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THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005

Saturday, March 26, 2005

Terri's money used to pay for starvation death

Once well-provided for, disabled woman now dependent on taxpayers

When a jury awarded brain-disabled Terri Schindler-Schiavo over $1 million in a medical malpractice suit against her two physicians in 1992, it did so believing the money would be used to pay for the brain-injured woman's long-term care and rehabilitation.

But instead of the therapy he promised he'd provide for Terri, her estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, 41, who is also her legal guardian, used most of the money to pay attorneys to arrange his wife's death � and he did this with full court approval.

The money awarded Terri was placed in a trust fund and a judge approved all expenditures � from pedicures to attorney bills. The latter has skyrocketed over the years, as Terri's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, battled their son-in-law in the Florida courts over their daughter's right to live.

By June 2001, the trust fund money had dwindled to $350,000. Today, just $40,000 to $50,000 remains.


Deborah Bushnell, who has represented Schiavo since 1993 in a series of legal skirmishes with the Schindlers, this month told Associated Press she has been paid $80,309 since becoming involved in the case. "Right to die" advocate and attorney George Felos, who was surreptitiously hired by Schiavo in 1997 to win court approval for Terri's death by removing her feeding tube, has been paid $348,434, according to Bushnell. Informed sources say an additional $50,000 should be added, to include legal costs that Bushnell did not include in the figure she gave.

Four years ago the St. Petersburg Times reported that records showed Felos was paid more than $200,000 between 1997 and June 2001, while Bushnell netted $27,000 between 1993 and June 2001 � which means she has been paid over $50,000 in just four years. Schiavo, too, was reimbursed $6,000 for legal costs.

The fees include not only standard attorney services, such as preparing briefs and taking depositions, but thousands of dollars for �dealing with the media,� records show. The payoff has been the continuous slanting of news storiesin newspapers and on television of the battle over Terri�s life, beginning after the trial in 2000.

Both attorneys claim they have not been paid since 2002, but Felos recently admitted to the St. Petersburg Times that the American Civil Liberties Union is helping underwrite Schiavo's litigation.

Spending Terri's money in litigation is highly unusual, according to Pat Anderson, who represented the Schindlers in their fight with Schiavo from 2001 through most of 2004.

Most guardianships don't prosecute or defend legal actions, Anderson told WorldNetDaily. "They just go along, uneventfully, and the guardian reports to the court once a year. The guardian pays doctor bills, arranges for medical care, buys baseball game tickets, pays for haircuts and toenail clippings � nothing controversial."

Anderson said court approval is required to pay attorney fees out of a guardianship estate, but because generally the fees are modest, a guardianship attorney, such as Bushnell, only applies once a year. "Obviously, in order to have a successful guardianship practice, an attorney must have a lot of guardianships � or a major lawsuit," she noted.

Terri's account balance had dropped to about $100,000 by 2002, at which time a strategy was devised to qualify her for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the indigent and disabled.

In situations like this, after assets are sold the remaining money goes into trust and can only be used for certain specified purposes, Anderson said. Upon the patient's death any remaining money goes to the government. In exchange, the government extends Medicaid benefits.

Questionable circumstances

Terri suffered major trauma in Feb. 1990 when, at the age of 26, she collapsed under questionable circumstances in the St. Petersburg, Fla., apartment she shared with her husband. For reasons never satisfactorily explained, oxygen to her brain was cut off for about eight minutes, leaving her unable to talk and dependent on a feeding tube through her abdomen into her stomach for food and hydration

Medical reports that surfaced in 2002 strongly indicate Terri was a victim of beating and strangulation, but at the time of her collapse her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, never considered such a possibility and agreed to Michael being named as guardian. They did not realize that this would give him total control over all aspects of her life � where she lived, what medical treatment she received, who could visit her.

Two years following their daughter's collapse, in the hope of getting funding for her long-term care, the Schindlers endorsed Schiavo bringing a medical malpractice suit against Terri's two gynecologists for negligence.

At the trial in Nov. 1992, Schiavo's lawyers argued that Terri's collapse was caused by a potassium imbalance, brought on through an "eating disorder," specifically, bulimia. Though there was never any evidence she was bulimic, the jury held the doctors responsible for not diagnosing that condition and awarded $1.4 million dollars to Terri for her care and rehabilitation and $630,000 to her husband for "loss of spouse."

After the attorneys had taken their cut of nearly 50 percent, Terri was left with over $750,000, and Schiavo had $300,000 to spend as he wished. He used his award money to pay for training to be a nurse, something he had promised the jury he'd do so he could take care of Terri personally.

He also bought a gold Honda Acura.

A trust fund for the disabled woman was established at a local bank, with the money invested in blue chip stocks, such as Coca-Cola, Walt Disney and Proctor & Gamble, corporate and U.S. Treasury bonds, and a money market account.

In April 1993, Terri's money was valued at $776,254. According to a financial planner, it's been estimated that if the principle had not been touched, the fund during the mid- to late 1990s would have grown and at the same time generated an annual income of at least $70,000. This would easily have paid for her care in the finest nursing home in Florida, including rehabilitation.

However, under Florida law, if Terri should die, Schiavo as spouse and guardian stood to inherit her entire trust fund.

No sooner was Terri's money in the bank than Schiavo refused to begin the long-awaited rehabilitation program, directed the nursing home where she lived not to give her antibiotics for various infections and had a "do not resuscitate" order attached to her chart. He later testified that doctors had advised him that her condition was hopeless and if she became ill he should "let her die."

As his wife's legal guardian, Schiavo is permitted to use her money, but only if what he spends it on is in her "best interests." He has said he is trying to do that by following her wishes not to be kept alive "artificially," and denies that his decision to remove her feeding tube has anything to do with the fact that he is the beneficiary of her estate.

"This suit was brought on her behalf to implement her wishes," said attorney Felos.

The Schindlers tried to wrest the guardianship from their son-in-law but were unsuccessful, and the two sides began their battle in the courts of Florida, which in time escalated into what some observers consider the most important euthanasia litigation in history. It was the first case in which family members fought each other over whether a patient in a so-called "persistent vegetative state," but otherwise in good health, should have a feeding tube removed so he or she would starve to death.

Follow the money

In any litigation a paper trail is created as the parties file documents and judges issue orders. A second trail � a money trail � is created by attorneys when they file itemized fee petitions to the court to recoup their costs. Fee petitions may include details about phone calls � when they were made, to whom, what was talked about and how long each call lasted. They show how much was paid to expert witnesses, how much time was spent on research, preparing testimony and affidavits, taking depositions and appearing in court.

They also give information about the various schemes and strategies being devised. Reading a fee petition is like following the marks an explorer cuts on trees to show the way through a forest.

This is certainly the case in the Schiavo litigation, and explains why Bushnell and Schiavo had the petitions sealed from the public and the Schindlers following the trial in 2000.

Bushnell charged $165 an hour for the first few years, but later raised that to $185 an hour.

For the first year of guardianship litigation � from Sept. 21, 1993 to Sept. 16, 1994 � Bushnell billed $5,622 (for 35 hours), plus $1.75 for two faxes � one from attorney Steve Nilson, of an amended deposition; one from Gyneth Stanley, attorney for the guardian of the property of Theresa Marie Schiavo (the bank).

The high figure was due to the courtroom battle between Schiavo and the Schindlers, who were desperately attempting to oust their son-in-law from his entrenched position as "guardian of the person of Theresa Marie Schiavo."

Costs included a "telephone conference with Steve Nilson regarding issues of do not resuscitate and no treatment and timing to raise issues" ($82.50); "Telephone Conference with Mike Schiavo re. do not treat decision" ($49.50); and "Telephone Conference with Michael Schiavo regarding problem with nursing home complaining" ($49.50).

While Schiavo could pay Bushnell with money from his wife's trust fund, the Schindlers had few funds at their disposal and their attorneys over the years have worked for low fees or on a pro bono � for the (public) good � basis, that is, they've provided services for free.

"Marital debts"

Another cost borne by Terri's estate � unrelated to the guardianship litigation � came in late 1994 when Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Pinick allowed Schiavo to take nearly $10,000 from the fund to pay her "share" of a bank loan they had co-signed the summer before her collapse.

According to records obtained by WND, the couple borrowed $11,500, in June 1989, to pay some "marital debts." But with Terri incapacitated and not working, Schiavo fell behind on the payments and the debt mushroomed. A payment plan was negotiated, with a total owed of over $18,000. Rather than use his own resources and award money, Schiavo persuaded the court to reimburse him $3,525 from her trust fund for one-half the monthly payments he had already made on his wife's share of the note and to pay the bank $5,772.17 for her half of the final payment due.

Pinick signed the order authorizing payment on Dec. 8, 1994, in time for Christmas.

A deadly agenda

At first, Schiavo was clearly hoping that his wife would become ill and he could "let her die" as several doctors had advised him. The more deadly scheme to euthanize her by starvation was in the talking stages by late 1995 � three years before it was formalized in the courts in 1998, according to the fee petitions.

Bushnell contacted Felos by phone on Dec. 13, 1995, asking for "assistance with analysis of life-prolonging procedures statute ..." They talked half-an-hour, at a cost to Terri's trust fund of $82.50.

In 1996, Bushnell obtained permission from Judge Pinick to seal the annual financial reports from Terri's parents. She also asked him to deny the Schindlers copies of the annual reports on Terri's care and information about her medical condition, but Pinick didn't go that far. He ruled that the parents were to be notified of any change in Terri's condition and that treatment would have to be given for any illness for at least five days.

In February 1997, she phoned Schiavo "re. associating George Felos to handle removal of life support issue." (cost to Terri: $54)

On March 5, 1997, Schiavo signed a contract with Felos "to represent him in connection with the withdrawal and/or refusal of medical treatment ..." at the rate of $195 an hour, with costs to be "borne by the client." There was no mention of starving Terri to death by removing her feeding tube. The agreement was contingent on approval of the Pinellas County Probate Court.

