.
Both sides have charged that the fight over Terri Schiavo's life is rooted in money.
The Schindlers accused Michael Schiavo of wanting Terri dead so he could inherit what was left from the malpractice award. Michael Schiavo has said the rift between him and his in-laws began because he refused to share with them part of the money he received in the malpractice case in 1993.
A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones that need the advice."
- Bill Cosby
posted on March 19, 2005 12:12:27 PM
That's all right Crow, we can disagree, but I still respect your opinion.
I think my "mother bear" instincts have kicked in, in this instance. Perhaps this has clouded my judgment, but I am reacting on instinct.
I tried to imagine one of my children in this situation and even though I know by law the husband has the right to make the decision for Teri.. I'm afraid, if she were my daughter, I would never accept someone else's decision to end her life...I gave birth to her, if there has to be the decision to stop that life, I think no matter how difficult the decision would be... the Mother should be the one to make it..
As you say.. Terri has a terrible existence right now but her Family still holds on to hope that with treatment she can improve.. I say please give her parents the chance to try to help her.
posted on March 19, 2005 12:28:50 PM
::The judge...who has removed her feeding tube hasn't NEVER seen her either.::
Nor is he supposed to. The judge is supposed to base his ruling on a matter of law and expert testimony not on personal opinion. He is not a medical expert. Are you going to hold those that want to reinsert the feeding tube to the same level of expectations? If the judge has no right stating that the tube should be removed without seeing her, do political leaders have the same right to say it shouldn't when they have not seen her either?
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 19, 2005 01:32:11 PM
Maybe crowfarm the Republicans believe in the right to life. They also believe that a fetus has a right to life and not be aborted. There is one certain senator that comes to mind that I doubt believes someone has a right to life as he did nothing to save her.
[i]Michael Schiavo was at his wife's side as the feeding tube was removed[i/] Then he went home to his illigimate family.
Another senario. After the death of Terri I am sure there will be a mini series. Is the husband waiting for that so he can get the money from it? I have two many questions that have gone unanswered with this young women.
I for one would like to know why he didn't divorce her. I honestly doubt that he loves her he just has pitty for her. If he loved her why does he have a girlfriend and children. Something isn't right. When he spoke on TV he had no expression on his face. He seemed cold but that is only my opinion.
posted on March 19, 2005 01:42:45 PM
bear blurts, ""Apparently you don't know the difference between Teri and CONVECTED MURDERERS ON DEATH ROW""
And maybe YOU don't know how many people have been put to death and later found innocent! Bush was never concerned enough to even READ their pleas and/or files. He even made fun of one woman who was on death row!
posted on March 19, 2005 01:55:59 PM
fenix - My biggest problem with this judge is that he appointed her husband as guardian...when, just like in the Scott Peterson case, there was suspicion of wrong doing on his part. [that he may have strangled her]. To me that 'muddies' the whole thing to begin with.
I would have felt a lot more comfortable with a unbiased - nothing to gain - third party stepping in to make medical decisions for Terri. I have seen several families in my lifetime that all decided together to allow their loved one to die. Two in my personal life...the others while working at an HMO. But their circumstances were not one where the husbands 'devotion' was ever an issue. I never saw one where the family member refused the recommended therapy for the patient.
That's the biggest problem I have with this.
With this judge...my problem is that everytime an outside 'body' of people wanted to look into the parents claims...the judge rejected them. Why? I question. Why not let the appropriate group in to [say] verify if THEY think she was abused at one point or not. This judge has blocked most all of the families petitions to the court. To me it's like he's in a power struggle with the girls family...for whatever reason...and cannot act/decide in an unbiased manner.
As far as the politicans stepping in....this is not uncommon at all. Whenever a citizen is having a problem they have tried to solve via the regular methods...in frustration they ask their representative(s) to intervien for them. My BIL did the same thing when disability was denying a permanent disablity claim he felt entitled to.
The situation of life and death is much more important than that. This case has just receieved unusual 'media' because of this odd situation...where a husband actually won't get help for an injured spouse...and wants her to die and the parents want her to live and have a CHANCE to see if therapy will help. The matter of the 'second' wife/girlfriend/children also brings more into this issue....increasing media hype about his 'true intentions'.
But imo, something else is going on here that we're not aware of...between this one judge and the husband. And the judge hasn't held the husband to all legal responsibilities he is required to do by law like filing each year for her expected care for the next year. By law, he's required to do so.
I just can't believe that when there is no proof, either way as to Terri's wishes...that a judge would rule that any person has the 'right' to decide the death of a spouse - especially when they committed to another person soon after their wife's problematic heart attack. It's not like he'd have to take responsibility for her....her family is willing to.
I'd be interested in understanding why you object to her family taking care of her rather than giving her a death warrant, so her husband could just move on with his life.
posted on March 19, 2005 02:51:09 PM
Linda - her condition is the result of heart attack believed to be related to an eating disorder - not strangulation. Where in the world did that one come from? As her husband there would have to be evidence of wrong doing( which obviously there never was or every media outlet in town would be talking of little else) before he would be removed as guardian.
As for proof of her wishes...15 years ago, living wills were not a big deal. Even today although most share their wishes with family members, few put it in writing. It's like wills. People want to avoid that acknowledgement of mortality - especially 26 year olds as Teri was at the time.
Regarding the denial of rehabilitation - terri went thru rehabilitiation efforts for 8 years before it was stopped. There was no progress and no reason to believe there would be.
Let the woman die.
Why do I object to the family keeping this going... because no one would choose to live in that condition d in my opinion this is a matter of people that are putting their own desires in front of another persons. They don't want to lose their daughter so they will do anyhing to avoid dealing with the reality that they daughter that they loved is lost to them.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on March 19, 2005 03:18:21 PM
fenix - I have never heard nor read anything about therapy for 8 years. What most all the past reports say is that the therapy stopped completely once the court awarded her money for her treatments...and him money for his lost of his 'rights as a husband' That's what got this whole fight going between him and her parents...because he had promised the court, during the trial, that we would be sure and see that Terri received the best care...and then....immediately withdrew all help intended to improve her life.
And on the other that you question...it's on many sites...but here it is on just one. I'll post the link.
He [the judge] continues to promote the interests of Michael Schiavo by refusing Terri the right to independent counsel, a right which even serial killers like Ted Bundy received. Whenever people discuss euthanasia, you'll always find those who will defend the odious practice. However, no one defends domestic violence.
That leads to the 6 ft. 6 inch, 250 pound problem: Michael Schiavo. The evidence compiled against him suggests a history and pattern of domestic abuse against Terri -- and other women -- that is strong and significant. An immediate criminal investigation is warranted. The main evidence comes from a bone scan taken on March 5, 1991. As Terri's guardian, Michael Schiavo denied her family access to Terri's records, the results of which were not made available until November, 2002. This scan indicated numerous broken bones in various stages of healing, including compression fractures, a broken back, pelvis, ankle, bone bruises and ossifications. Board certified radiologist Dr. Walker read the scan in 1991 and interpreted the results as abnormal, which he attributed to either an accident or earlier trauma. Based on the remodeling process of her bones, Dr. Walker stated in his deposition that a) the injuries indicated by the scan occurred on or around the time that Terri Schiavo collapsed; b) the abnormalities on the bone scan were not typical of someone suffering cardiac arrest and collapsing to the floor, and c) the fractures indicated by the bone scan are not typical of patients bedridden only thirteen months.
As recorded in Dr. Walker's November 21, 2003 deposition, Terri might have been the victim of foul play via a blow to her body, being thrown into a sharp furniture corner, or assaulted with a blunt object. On October 24, 2003, renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden was interviewed by Greta van Susteren on Fox News. He disclosed that with low potassium and no elevated enzymes, it would be extremely rare for a young woman to collapse as Terri did from a heart attack. When asked what the bone injuries suggest to him, Dr. Baden replied, "Some kind of trauma. The trauma can be from a fall, or the trauma can be from some kind of beating that she obtained from somebody somewhere. It's something that should have been investigated in 1991 when these findings were found." Other medical testimonies are in agreement. One medical expert testified that a diagnosis of a heart attack was never made. Another testified that Terri's rigid neck indicates she may have been the victim of strangulation.
Psychiatrist and expert witness Carole E. Lieberman, M.D., M.P.H. [b]offered preliminary thoughts and provided a chilling profile of Michael Schiavo as an abusive husband[b]. Prior to Terri's collapse, there were serious financial problems in her marriage and her husband Michael tried to control her behavior. He was fired from six jobs in two years, some of which he held only two weeks. They often lived on her income, which Michael often spent on himself. He monitored her odometer and isolated her from her family and friends. On the day of her collapse, Michael and Terri had a bad fight after he accused her of spending too much money at the hairdresser. Dr. Lieberman concludes: "He (Michael) should most definitely be investigated as the perpetrator of the 'incident' that caused Terri's collapse and her current condition."
posted on March 19, 2005 03:18:29 PM
Nevada LIFE (Life Issues Forum and Education)
Engaging Nevadans on Life Issues…
October 23, 2003
Dear Right To Life Friend,
After a massive campaign orchestrated by right to lifers and disability advocates-which inundated legislators and the governor with emails, faxes, and phone calls, the Florida legislature convened this week for a one-day emergency session to pass a law to save the life of Teri Schiavo. Mrs. Schiavo is the mentally disabled Florida woman whose life was being ended by starvation and dehydration after her husband was given the authority to remove her feeding tube by a Florida judge last week.
It’s hard to know what is going to happen. Mr. Schiavo is a determined man with a determined assisted suicide advocated for an attorney. They want Terri dead. They would say of course that Terri would want to be dead based on an alleged comment Teri made to her husband, a comment that he did not mention to a jury while they were weighing a malpractice settlement. Nor was it something Teri had ever indicated to others. After Teri’s feeding tube was reinserted this week, Mr. Schiavo removed Teri from the hospital and put her back into a nursing home. The hospital wished she had stayed longer. No one knows if she’s getting the care she needs. Mr. Schiavo is still her guardian until the court appoints a new one. Why he is still her guardian when he is living with another woman he has a child with-with another on the way, and whom he plans to marry after Teri’s death, is inscrutable. We need a new generation of judges.