In fact, the client paid nothing: as usual, all costs would be repaid out of Terri's trust fund.

In mid-April, Bushnell petitioned the court in Schiavo's name for permission to employ and pay George Felos "for representation in connection with the issue of withdrawal and/or refusal of medical treatment", at the rate of $195 an hour. Evidently everyone associated with the case except the Schindlers understood that "medical treatment" included providing food and water through a feeding tube.

With the petition Bushnell submitted a formal order she'd prepared for Judge Mark Shames to sign, authorizing Felos being hired. At this point she hit a temporary roadblock: the order signed by Judge Thomas Pinick a year earlier that Terri's parents were to be notified in case there was a change in her medical condition. Shames returned Bushnell's prepared order stamped NOT SIGNED, with a note handwritten on it that Terri's parents needed to be told about this.

"Gently and informally"

Bushnell shot back a response, assuring Shames that Schiavo was "aware" of the "difficult issues" in the case and urging he sign the order even though the Schindlers hadn't been notified and wouldn't be for a while.

"It is anticipated that the parents will initially be approached gently and informally by Attorney Felos regarding this issue, that Hospice will be involved, and that counseling will be provided to the guardian and the parents to assist with the decision-making process. ...

"Attorney Felos, the guardian, and I feel that the receipt of a petition for payment of attorney fees regarding this issue would not be the best and kindest way for the ward's parents to learn that this issue is being considered," Bushnell explained.

No reason was given as to why the local hospice was to be brought into the action, but that became obvious in April 2000 when Schiavo and Felos had Terri removed surreptitiously and without prior court approval from the nursing home where she'd lived since 1994 and relocated at the Woodside Hospice, a facility of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, of which Felos had been a board member since 1996 � a fact he did not disclose.

After receiving her assurances that the Schindlers would be notified eventually, Shames signed the order on May 14. Felos waited over three months to inform the Schindlers � "kindly and informally" � of Schiavo's plans.

Word came in a casual letter sent by regular post, and at first Robert Schindler couldn't believe what he was reading.

Sucker-punched!

Dated August 20, 1997, the letter was from an attorney he'd never heard of, telling them in an offhand way that he'd been hired by their son-in-law to arrange the Terri's death. Worse � it appeared a court had approved the idea without so much as a hearing.

"I felt sick at my stomach," Schindler told WND. "I couldn't believe it. It was like being sucker punched right in the gut. I never, ever thought Michael would go that far."

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Schindler," the letter began.

"The court in your daughter's guardianship, ... has authorized the guardian to employ me in connection with the withdrawal and/or refusal of medical treatment for your daughter Theresa. I have handled many cases exploring the appropriateness of terminating life-sustaining medical treatment and have also worked in the past as a Hospice patient volunteer. I know first hand how difficult it is making such determinations. ..."

Nothing definite was decided the Schindlers were told; the writer was simply "obtaining information" about Terri's treatment and prognosis for recovery and what her wishes might be if she could "express herself." They were advised to contact the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, a network of hospice facilities based in Largo, Fla., for patients terminally ill from a disease and beyond hope of recovery.

"Whatever the end point of this process may be, you may find it a great benefit talking or meeting with a Hospice professional. I have been told that Sandy Sunter, with Hospice, is aware of Theresa's case. I know Sandy to be highly skilled as well as deeply compassionate."

The letter was signed "George Felos."

Schindler wasn't taken in for a minute. It was clear a "final determination" had been made, with Terri's death as the "end point." When he'd recovered from the initial shock he phoned Felos to see if there wasn't "a bit of wiggle room." Couldn't something be worked out that would allow Terri to live? Was Schiavo so determined to see his wife dead that he'd consider no alternative? Felos said matters had gone too far and there could be no turning back. That was news to Schindler.

Sandra Sunter, the woman Felos suggested as a contact at Hospice, is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC). Schindler figured he didn't need a counselor � he needed an attorney.

No deep pocket

Unlike Schiavo, Terri's dad didn't have a deep pocket to dip into for legal fees, but an attorney he knew put him in touch with Pamela Campbell, a guardianship attorney, who agreed to take the case on a pro bono basis.

Felos didn't bill for services until after the trial that was held in Jan. 2000; then he presented a bill for nearly $75,000.

Although Bushnell billed for the initial phone call in 1995, Felos himself did not charge for advice he might have provided prior to Mar. 5, 1997, when Schiavo actually met with him and they signed a contract. To cover a few pre-trial costs, Bushnell obtained court approval for an advance to Felos of $7,500. By the time the trial was completed the sum total of fees and costs was $81,760.17 for the period from Mar. 5, 1997 to Jan. 28, 2000.

This included payments to paralegals, researchers, and expert witnesses. Dr. Victor Gambone, Terri's physician, who certified her as being PVS, a condition from which he said she could never recover, received $1,250 as an expert witness; while Dr. James Barnhill, a Florida neurologist, received $4,200 for testifying her brain was gone and had been replaced with spinal fluid.

Despite later testimony and statements from dozens of other doctors, including neurologists, the label PVS has stuck, as has the depiction of Terri not having a brain.

When the $7,500 advance was deducted, the firm of Felos and Felos received $74,230. Some of the work done by the firm was done by Felos' wife and law partner, Constance Felos. The couple has since divorced.

And what did Felos do to earn that money?

The initial conference with Schiavo lasted 80 minutes ($260); on Aug. 18, 1997, he reviewed the file and drafted letters to doctors and the "sucker-punch" letter to the Schindlers: 90 minutes ($292.50); talked to Bob Schindler on Aug. 26, after he'd received the letter: 35 minutes ($113.75).

Every minute, every hour the clock was ticking on Terri and the tab was growing exponentially. The principle of her estate was being depleted quicker than it could generate revenue. But with the financial report closed to the parents, the Schindlers had no idea how much was being spent.

After the trial, Felos billed on a more regular basis every few months, with a particularly large invoice for the two months following the trial, much of it for "dealing with the media."

During the trial the Schindlers began to realize that this was not going to be a slam-dunk. They had assumed that no judge would allow Terri's feeding tube to be removed.

"The whole thing was ludicrous," said Schindler, recalling his feelings before the trial. "I actually believed it would be thrown out of court. Even when the trial started I thought Greer would just throw it out. Everything seemed like a grade B or grade C movie � everything seemed so weak that they were presenting to the court. I just didn't see how that could ever happen."

But it did, and on Feb. 11, 2000, Greer signed an eight-page order directing the removal of Terri's feeding tube.

The Schindlers, stunned, wondered how they could continue the fight lacking the necessary financial resources. Then, in a sudden groundswell of support, a small group of dedicated pro-life activists cobbled together a grassroots campaign. Doctors, too, came forward to testify that Terri was not PVS, but they spoke too late. The order had been signed. Lawyers appeared, who agreed to carry the case to the appeal court.

A computer guru volunteered his services, and at his own expense developed a website, serving as webmaster until mid-2003, at no cost to the Schindlers.

Public opinion ran high in favor of the parents, against a husband who wanted her out of the way. Schiavo may have won in the trial court, but he was losing in the court of public opinion. Felos began a counter-campaign of his own, but not for free.

Massaging the media

In June 2000, Felos billed $11,700 for attorney time for the two-month period from Jan. 28 to Mar. 28, with many of the items being essentially damage control measures. These include hours spent with Schiavo doing media interviews, "calls to and from client regarding how to obtain balanced media coverage, media interviews," "numerous calls to and from media representatives and interviews", a call from Schiavo regarding radio talk show and libel issues," and so on.

One of the overseers in the County Clerk's office, Ms. Story, balked at approving the invoice because of its many media related items. Story said the court wanted to know why the expenditure of attorney time dealing with the media was of any benefit to Terri.

Felos explained in a letter to Judge Greer that the Schindlers had initiated a "broad-based media campaign," and it was necessary to "correct inaccuracies and falsehoods in respondents' media portrayal of the case." Attacks against Schiavo were "strident," and "he has directly been called a 'murderer' on television and radio."

He said Schiavo did not feel qualified to answer the charges, and counted on him to present his cause to the media. "A client may be concerned about misspeaking in front of the media or even, through a misstatement, making statements which could be construed as an admission against interest in the case, thus damaging the cause of action of the Ward."

Felos was particularly chagrined at a letter of Schindler's, posted on the website, that included some "extremely inflammatory language, such as 'Terri has been sentenced to death. We do not understand how in a civilized society, Terri's life was even put on trial.'"

Schiavo was being "unfairly maligned and held up to public ridicule," and as guardian should have "the reasonable right, through counsel, to counter such an attack. Otherwise, persons may be reluctant to act as guardians, and may be very reluctant to undertake legal action to enforce the Ward's rights if the guardian concludes that his or her reputation or livelihood cannot be defended in the proceeding."

As with every request Felos made during the six years he presided over the case, Greer agreed and approved the billing, including the charges for "dealing with the media."

For Schiavo and Felos it was money well spent. From that time onward, the mainstream media � local and national � got the message and have walked lockstep with Felos and Schiavo, in particular the Associated Press, the St. Petersburg Times, and the New York Times. Terri continues to be described as being in a persistent vegetative state, when dozens of doctors and therapists say otherwise; the case is characterized as a "right to die" case, when a more accurate appellation is "right to live"; and the reason given for removal of her feeding tube is "so she can die."

Michael Schiavo's long-term adulterous relationship with another woman, with whom he has had two children, is downplayed or ignored. Also ignored is the once-sizable inheritance he stood to gain from his legal wife's death. Instead, he is portrayed as a loving husband desperately trying to carry out Terri�s wishes despite her parents, who stubbornly refuse to "let her go."

Bobby Schindler, one of Terri�s two siblings, told WND he is amazed at the strength and determination of the opposition against his parents and Terri by the courts, media, and government.