The media have botched this case except for the relentless reporting of the World Net Daily. The media have portrayed Teri as a vegetable who is being held alive by extreme measures. It may be true that a certain judge has accepted testimony that this is true, but there are many other doctors, who are equally, if not more expert, who testify that this is not true. Shame on the media for not reporting this.
Michael Schiavo’s lawyer George Felos told ABC’s Good Morning America that Terri “was literally absconded from her death bed in the middle of her dying process." He called the rehydration efforts "cruel." That comment speak for itself and for the man. The World Net Daily’s Dianne Lynne reports that “Dr. Jane Orient with the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, or AAPS, claims the opposite is true: ‘Dehydration is a cruel, painful death.’…’it is unconscionable that the state ordered removal of her feeding tube in the first place – it's nothing less than state-sponsored euthanasia,’ maintains Orient. ‘She is not dependent on advanced medical interventions. Nothing is mechanically pumping her blood, or forcing oxygen into her lungs. She is simply being fed through a gastrostomy tube.’"
Lynne says that the AAPS has warned their colleagues that "the ethical question for her nurses and physicians is whether they will cooperate in carrying out a death warrant.” Dr. Orient says that “the ethical question for all of us is whether we will allow the state to obstruct the efforts of people who want to provide medical care to a patient who wants to receive it… If we go down that path, who's to say what treatment the state will prevent you from getting?"
This case is a roller coaster and will have a huge impact on the legal system and the culture of our nation. The sad thing is that things like this happen all the time. We only know of this case because of the disagreement in the family and Terri’s parents determination to make a big deal about it and save her. Hopefully this will cause the nation’s legislatures to make sure incidents like this cannot happen. Teri still needs our prayers. She needs the rehabilitation that her husband and the court have refused her for thirteen years. Shame on the court for denying her this help.
Finally, this is what happens when right to lifers get together-even when prominent pro-life Florida clergy fail to act. It shows what happens when people take their rights to petition their government seriously.
posted on March 19, 2005 03:35:40 PMAnd maybe YOU don't know how many people have been put to death and later found innocent!
DO YOU KNOW THE NUMBER OF TEXAS DEATH ROWS INMATES WRONGLY CONVICTED and EXECTUED? Name them
Bush was never concerned enough to even READ their pleas and/or files.
When you come and live in Texas then you can have a say in the matter. The majority of Texans voted and approved the death penalty, you Minimunsotians have no say in the matter. FYI, any Texas govenor MUST have a recomendation of clemency from the Texas Board of Pardons & Paroles before commution their sentance, The govenor can issue a temporaty STAY of Execution on his own and thats it.
He even made fun of one woman who was on death row!
Made fun of Karla Faye Tucker? Don't think so. It was her own comment that she "climaxed" when sinking the pickax in her victums chest.
A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones that need the advice."
- Bill Cosby
[ edited by Bear1949 on Mar 19, 2005 04:04 PM ]
posted on March 19, 2005 04:01:13 PM
Sorry, skimmed through post here
but
this:
and I keep reading things like, she (Terri) wakens in the morning, sleeps at night, smiles and cries with her family and only needs aid with eating... she is not dieing of a terminal disease, or is she suffering..."
If that's her life.....she's suffering.....think about it...if the only thing you had to look forward to everyday was THAT ???
Well, everyone has an opinion on what life should be like. Yes she smiles, that maybe her life, so let her live.
Let the husband just give up and DIVORCE her already! Damn! then the parents, who have said all this time they would take care of her, let THEM. Sh!t the husband has kids with a woman he lives with. I'm sure he would want to marry her, can't it be as simple as him divorcing her?
This whole thing is incredible
And now it is not a 'neocon' thing, its become a bipartisan thing.
posted on March 19, 2005 04:02:02 PM
Gotta love the liberals that are always so quick to defend those found guilty of heinous crimes...and appear to me to totally forget about their victims. Then when they do get convicted to 'life' rather than the DP...they complain about the large numbers of people in prison...overcrowding....costs of building more prisons...to keep these killers away from decent society. I'll never understand that thought process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Four More Years....YES!!!
posted on March 19, 2005 04:27:30 PM
Linda - Other than me, how many liberals do you know that support the death penalty?
BTW - if the accusations in the text you posted are true than I would say that there should be another lawsuit if a hospital admitted an emergency patient and failed to notice that they had compression fractures as well as a broken back, pelvis and ankle. Sorry - that just does not pass the smell test.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
So...since YOU don't judge her life is worth spending the Medicaid money on....you think we should set a precident for making the decision on just whose life is 'worthy', and whose isn't of funding to stay alive? I sure don't.
That's what got this whole fight going between him and her parents...because he had promised the court, during the trial, that we would be sure and see that Terri received the best care...and then....immediately withdrew all help intended to improve her life.