"I don�t get it," he said. �An awful lot of people want my sister dead, and they�ve spent a lot of money killing her. What I can�t figure out is why."

Florida Judge Greer Nixes Latest Appeal

A state judge on Saturday rejected another attempt by Terri Schiavo's parents to have her feeding tube reconnected, rejecting what the couple's lawyer described as their last chance to keep their severely brain-damaged daughter alive.

Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer denied a motion filed Friday in which Bob and Mary Schindler claimed their daughter tried to say "I want to live" just before her tube was removed, saying "AHHHHH" and "WAAAAAAA" when asked to repeat the phrase. Doctors have said Schiavo's past utterances were involuntary moans consistent with someone in a vegetative state.
The Schindlers ended their federal appeals but are still holding out hope for an unlikely intervention by Gov. Jeb Bush, who has said he has done everything in his power to take custody of Schiavo.

Terri Bleeding From Eyes and Mouth

Contrary to predictions that Terri Schiavo's starvation death would be painless and dignified, an eyewitness who visited her hospice room early Saturday morning reports that she is now bleeding from the eyes and mouth.

Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" reports: "Barbara Weller, who's is one of the attorneys for the Schindlers, says that the last time she checked in, not very many hours ago, Terri's eyes and tongue were bleeding now.

"Her eyes are sunken and her skin continues to flake off," Weller added.

On Thursday Terri's parents reported that their daughter now resembles "an Auschwitz victim."

At the request of Michael Schiavo's attorney, Judge George Greer has banned cameras and video equipment from her room, precluding the possibility that a photographic record of her deteriorating condition might be kept.

The eyewitness accounts stand in stark contrast to predictions from medical experts cited in numerous media reports who insisted that Terri's starvation death would not be gruesome.

On Wednesday, for instance, the Los Angles Times reported:

"Doctors say that going without food and water in the last weeks of life is not traumatic, and that the body is equipped to adjust to such conditions."

The paper quoted Dr. Perry G. Fine, vice president of medical affairs at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in Arlington, Va.

"What my patients have told me over the last 25 years is that when they stop eating and drinking, there's nothing unpleasant about it -- in fact, it can be quite blissful and euphoric."

"It's a very smooth, graceful and elegant way to go," Dr. Fine added.

Friend: Terri Often Had Bruises

A close friend of Terri Schiavo's said that she often appeared bruised in the months before she was found unconscious in her St. Petersburg, Florida home on Feb. 25, 1990.

"I did notice bruises on her upper arms and upper legs," Jackie Rhodes told Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren. Rhodes and Schiavo worked together at a local insurance office.

At the time, Rhodes said, she attributed Terri's frequent bruising "to maybe running into the desk at work or, you know, maybe she was extra-sensitive."

"But now, hindsight tells me that I did see them quite frequently and that they may have been more than just a bump into the desk," she added.

"They were mostly bruises where normally they would be covered up, you know, during the work day," she explained. "They were smaller bruises, like maybe someone had grabbed her or, you know, like, squeezed her arm or leg really tight."

On Friday Rhodes revealed that Terri and her husband had an ugly argument that night before she was was discovered unconscious on her bathroom floor, and had called her in tears to report the fight.

Rhodes said Terri and Micheal had already discussed getting a divorce.

Michael Schiavo Plans to Cremate Terri

Michael Schiavo has taken steps that will prevent investigators from examining Terri Schiavo's body for evidence of abuse after she dies - a suspicion her family has repeatedly raised as her death grows more imminent.

Schiavo's attorney George Felos told the Washington Post on Friday that Terri will be cremated and buried in a plot owned by Michael's family in Pennsylvania.

Terri's parents had filed a request with the court to block the cremation plans, saying it would violate the religious beliefs of their daughter, who was a practicing a Catholic.

But as with every other motion filed in the case on behalf of Bob and Mary Schindler, the Florida courts have rejected the request.

A 1991 bone scan performed on Terri Schiavo showed unexplained injuries to her vertebrae and legs.

Terri's brother Bobby Schindler told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" on Thursday that a doctor has testified that she might have been strangled before she was found unconscious in her home in Feb. 1990.

Terri Schiavo's Parents' Last Motion on Terri Saying "I Want to Live"

Terri Schiavo's parents have filed what they say could be their last legal motion in the case to prevent the starvation death of their daughter. This motion covers a situation on Friday where Terri tried to tell an attorney for Bob and Mary Schindler that she wanted to live.

Just before representatives of her estranged husband Michael removed her feeding tube Friday afternoon, Terri Schiavo reportedly told an attorney for her parents that she wanted to live.

Barbara Weller, one of the attorneys for Terri's parents Bob and Mary Schindler, told reporters about her visit with Terri on Friday.

"Terri, if you would just say, 'I want to live,' all of this will be over," she told the disabled woman.

Weller said Terri desperately tried to repeat Weller's words.

"'I waaaaannt ...,' Schiavo allegedly said. Weller described it as a prolonged yell that was loud enough that police stationed nearby entered the hospice room.

"She just started yelling, 'I waaaannt, I waaaannt,'" Weller explained.

The Schindlers' motion says Terri tried to express her wishes not to be starved to death and that should supersede an alleged conversation she had with her estranged husband Michael before her 1990 collapse.

That conversation, where she supposedly indicated she didn't want any extraordinary measures taken to prolong her life, has been used as the basis for court decisions authorizing her death.

Circuit Court Judge George Greer, who ordered Terri's starvation, held an afternoon hearing on the motion and will decide on it by noon tomorrow.

Weller said it would take a miracle for Terri to survive the weekend and called the motion the "final shot" in the Schindlers' efforts to save their daughter.

George Felos, the euthanasia advocate who is Michael's lawyer, told the Associated Press that the latest filing is "crossing the line" into abusing the justice system.

The Schindlers are also waiting to hear if the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear an appeal of a revised motion to stop Terri's starvation that a federal judge rejected Friday morning.

Political corruption alleged in Schiavo case

Criminal probes reportedly shut down despite investigators' concerns

As Terri Schiavo enters what are thought to be her last hours of life, allegations of political corruption and obstruction of justice on the part of state officials raise questions as to whether the brain-injured woman's court-ordered death by starvation might serve to cover up crimes committed against her.

Criminal probes launched by two Florida agencies looking into allegations the incapacitated woman was abused, neglected and exploited were shut down, despite investigators' concerns.

One investigation took place at the Department of Children and Families, or DCF, in late 2001. The other was conducted by agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or FDLE, in August 2003.


The individual whose 700-page anonymous complaint prompted the DCF to conduct a 60-day investigation into numerous alleged violations of state statutes protecting disabled and incapacitated people tells WND the DCF investigator gave him the impression he thought the allegations were credible and he was sorry the probe got aborted by his superiors.

The complainant, who wishes to remain unnamed, tells WND he spent numerous hours over a period of several weeks working with the DCF adult protective services investigator after filing his complaint in November 2001.

"It was clear to me that he found credibility in most, if not all, the charges," the complainant said of the investigator.

But when the investigator turned his report in to his superiors, he reportedly hit a brick wall.

"It went up the ladder. It crashed. The report findings were marked 'Unfounded but With Recommendations,'" the complainant recalls the investigator telling him.

When the complainant expressed disbelief at the outcome and asked what "with recommendations" meant, he says the investigator became tight-lipped.

"I've said too much. All I can say is keep up the fight," the investigator said.

At the time, DCF attorney Frank Nagatani publicly declared: "DCF is not going to get involved [in the Terri Schiavo case] until this is out of the court."

Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have waged a 7-year court battle to block the efforts of her husband, Michael Schiavo, to have the 41-year-old woman's feeding tube removed.

Michael Schiavo maintains he's carrying out Terri's wishes not to be kept alive artificially.

Terri is not hooked up to any life-support machines, but requires the feeding tube for nourishment. Doctors removed it March 18 per Greer's court order, after a flurry of eleventh-hour appeals by the Schindlers failed.

After eight days of dehydration and starvation, the Schindlers report their daughter is "still responsive" but is "weakening."

"She's down to her last hours. Something has to be done and has to be done quick," Bob Schindler told reporters outside the hospice where his daughter resides.

Michael Schiavo's brother, Brian Schiavo, told CNN Terri Schiavo "does look a little withdrawn," but said she was not in pain, calling starvation "part of the death process."

Shortly after the complainant was informed the DCF investigation was scrubbed, Pat Anderson, the attorney representing the Schindlers at the time issued a subpoena to the investigator to find out what went on at DCF.

During a hearing held by Greer on Jan. 23, 2002 over Schiavo attorney George Felos' counter-motion to quash the subpoena, Greer is said to have indicated he was familiar with the DCF report. He ruled in favor of quashing the subpoena and nothing came of the DCF 60-day review.

Curiously, an anonymous person at DCF mailed a box, presumably containing the hefty complaint, back to the complainant in September 2003. The outside of the box was marked: "You may need this. It was scheduled for destruction."

The complainant was instructed by Schindler attorneys not to open the box for fear of damaging any fingerprints, and to keep it in a secure place for possible use as evidence later.

Off again, on again DCF

The DCF complainant suspects a changing of the guard may explain the social services agency's recent attempted intervention in the court battle.

WND reported Greer ruled earlier this month he would hear a DCF petition containing 34 pages of new allegations of "abuse, neglect or exploitation" the agency said came through its anonymous abuse hot line between Feb. 18 and Feb. 21. The accusations include failure to investigate experimental medical procedures, denial of legal counsel, lack of communication and visitation and lack of therapy.

The 11-page confidential document supplied to attorneys references the earlier investigation.

"There are allegations that DCF has investigated that have been closed as unfounded. While the DCF stands by its past decisions, it nevertheless reserves its rights to review any updated or relevant information in the full fair and final determination of this matter given the totality of the circumstances," reads the court petition.

Anticipating Greer's repeated rulings since 2001, dismissing the allegations as old news, the petition states: "The court's determination that it has reviewed some or all of these facts does not relieve DCF from discharging its [statutory] investigative duties."

The motion is signed by Adult Protective Investigations Supervisor Michael Will and and DCF attorney Kelly McKibben.

Felos blasted the DCF's attempt to intervene in the case, saying it "reeks of political arm-twisting."

On Wednesday, Greer dismissed the DCF's motion for a 60-day stay of his court order to remove the feeding tube.

FDLE's open-and-shut case

As first reported by the Empire Journal, two FDLE agents looked into accusations Terri Schiavo was battered by her husband prior to her mysterious collapse, and has been the victim of abuse and neglect at nursing homes and hospice ever since.

WorldNetDaily has obtained a heavily redacted copy of the FDLE report filed by special agent Terrell Rhodes that indicates an investigation was launched Aug. 10, 2003 after special agent Mark Dubina received information regarding a criminal complaint from Anderson.

The basis of Anderson's request, according to the report, was the discovery of a nuclear imaging bone scan performed on Terri Schiavo by Dr. W. Campbell Walker at Manatee Memorial Hospital on March 3, 1991 � 13 months after her collapse.

In February of 1990 at the age of 26, Terri Schiavo collapsed at home and oxygen was cut off to her brain for several minutes. The cause of the collapse is disputed. Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, blames a cardiac arrest induced by a potassium imbalance associated with bulimia. The Schindlers suspect he tried to strangle her, based on court testimony by a neurologist that Terri had suffered a neck injury when she was admitted to the hospital.

WorldNetDaily reported the bone scan describes what are known as "hot spots" suggestive of multiple fractures in her ribs, first lumbar vertebra, several thoracic vertebrae, both sacroiliac joints, and both knees and ankles, all deemed "presumably traumatic" by Walker.

"The patient has a history of trauma," writes Walker in the report. "The presumption is that the other multiple areas of abnormal activity ["hot spots"] also relate to previous trauma."

WND reported Felos called the implication of abuse "garbage." Citing medical records, he told WND a follow-up X-ray done to verify the cause of the "hot spots" showed "degenerative bone disease, not multiple fractures ... and only showed a minor fracture in the femur."

The Empire Journal, quoting anonymous sources, reports that when Dubina opened a file into the case, he was called into his supervisor's office and told to shut down the investigation not once, but twice.

Dubina and another agent have reportedly contacted the current attorneys representing the Schindlers and given statements detailing the "cover up" by FDLE superiors, which they suspect, according to Empire Journal, was ordered by Bernie McCabe, state attorney for Pinellas and Pasco County.

Calls to Dubina and the Clearwater office of FDLE where the investigation was initiated were not returned.

The report indicates the findings of the investigation were reviewed by Regional Director Lance Newman, Investigative Chief Moses Jordan and Special Agent Supervisor Troy Walker.

A final decision was made that FDLE would not continue the investigation primarily because "any criminal violation that might have occurred would have been within the city of St. Petersburg" and therefore out of FDLE's jurisdiction.

The other reasons cited were:

"No indisputable evidence was identified that could justify a case for charging Michael Schiavo with physical, domestic abuse"

"It would not be possible to prosecute Michael Schiavo of a crime if the allegation could be proven due to the statute of limitations of criminal proceedings under Florida State Statute 775.15."

Sources told the Empire Journal indictments have come out of cases with less evidence than was presented in this probe.

The Bradenton Herald reports McCabe reviewed some of Terri Schiavo's medical records but found no evidence of abuse. He also noted that even if there was abuse, the statute of limitations had expired.

The Tallahassee-based Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, the state-appointed group that monitors the treatment of disabled adults also attempted to investigate the abuse allegations but said it was blocked by Michael Schiavo when he denied permission to examine his wife.

The allegations probed by DCF, FDLE and McCabe have been raised repeatedly � and unsuccessfully � in motions filed by the Schindlers seeking the removal of Michael Schiavo as their daughter's legal guardian.

Among the neglect and abuse complaints is that Michael Schiavo:


Has not allowed therapy or rehabilitation since late 1992.

Has prevented swallowing tests or swallowing therapy since 1993.

Ordered caretakers not to clean Terri's teeth since 1995, resulting in removal of five teeth in April 2004.

Placed Terri in hospice in 2000, despite the fact she is not terminally ill.

Refuses to allow Terri to leave her room. She has not been outside since 2000.

Ordered doctors not to treat Terri when she had a life threatening infection in 1993 and 1995.
Former caregivers filed affidavits with the court claiming Michael Schiavo withheld medical care and rehabilitative therapy from his wife and indicated he wanted her to die.

In her sworn deposition, certified nursing assistant Heidi Law said she and a co-worker secretly disobeyed Michael Schiavo's orders and gave Terri range of motion therapy behind closed doors.

"We knew we were endangering our jobs by doing so," Law wrote. "We usually did this behind closed doors, we were so fearful of being caught. Our hearts would race and we were always looking out for Michael, because we knew that, not only would Michael take his anger out on us, but he would take it out more on Terri. We spoke of this many times."

Law, who cared for Terri Schiavo at the nursing home where she resided from March to mid- 1997, also detailed instances when Terri swallowed liquids and Jello.

"At least three times during any shift where I took care of Terri, I made sure to give Terri a wet washcloth filled with ice chips, to keep her mouth moistened. I personally saw her swallow the ice water and never saw her gag," Law wrote. "On three or four occasions I personally fed Terri small mouthfuls of Jello, which she was able to swallow and enjoyed immensely. I did not do it more often only because I was so afraid of being caught by Michael."

The caregivers reported hearing Terri Schiavo say "mommy," "pain," and "help me," and say the notes they kept of her progress were consistently deleted from her file.

Michael Schiavo states Terri Schiavo has not said a word since 1990.

He has repeatedly and strenously denied allegations of abuse and neglect. Felos called the caregivers' testimony "garbage" and total "fabrication."

Report: Florida tried to rescue Terri

State agents looking to reinsert tube backed down by local police

A rescue attempt for Terri Schiavo was indeed underway Thursday, as the state of Florida tried, but failed to remove the brain-injured woman from her hospice in order to reinsert her feeding tube, according to a published report.

The Miami Herald says a team of Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents was on its way to seize the woman, but "stopped short" when told that local police officers would enforce a judge's order against removing her.

"For a brief period, local police, who have officers around the hospice to keep protesters out, prepared for what sources called a showdown," the Herald reports.


The agents and the Department of Children and Families eventually backed down, concerned about a confrontation in front of the hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla.

"We told them that unless they had the judge with them when they came, they were not going to get in," a source with the local police told the Herald.

"The FDLE called to say they were en route to the scene," said an official with the city police who requested anonymity. "When the sheriff's department, and our department, told them they could not enforce their order, they backed off."

Those involved in the test of wills said they believed the situation could have led to a constitutional crisis, as well as a confrontation between dueling police agencies.

"There were two sets of law enforcement officers facing off, waiting for the other to blink," said one official. In jest, one official said local police discussed "whether we had enough officers to hold off the National Guard."

"It was kind of a showdown on the part of the locals and the state police," the official said. "It was not too long after that Jeb Bush was on TV saying that, evidently, he doesn't have as much authority as people think."

State officials strongly denied any such "High Noon" scenario took place.

A DCF spokeswoman said her agency "directed no such action," while Jacob DiPietre, a spokesman for Gov. Jeb Bush told the paper: "There was no showdown. We were ready to go. We didn't want to break the law. There was a process in place and we were following the process. The judge had an order and we were following the order."

On Wednesday of this week, Bush held a news conference to say DCF was considering the extraordinary measure.

He said new information had come to light warranting intervention, including a review of Terri Schiavo's condition by neurologist Dr. William Cheshire, who claims she may have been misdiagnosed. Cheshire believes Schiavo to be in a "minimally conscious state," not a "persistent vegetative state" as courts have determined.

"It is imperative that she be stabilized so the DCF team can fulfill their statute to review the facts surrounding the case," Bush said.

Florida Circuit Judge George Greer, who ordered the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, signed an order Wednesday afternoon prohibiting the department from "taking possession of Theresa Marie Schiavo or removing her" from the hospice. He also directed "each and every and singular sheriff of the state of Florida" to enforce his order.

DCF lawyers appealed early Thursday, thus triggering an automatic freeze on Greer's order. But when the judge learned of the situation, he canceled the automatic stay within three hours of its filing.

George Felos, the attorney for Terri's husband, Michael, told the paper he doesn't think DCF officials knew of the window of opportunity they had created until well after they filed their appeal.

"Frankly, I don't believe when they filed their notice of appeal they realized that that gave them an automatic stay," Felos said. "When we filed our motion to vacate the automatic stay ... they realized they had a short window of opportunity and they wanted to extend that as long as they could.

"I believe that as soon as DCF knew they had an opportunity they were mobilizing to take advantage of it, without a doubt."

Gov. Bush later backed down from his earlier position suggesting a rescue.

"We never said that unilaterally we would do something that's against the court," he said. "I've been asked to do it by a lot of people � a lot of the advice I'm getting over the Internet and over television and the like. I know that there were lots of rumors of things that aren't accurate. I have a duty to uphold the law and I have been very consistent about that. It seemed like a big story that never was confirmed because it wasn't true. If we had that ability to do it, if there wasn't an injunction, we would do it right now. We would stabilize her by giving her hydration. We couldn't put a feeding tube in. There was already a court order in place. The opportunity we had was appealing his decision."

Friday, March 25, 2005

Former Adviser Presses Gov. Bush to Launch Criminal Investigation to Save Schiavo

Although Florida governor Jeb Bush has for all intents and purposes tossed in the towel in any eleventh-hour rescue of Terri Shiavo, at least one former legal advisor is admonishing the chief executive for not using the state's criminal laws as authority to intervene � without the need for family or judicial approval � and reinsert the hospice patient's feeding tube.

Richard Thompson, the president and chief counsel of the Thomas Moore Law Center, says doing so would preserve the life of a material witness in a potential criminal case.
The launching of a formal criminal investigation into possible abuse of the helpless patient would allow the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to remove Schiavo from the custody of her current guardian � husband Michael Schiavo, who has been for years dedicated to terminating the artificial feeding of his brain-damaged wife.


Today, Thompson once more affirmed that Florida Governor Jeb Bush has the legal authority to utilize state criminal laws to prevent the death of Terri Schiavo.


Legal Memos


Pointing to two legal memos prepared by the Thomas More Law Center which were delivered to Governor Bush in October of 2003, Thompson again urged Bush to launch a formal criminal investigation into the facts surrounding the disability of Schiavo.

The two letters dated October 15th and 16th point to the constitutional authority of Governor Bush to order the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate violations of criminal laws.

The letters cite a number of facts suggesting Terri Schiavo is a victim of domestic abuse and neglect, and may be a victim of domestic violence.

The October 15 letter concludes that a growing number of facts establish probable cause to "conduct a full criminal investigation of the circumstances surrounding the disability of Schiavo. To date, the facts of this case have not yet been viewed through the lens of a criminal investigation. Shamefully, the government's investigatory resources have not been brought to bear on discovering the truth in this case."

Speaking Thursday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Thompson once again urged Governor Bush to launch a formal criminal investigation and remove Terri Schiavo from the custody of her current guardian.

He further indicated that the consent of Schiavo's guardian is not necessary to obtain custody of Terri. Thompson also offered the assistance of attorneys from the Thomas More Law Center to assist the Governors staff if needed.

The two legal opinions were prepared and delivered to Governor Bush in October of 2003, after Schiavo's feeding tube was removed.

Thompson noted that Bush through his aides requested the legal counsel at the time, but instead chose to work with the Florida legislature to pass emergency legislation to prevent the death of Schiavo.

Ironically, it was authorities from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that rode to the rescue of the starving Shiavo on Oct. 21, 2003 - in the wake of the passage of the so-called "Terri's Law." At that time, she was six days into her enforced and life-threatening fast.

The extraordinary one-page bill was passed by the Florida legislature and signed into law by Bush in less than 24 hours, but later challenged by Schiavo's husband and held to be unconstitutional.


Judge Greer Again

Florida's Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer has ruled that under general welfare regulations the state cannot take Schiavo into custody, nor provide her food or water. However, the firm judicial ruling was specifically addressed to an effort by the state's Department of Children and Families to civilly rescue the brain-injured woman by physically removing her.

At the time of Greer's ruling there was no ongoing criminal investigation � as, indeed, there is none today.

Michael Schiavo lawyer gave to judge's campaign

George Felos made contribution to Greer day after key ruling by court in Terri's case

The judge who tried the Terri Schiavo case and most recently rejected Gov. Jeb Bush's request to intervene, received a campaign contribution from the lawyer pressing for the brain-injured woman's death, raising questions of a conflict of interest.

According to Florida's Department of State, Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer received a contribution of $250 for his 2004 re-election campaign from Felos & Felos, the law firm of George Felos.

Felos, known as a "right-to-die" advocate, represents Terri Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, who won a court order from Greer to have the woman's life-sustaining feeding tube removed one week ago.

The contribution's apparent conflict of interest was raised by an Internet site investigating the Schiavo case, the Empire Journal, and by Rev. D. James Kennedy's group Center for Reclaiming America.

The contribution from Felos came May 7, 2004, one day after Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge Douglas Baird ruled "Terri's Law" unconstitutional. The Florida Legislature's measure was designed to enable Gov. Bush to intervene in the previous instance in which Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed.

The contribution from Felos was the only one made that day, indicating it was not part of a fund-raising effort.

The Empire Journal also reported contributions to Greer were made by three other lawyers who represented Michael Schiavo at various stages in the case.

Deborah Bushnell, Gwyneth Stanley and Stephen G. Nilsson each contributed at least $250 to Greer's re-election campaign, as did court-appointed attorneys representing the husband's interest, Pacarek & Herman and Richard Pearse.

WND attempted to reach the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, the independent body that investigates complaints against state judges, but there was no response.

Felos' office in Dunedin, Fla., also could not be reached.

The Empire Journal notes that in Florida, a judge is not required to recuse himself if he receives a contribution from an attorney in a case over which he presides.

Nevertheless, a contribution can establish the appearance of impropriety, and the state's code of judicial conduct requires a judge to remove himself in such a case.

Ronald D. Rotunda, professor of law at George Mason University, told the Empire Journal he sees such contributions as problematic.

He cites a 2002 poll of the American Bar Association concluding 84 percent of all Americans are concerned that the impartiality of judges is compromised by their need to raise campaign contributions.

Rotunda said judicial campaign contributions constitute or appear to constitute a tacit quid pro quo in which the judge favors or tilts towards the contributor-litigant.

Terri's Father: 'She's Down to Last Hours'

In a brief news conference held outside the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., Robert Schindler told reporters that his daughter's life is slipping away.

"Terri is weakening. She's down to her last hours," Schindler said in response to one of only two questions he took from reporters. "Something has to be done and it has to be done quick." Terri Schiavo has now gone seven days without nutrition or hydration. Doctors had predicted that her death could come in as little as one week from dehydration, or that she could live longer, eventually being overcome by the combined effects of dehydration and starvation.
Terri's father issued a public plea to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, asking the judges to seriously consider the new claims rebuffed by the U.S. District Court Friday morning.

"The information that was presented in front of the federal judge in Tampa was very strong, was very, very strong," Schindler said. "We're encouraging these judges when they review that, it's under appeal, to make the right decision."

The Schindlers new arguments include that denying Terri nutrition and hydration is a violation of:


The Americans with Disabilities Act,

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973,

The Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and

The 14th Amendment prohibition against the state depriving a person of life without due process.
Robert and Mary Schindler also argued, through their attorneys, that the determination that Terri would not want to be provided nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube was made in violation of her 14th Amendment due process rights.

Ralph Nader: Save Terri

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says a "profound injustice is being inflicted on Terri Schiavo," and he is urging the Florida courts, Gov. Jeb Bush and concerned citizens to take any legal action available to let the brain-damaged woman live.

In a joint statement, Nader and Wesley J. Smith, author of the book "Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America," enumerated what they see as the many injustices in the Schiavo case. They said the courts, under "color of law," have imposed a slow death by dehydration on Terri, giving every benefit of the doubt to her death, rather than her continued life.

Not only has Terri's feeding tube been removed - but no attempt has been made to let her try drinking by mouth.

"Terri swallows her own saliva," Nader and Smith said. "Spoon-feeding is not medical treatment. This outrageous order proves that the courts are not merely permitting medical treatment to be withheld, it has ordered her to be made dead," Nader and Smith said.

They also noted that experts are split on whether Terri is in a persistent vegetative state or whether she can improve with therapy. "There is only one way to know for sure - permit the therapy," they said.

Nader and Smith said the court is imposing "process over justice." They said new evidence should allow for a new trial - which was the point of the federal legislation.

With the government spending billions on cures for people with all sorts of degenerative conditions, isn't it possible that a cure may be developed for people like Terri? they asked. The possibility demands that Terri's parents be granted their wish to take care of her, they said.

"Benefits of doubts should be given to life, not hastened death. This case is rife with doubt. Justice demands that Terri be permitted to live," Nader and Smith concluded.

Coming Clean About Terri Schiavo

Coming clean about Terri Schiavo: that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

As we predicted, the Supreme Court will not hear the Schiavo case simply because the court does not want to undermine state authority in matters where the states have jurisdiction. Federal judges in Atlanta and in D.C. apparently agreed that the Florida judges had acted legally and saw no reason to intrude.

But there are some unanswered questions in the case. And those questions deserve attention. Judge George Greer must protect himself and the state of Florida by explaining some of the on-the-record allegations. Most troubling are sworn affidavits by two nurses that say Michael Schiavo (search) may have abused Terri as early as the mid '90s and that he wanted her to die.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's office will not verify, but Carla Iyers (search) says detectives did investigate her concerns in '96. Ms. Iyers says she filed a formal complaint with the sheriff in 2003.

Now Sheriff Jim Coats (search) should be forced by the court to provide information about those things since he won't speak up. To be fair, which we always are, a state review of Terri's medical records found no abuse whatsoever. But we still want to hear from Pinellas Sheriff Coats.

The problem with those nurses that they did not go on the record until recently. So what's the judge to do? You can't rule on unsubstantiated allegations. � If it's not on the record, it can't be considered.

Nevertheless, because the Schiavo case is so important, the nurses' contention should now be checked out as thoroughly as possible. All of this is important, but futile. Unless Michael Schiavo changes his mind and drops his lawsuit, Terri Schiavo (search) will be dead within days.

As "Talking Points" put forward last night, that's a shame. Michael Schiavo should walk away and allow Terri's family to care for her. There's no downside in doing that.

It's amazing to me that so many Americans believe rumors, innuendo, and accusations that are unproven, but agree with their opinion. That's happening in the Schiavo case on both sides.

The No Spin Zone is set up to knock that kind of stuff down. And I believe we've been doing that fairly and accurately. The bottom line on the story right now is that the legal system worked the way it should have, but morally there is no reason Terri Schiavo should die.

Once again, her wishes are in dispute as the guardian's report makes very clear. Michael Schiavo should walk away, allow Terri's family to extend her life.

Simply Terrifying

By Ben Stein
Published 3/25/2005 11:38:48 AM


Here is what makes me furious about the Terry Schiavo case, short and sweet.

The courts of the United States can find a right for the abortion industry to take a fully formed, totally healthy baby at nine months' term, out of his mother's womb and murder it by putting scissors through his brain and grinding them about.

They do this without one single word of support from any Congressional act of any kind ever.

They can find a right of savage murderers of innocent women who drown them for a lark to avoid the death penalty because they are old enough to drive and to kill but supposedly too young to be executed. Again, there is not one syllable in any Congressional act that sanctions this protection of the guilty.

But with the Congress and the President of the United States pleading for the life of a woman who is not brain dead, who responds to words and to touch, who is not on life support, whose parents beg for her to be kept alive, whose nurses give affidavits that she can be rehabilitated, with a specific law commanding the courts to review the case to keep this poor soul alive, the courts instead find no rights for her.

This is a court system totally out of control, obviously committed to death, obviously bound by nothing beyond its morbid obsession with its own omnipotence and its fascination with the letting the innocent die. This is simply terrifying. The Falange followers of Francisco Franco had an evil cry: Long live death. Obviously, Justice Kennedy was listening.


Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist and lawyer in Beverly Hills and Malibu, and author each month of "Ben Stein's Diary" in The American Spectator.

Terri Schiavo has begun to die, and it is a most gruesome and terrifying death indeed.

(...) her eyes are sinking into her skull, her skin is flaking, her tongue is drying out. This, according to those who saw her yesterday in a Pinellas Park hospice where she lies bedridden and at the mercy(sic) of her caregivers(also sic).

Nineteen judges have failed to review the actions of one judge having a single agenda - kill Terri Schiavo and further the cause of euthanasia. All of the actions of the nineteen have been to only rule on the judge with an agenda, and to rule that he has the right to rule. Nothing was done de novo. No effort was ever made to review the real facts in the case, particularly, the basis upon which Judge George Greer made the determination that Michael Schiavo had provided clear and convincing evidence that Terri wanted to die - a ruling made on the basis of hearsay. Make sense? Others may in good faith believe otherwise, but for me, I will never understand the injustice of the justice applied in the sunset of Terri Schiavo's life.

Terri Nurse: Let Me Testify

A registered nurse who cared for Terri Schiavo complained on Thursday that federal judges in the case have not taken the time to examine her bombshell allegations - and she is considering joining with two other Schiavo nurses for a joint press conference.

"We wanted to testify but we weren't allowed to," Carla Sauer Iyer told WBT Charlotte substitute host Steve Malzberg. "Very few of us were allowed to see Terri," she said, noting that she and her nurse colleagues witnessed behavior that would be inconsistent for someone in a persistent vegetative state.

"That's been the problem the whole time - [presiding] Judge Greer not looking into all the evidence," Iyer said.

Asked if any of the other judges who reviewed the case and ruled against Terri recently know anything about her story, Iyer said, "They have never interviewed me.

"None of us were able to testify," she said, referring to fellow nurses Heidi Law and Carolyn Johnson, who corroborate Iyer's claims that medical treatment was being withheld from Terri on Michael Schiavo's orders.

"Nineteen judges have not looked at the evidence," Iyer complained.

Asked if she would consider holding a joint press conference with nurses Law and Johnson, Iyer said: "Yes. I can get a hold of Carolyn." But she wasn't sure about Ms. Law.

"She said she had been threatened and was scared" back in 2003, after submitting an affidavit in case, Iyer said.

"I was being followed back then," Iyer revealed, saying she called the police at the time. "Even my neighbors were saying somebody was watching my house."

Iyer said she had attempted to contact Gov. Jeb Bush years ago and would try again on Friday as the clock winds down on Schiavo's life.

Since Iyer spoke to Malzberg, Ms. Law has come forward for radio and television interviews.

Friend: Terri Wanted Divorce Before Accident

Terri Schiavo had a bad fight with her husband the night before she was discovered unconscious in the hallway of her St. Petersberg, Florida home fifteen years ago, and intended to seek a divorce, a close friend said Friday.

"They were talking about divorce at the time that Terri collapsed," Jackie Rhodes told Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends." Rhodes became a friend of Ms. Schiavo's when they worked together at an insurance company. On the night of their marital blow-up, Rhodes said Terri caller her about the fight.

"I said, do you want me to come over?" Schiavo said no, saying that she'd just spoken to her brother and was going to go see him.

"If you want me to come over later - if you want to come over to my house, just call, " Rhodes remembers saying. "I'll do whatever you need."

Rhodes said the fight came as Terri and Michael considered splitting up.

"They were talking about a divorce at the time that Terri collapsed, and I do feel they were headed for divorce," Rhodes said.

Apparently Rhodes wasn't the only one who knew the Schiavos' marriage was unraveling.

When Michael filed a malpractice suit after Terri's accident, Rhodes said:

"The malpractice attorney followed me down the hall at the courthouse and told me that it was important that I did not mention that they were discussing divorce during this trial, because it would impact the court's decision."

She said the attorney didn't get the divorce info from her.

"Someone else told the malpractice attorney about that because I had not talked to him prior to that," Rhodes said.

"I don't feel that Michael should be Terri's guardian," she added.

Watchdog: News Slanted Against Schiavo

Broadcast news has been slanted against the campaign to reconnect Terri Schiavo�s feeding tube, the conservative Media Research Center has concluded.



Dissecting 31 reports from ABC, NBC and CBS, which aired March 17 to 21, the Alexandria, Virginia company determined:


Sixty percent of the aired reports focused on Michael Schiavo�s argument that his wife be allowed to die.


Forty percent featured the plea of parents Robert and Mary Schindler to continue care for their daughter.

All of the networks aired multiple medical opinions that Schiavo would never recover.


None of the canvassed networks aired "even one dissenting expert.�

Fifty-nine percent of the aired pieces "repudiated Congress for acting to permit Mrs. Schiavo�s parents to bring their case to a federal court before their daughter starves to death.�
Meanwhile, according to a report in the Washington Times, various polls taken by the media have also gleaned results more favorable to Schiavo�s husband:



CBS and the Associated Press reported that "six out of 10 Americans� agreed with the decision to withhold food and water from Schiavo � referring to a recent ABC News poll of 501 adults. (The ABC poll found that although 42 percent "strongly� supported the decision, 21 percent "somewhat� supported it.)

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 620 adults out yesterday concluded that the majority agrees with judge�s decision in the Schiavo case � with 37 percent strongly agreeing and 15 percent agreeing only moderately. On the other side, 30 percent strongly disagreed and 9 percent disagreed only moderately. Nine percent had no opinion.

Prior Greer Ruling Led to Wife's Death

If Terri Schiavo dies in the next two weeks, it won't be the first time a ruling by Florida Circuit Court Judge George Greer has cost a woman her life.

"She did not appear . . . [to] be in imminent and reasonable fear of danger," Judge Greer explained, after he denied Helene McGee an order of protection against her husband in March 1998. A few days later, Mrs. McGee's body was discovered in her Dunedin home, stabbed to death by the same man Greer said she had no need to fear.

After the murder, the Schiavo case judge explained that if he'd only known her husband had access to a weapon, he would have granted Mrs. McGee's request for protection.

When McGee applied for an injunction at the Pinellas County Courthouse a few weeks before her death, Deputy Clerk Judy Wong asked her whether she had suffered physical violence, such as hitting or kicking, in her marriage.

"She said, "No, he hasn't ever hit me,' " Wong told the St. Petersberg Times.

McGee did note, however, that her husband had raped her, burned her belongings and threatened to kill her.

But that wasn't enough to persuade Judge Greer, who also failed to consider the fact that Mr. McGee had a prior history of domestic violence.

After Helene McGee's death, the court discovered that her husband was fined after pleading no contest to misdemeanor domestic battery on his fifth wife in Hernando County in 1993.

"This case apparently had a lot of the red flags which are pretty standard," Robin Hassler, director of Gov. Jeb Bush's task force on domestic violence, said at the time. "And that's disturbing."

Linda Osmundson, executive director of the Center Against Spouse Abuse in St. Petersburg, said Greer missed a lot of evidence that indicated Helene McGee was in danger.

"When the mortality review looks at this case," she told the Times, "they're going to say, "Here's a clue, and here's a clue, and here's a clue. . . .' "

Judge Wittimore's Opinion

Click on this LINK to access Judge Whittimore's opinion on the new evidence presented that he rejected

Kevorkian Prosecutor Reaffirms Governor's Authority Under State Criminal Laws to Prevent Death of Terri Schiavo

Contact: Dan Costanzo of the Thomas More Law Center, 734-827-2001

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Former prosecutor of Jack Kevorkian, Richard Thompson, reaffirmed Thursday morning the authority of Florida Governor Jeb Bush to utilize state criminal laws to prevent the death of Terri Schiavo. Pointing to two legal memos prepared by the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which were delivered to Governor Bush in October of 2003, Thompson again urged Bush to launch a formal criminal investigation into the facts surrounding the disability of Schiavo.

Copies of the letters sent to Governor Bush can be viewed at http://www.thomasmore.org

The two letters dated October 15th and 16th point to the constitutional authority of Governor Bush to order the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate violations of criminal laws. The letters cite a number of facts suggesting Terri Schiavo is a victim of domestic abuse and neglect, and may be a victim of domestic violence. Furthermore, the letters point out that officials from the Florida Department of Children and Family Services have the authority to enter the premises where Schiavo is currently being held and remove her if they believe that medical care is necessary to avert a likely risk of death or serious injury.

The October 15 letter concludes that a growing number of facts establish probable cause to "conduct a full criminal investigation of the circumstances surrounding the disability of Ms. Schiavo. To date, the facts of this case have not yet been viewed through the lens of a criminal investigation. Shamefully, the government's investigatory resources have not been brought to bear on discovering the truth in this case."

Speaking Thursday, Thompson once again urged Governor Bush to launch a formal criminal investigation and remove Terri Schiavo from the custody of her current guardian. He further indicated that the consent of Schiavo's guardian is not necessary to obtain custody of Terri. Thompson also offered the assistance of attorneys from the Thomas More Law Center to assist the Governors staff if needed.

The two legal opinions were prepared and delivered to Governor Bush in October of 2003, after Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. Bush through his aides requested the legal counsel at the time, but instead chose to work with the Florida legislature to pass emergency legislation to prevent the death of Schiavo.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at 734- 827-2001 or visit our website at http://www.thomasmore.org/

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Federal Judge refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A federal judge on Friday refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, yet another setback for the parents of the brain-damaged woman in their battle against her husband to keep her alive.
For a second time, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore ruled against the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who had asked him to grant their emergency request to restore her feeding tube while he considers a lawsuit they filed.

The tube was removed a week ago on a state judge's order that agreed with her husband, who has said she has no hope for recovery and wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially. The Schindlers believe their daughter could improve and wouldn't want to die.

As of Friday morning, Terri Schiavo, 41, had been without food or water for almost seven days and was showing signs of dehydration - flaky skin, dry tongue and lips, and sunken eyes, according to attorneys and friends of the Schindlers. Doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of the tube being pulled.

Presidential Pardon Could Neutralize Judge Greer

Legal experts say that if Florida Gov. Jeb Bush defies state judge George Greer and orders state troopers to rescue Terri Schiavo, he and any other officials who participate in such a move risk a contempt citation from Greer that could put them in jail.

But with a powerful ally in the White House, Terri Schiavo's would-be rescuers have nothing to fear from the runaway judge. In 2001, President Clinton pardoned drug dealers, international money launderers - even FALN terrorists, who were spared in a blatant bid to win votes for his wife's Senate campaign.

The episode taught a bewildered nation that the powers of the president to pardon anyone he wishes are absolute and irrefutable.

Today Clinton is the most popular American politician in the world and his wife is the front-running candidate for her party's presidential nomination. In other words, the Pardongate scandal's lasting political fallout was nil.

He even pardoned his own brother, who had been convicted of selling cocaine.

Should Gov. Bush decide to rescue Terri Schiavo by force in violation of Judge Greer's order, President Bush could do the same for his brother - along with any other officials the right-to-die judge tries to punish.

Would there be controversy? You bet. Would the Bush family's political enemies try to capitalize? Absolutely.

But a nation that forgives one president for pardoning terrorists will certainly forgive another who uses his pardon power to save a life.

Once Terri Schiavo begins to receive the treatment she's been denied for more than a decade, her condition will almost certainly improve. Nurses who have cared for her have already testified she can speak and eat without a feeding tube, in stark contradiction to Judge Greer's findings.

Terri's recovery, however minimal, would serve as powerful evidence that the Bush brothers did the right thing in coming to her rescue.

In the meantime, the nation would be spared the haunting specter of its government starving an innocent citizen to death.

Neurologists Say: Recording of Terri Shows She's Not PVS

You'll recall the audio recordings of Terri and her father which were posted at the Matt Drudge and the Family Research Council websites earlier this week. These recordings (actually two different versions of the same recording) were made last year, and include Terri's father, Bob Schindler, talking to Terri, and Terri making noises which seem to be efforts to respond.

I sent the recordings to the four neurologists I interviewed for my National Review Online article from last week, "Starving For A Fair Diagnosis": Dr. Mack Jones, a neurologist in Florida; Dr. Thomas Zabiega, a neurologist in Chicago; Dr. William Bell, a professor of neurology at the Wake Forest University Medical School; and Dr. Peter Morin, a neurologist researching degenerative brain diseases.

Three of the four neurologists reported that they believed that Terri was responding to her father, and was attempting to form words. The fourth, Dr. Peter Morin, demurred, saying that he did not want to venture an opinion based on an audio recording without accompanying video.

The remaining neurologists all expressed confident opinions regarding what they heard in Terri's recording. Dr. Mack Jones said "She does appear to be responding to her father's questions and attempting to form words." Dr. Bell concurred, saying that Terri "did respond [to her father's voice] as she seems to pace her vocalization to his voice and not the reverse (his voice to
her vocalizations)."

Dr. Jones added: "If she responds in a like fashion to other close members of her family and not to strangers, it would be even more convincing that she recognizes her family and therefore demonstrates evidence of higher brain function."

According to the neurologists, if Terri verbalizes, that is, attempts to form words, that is clear evidence that she cannot be in a PVS. Dr. Bell explained:

Verbalization in general requires two phonemes with the intent of communication. "Papa" is two syllables and two phonemes and so is a verbalization regardless who is present to hear it, but "pa" would be meaningful if she said it if only her father was in the room. Just vocalizations that do not have set phonemic patterns are problematic, but if there is a definite vocalization to a question and silence when there is silence then this becomes a pattern in itself and this suggests at least conscious awareness and responses compatible with the minimally conscious state. The minimally conscious state suggests that portions of the cerebral cortex are still functioning.

Dr. Bell said that at one point he believes that Terri did verbalize, saying "hi". He added that "none of this is surprising," since, in his judgment, "she is not PVS, but in a minimally conscious state, despite what the courts say."

Dr. Zabiega expressed the strongest opinion, saying:

I believe she is making verbalizations on the tape. In fact, around 45 seconds, when she is asked "How are you doing" she definitely changes her voice and says "good". She appears to say "yeah" several times... then at the end of the tape when she is asked "do your ears hurt" she definitely says "no". Even if none of the words were discernible, the fact that her voice changes during the tape to different questions suggests she is understanding what is being said to her. A patient in PVS does not respond and does not have any changes in verbal output.

Dr. Zabiega adds, "Any clear-headed neurologist would rule out PVS just based on this audio tape. What she may actually have is aphasia, an inability to respond to questions which she understands. Many people who are completely functional have aphasia after a stroke, and it can be tragic how they cannot communicate with others. But we don't put them to death for it."

Indeed we don't , doctor. At least, not yet.

As It wrote in my NRO article, the history of the Terri Schiavo case is that of Michael Schiavo, George Felos, and Judge Greer attempting to prevent additional information from being presented and considered by the authorities. For the 2002 evidentiary hearing, the Schindlers submitted affidavits by speech pathologists who testified that Terri did try to speak. Now these neurologists say much the same thing. Will they too be ignored?

Florida governor indicates he won't defy court order

Those hoping Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will step forward to save Terri Schiavo from imminent, court-ordered starvation death are likely to be disappointed, based on his comments to a group of reporters following county court Judge George Greer's ruling against the state's effort to take custody of the brain-injured woman at the center of a worldwide euthanasia controversy.

While Bush reiterated his motivation to save Schiavo, based on new evidence that she is not in a persistent vegetative state and is, to some degree, conscious of her surroundings, the governor said "it isn't possible to remove her" from the hospice.

Earlier in the week, there were hints from the Bush administration that the Department of Children and Families might use force, if necessary, to stabilize Terri Schiavo and remove her from the facility.


"The judge is so focused on carrying out whatever decision he made years ago, that I guess the additional information he just rejected out of hand, and rejected the ability of the department to go in and stabilize her," he said. "It isn't possible right now to remove her. ... Given the fact that she's being starved to death it would be difficult to move her."

Bush downplayed the earlier reports about the possibility of action by the DCF.

"We never said that unilaterally we would do something that's against the court," he said. "I've been asked to do it by a lot of people � a lot of the advice I'm getting over the Internet and over television and the like. I know that there were lots of rumors of things that aren't accurate. I have a duty to uphold the law and I have been very consistent about that. It seemed like a big story that never was confirmed because it wasn't true. If we had that ability to do it, if there wasn't an injunction, we would do it right now. We would stabilize her by giving her hydration. We couldn't put a feeding tube in. There was already a court order in place. The opportunity we had was appealing his decision."

A prominent evangelical Christian leader yesterday urged Bush to disobey the judge's order barring the Florida governor from intervening to save the life of Terri Schiavo. In a statement shortly after Judge George Greer's decision, Rev. D. James Kennedy pointed to Bush "as the only legal authority who can save the life of Terri Schiavo."

Kennedy, president of Coral Ridge Ministries, said Bush "must act and he must act immediately on her behalf."

"He must disregard the order of Judge Greer," Kennedy said. "He has both the authority and the duty to do so under the state constitution."

Greer rejected Bush's request to grant the governor protective custody. On Wednesday he barred the Department of Children & Families from taking custody. Also yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Terri Schiavo's parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, for an emergency order allowing her feeding tube to be reinserted.

As WorldNetDaily reported, Bush appeared to be clearing the way for the possibility unilateral action when he appeared at a news conference Wednesday to confirm the DCF, under his authority, has the legal right to remove Terri Schiavo, by force if necessary, from the hospice where she has lived the past five years.

Bush said new information had come to light warranting intervention, including a review of Terri Schiavo's condition by neurologist Dr. William Cheshire, who claims she may have been misdiagnosed. Cheshire believes Schiavo to be in a "minimally conscious state," not a "persistent vegetative state" as Greer has determined.

"It is imperative that she be stabilized so the DCF team can fulfill their statute to review the facts surrounding the case," Bush said.

Kennedy said Bush should be commended for his efforts over the past two years � which include the state legislature's passage of "Terri's Law" � but he noted those efforts "thus far has proven fruitless." The law later was declared unconstitutional.

"Neither the state legislature nor the courts, state or federal, have been willing to act on behalf of this helpless woman who is now within hours of death," Kennedy said.

Kennedy points out the Florida Constitution states in Article I, Section 2, that "[a]ll natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law, and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life ... ." According to the Constitution, "no person shall be deprived of any right [including the right to enjoy life] because of ... physical disability."

Similar arguments were brought to Florida's capital this morning by former Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes. Keyes wrote a column published yesterday by WorldNetDaily, arguing for Bush to step in and save Schiavo amid judicial abuse of the separation of powers.

"I have talked to a whole lot of people that I respect, not just now but the first time when Terri's law was passed, to make the determination of what my powers are and they are not as expansive as people would want them to be," Bush said yesterday. "And I understand, they're acting on their heart and I fully appreciate their sentiments and the emotions that go with this, but .... I've consistently said that I can't go beyond what my powers are and I'm not going to do it. There are 90,000 abortions that take place in this state every year. That troubles me more than I can ever describe, but that doesn't mean that I have some secret powers to stop that. There are a lot of things that go on in society that trouble me and this is certainly one of them. To have someone starve to death troubles me greatly and we have done everything we can and we will continue to do so within the powers that I have."

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Jeb Bush:Disobey court order

D. James Kennedy says governor
must 'disregard' judge to save Terri


In a statement shortly after Judge George Greer's decision today, Coral Gables, Fla., minister D. James Kennedy pointed to Bush "as the only legal authority who can save the life of Terri Schiavo. "


Kennedy, president of Coral Ridge Ministries, said Bush "must act and he must act immediately on her behalf."

"He must disregard the order of Judge Greer," Kennedy said. "He has both the authority and the duty to do so under the state constitution."

Kennedy said Bush should be commended for his efforts over the past two years -- which include the state legislature's passage of "Terri's Law" -- but he noted those efforts "thus far has proven fruitless." The law later was declared unconstitutional.

"Neither the state legislature nor the courts, state or federal, have been willing to act on behalf of this helpless woman who is now within hours of death," Kennedy said.

Kennedy points out the Florida constitution states in Article I, Section 2, that "[a]ll natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law, and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life ... ." According to the Constitution, "no person shall be deprived of any right [including the right to enjoy life] because of ... physical disability."

As governor, Jeb Bush has the "supreme executive power," and the constitutional duty, stated in Article IV, Section 1, to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed," Kennedy said.

The governor, who is sworn to uphold the constitution, is obligated to safeguard this constitutional guarantee of the "inalienable right ... to enjoy and defend life," regardless of physical disability, he argued.

"The governor may not disregard that obligation even if a member of the judiciary has ordered otherwise," Kennedy said. "He is not bound by a court order that is at odds with a constitutional guarantee."

Kennedy cited Thomas Jefferson, who said, "[T]o consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy."

Abraham Lincoln, Kennedy pointed out, disregarded the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Dred Scott when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

"Governor Bush has tried patiently to work with the courts and the legislature but to no avail," Kennedy said. "Now, at the very last moment, he has a constitutional duty to protect Terri Schiavo�s 'inalienable right ... to enjoy and defend life.'"

After all the "praying, petitioning, and lobbying, it comes down to this: "Jeb Bush must choose between the clear mandate of Florida's constitution and a judiciary which, in this case, has acted in defiance of that state supreme law."

Similar arguments were brought to Florida's capital this morning by former Judicial Watch chairman Larry Klayman and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes.

Klayman, a candidate last year for the U.S. Senate from Florida, believes that since Bush "is the supreme executive power of the state of Florida, he has the right and duty to step in and, in effect, pardon Terri Schaivo from the death sentence that has been unduly placed upon her by the court system."

State Told Not to Enforce Law to Protect Terri

The Florida judge presiding over the Terri Schiavo case ordered the state agency charged with protecting vulnerable adults to make no attempt to take the brain-injured woman into protective custody late Wednesday. The order appears to be in direct contradiction to a state statute that requires the agency to act.

Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr. William Cheshire - who is also a member of the Florida's Adult Protective Services team - said late Wednesday that Terri Schiavo "may have been misdiagnosed" by one court appointed doctor and two other physicians chosen by Michael Schiavo. Those three doctors declared Terri to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), but Cheshire said, based on his examination of Terri and review of her records, she is more likely in a minimally conscious state (MCS). The term is a new diagnostic description that has come into acceptance since Terri was last examined.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said the new information "raises serious concerns and warrants immediate action.

"Terri is now going on her sixth day without food or water," Gov. Bush told reporters Wednesday afternoon. "It is imperative that she be stabilized so that the adult protective services team can fulfill their statutory duty and thoroughly review all the facts surrounding her case."

One member of the media asked if the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) planned to take Terri Schiavo into protective custody, remove her from the hospice where she is being dehydrated and starved to death or try to reinsert her feeding and hydration tube.

"We are looking at every potential opportunity to be of assistance," replied DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi.

That response apparently prompted the attorney for Terri's estranged husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, to contact Pinellas County Circuit Court Judge George Greer, requesting a court order barring the state from acting. Noted "right-to-die" attorney, author and activist George Felos argued during a court hearing later Wednesday that DCF had "no more power than ... a person walking down the street," to place Terri in protective custody.

"Any action would be a violation of Mrs. Schiavo's constitutional right to refuse medical treatment. It would be a violation of her civil rights. It would be an assault, a battery, a trespass on her," Felos argued, following his assessment with a threat aimed at DCF officials, "and, should that occur and should that be attempted, we will hold those to the fullest extent of the law."

But Florida statute 415.1051 seems to contradict Felos' claim.

The statute states, "If it appears that the vulnerable adult ... is likely to incur a risk of death or serious physical injury if such person is not immediately removed from the premises, then the representative of the department shall transport or arrange for the transportation of the vulnerable adult to an appropriate medical or protective services facility in order to provide emergency protective services."

Jennifer Lima-Smith, an attorney for the DCF, reminded Greer that the agency does not need his permission in advance to act.

"The law allows the department to exercise both emergency protective services - intervention and emergency removal -- either one or both," Lima-Smith told Greer.

The statute also appears to specifically exempt DCF from an otherwise enforceable mandate to seek Michael Schiavo's permission to remove Terri.

"If the vulnerable adult's caregiver or guardian is present, the protective investigator must seek the caregiver's or guardian's consent ... before the vulnerable adult may be removed from the premises," the law states, "unless the protective investigator suspects that the vulnerable adult's caregiver or guardian has caused the abuse, neglect, or exploitation."

The only authorization or requirement for the involvement of the courts in an emergency intervention or removal comes after DCF has taken its action. "The department shall, within 24 hours after providing or arranging for emergency removal of the vulnerable adult, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, petition the court for an order authorizing emergency protective services."

Nonetheless, Greer rebuked the agency, ordering it not to attempt to enforce the state law.

"Since it appears imminent that the department is likely to do something in contravention of that rule of law, this court is going to grant the oral motion," Greer said. "DCF is hereby restrained from taking possession of Theresa Marie Schiavo or removing her from Hospice Woodside, administer (sic) nutrition or hydration artificially or otherwise interfere (sic) with this court's final judgment."

That final portion of Greer's oral order seems to contradict yet another portion of the statute, entitled "Emergency medical treatment."

"If, upon admission to a medical facility, it is the opinion of the medical staff that immediate medical treatment is necessary to prevent serious physical injury or death, and that such treatment does not violate a known health care advance directive prepared by the vulnerable adult," the statute states, "the medical facility may proceed with treatment to the vulnerable adult."

Terri Schiavo has no such advance directive.

At approximately 11:00 p.m. EST, attorneys for Terri Schiavo's parents filed a 40-plus page request for an emergency injunction with the U.S. Supreme Court. The pleading asks the justices to order Terri's feeding and hydration tube reinserted while the lower federal courts conduct a completely new trial of the facts in the case. That review was mandated by special legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush earlier in the week.

Congress Won't Enforce Its Own Subpoenas

Congress and the Bush administration could still save Terri Schiavo � if they would simply enforce legal subpoenas that were issued last week demanding that Congress be allowed to interview Terri and others in the controversial matter.

Those Congressional subpoenas, however, have been wantonly ignored by a Florida state judge and local authorities in a brazen act. But experts say they could still be enforced by federal marshals if the U.S. Justice Department sought to act.
As the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to act on Terri Schiavo's parents' desperate emergency petition to have the starving hospice patient's feeding tube replaced, the subpoeanas could give some flickering hope for a life-giving reprieve.

These all-but-forgotten subpoenas - if finally honored - could still force authorities to preserve the life of Schiavo, without question the most vital witness in hang-fire Congressional hearings delving into her treatment and the treatment of all incapacitated adults.


On Friday, March 18, the House Government Reform Committee issued subpoenas to Terri Schiavo, her husband, Michael Schiavo, and selected doctors and employees of her hospice, ordering them to appear at a congressional hearing March 25.

The subpoenas also pointedly required Schiavo's doctors to maintain a key piece of evidence - the medical equipment keeping her alive "in its current and continuing state of operations."


At that time, the committee also made it clear that the Schiavo probe was but part and parcel of a larger Congressional inquiry into "the long-term care of incapacitated adults."





Almost simultaneously, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee formally invited Michael and Terri Schiavo to testify on Monday, March 28.


For sure, when Congress started ripping forth its Schiavo subpoenas, plenty of legal pundits cried foul:






"It's simply outrageous," said Charles Fried, a law professor at Harvard who served as the solicitor general in the Reagan administration. "It is abusive and disgraceful. Even a senator has an obligation to use his power honestly and not to engage in subterfuge and pretense."




Stetson University law professor Charles Rose opined that if a congressional subpoena can be used to keep Schiavo alive, Congress would essentially have blanket power to overrule state courts. "If you do that, why have a state at all? Why not just have the federal government do everything? It's absolutely contrary to every principle of federalism."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., ominously reminded all parties that it is a federal crime for anyone to interfere with a person's testimony before Congress. (Allowing the chief witness, Terri Schiavo, to starve to death would, of course, be the most profound form of interference.)


But an unimpressed Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer was dismissive of Congressional power, ruling out of hand as to the legitimacy of the subpoenas.


"I don't think legislative bodies or agencies have business in a court proceeding. The fact that you - your committee - decided to do something today doesn't create an emergency," he wrote.

So far, Congress nor the Justice Department has moved against the judge for contempt charges � though he has clearly flouted Congress' long standing power to bring witnesses and evidence before it.

Despite Congressional subpoenas hanging over the case, the Judge moved to put Terri Schiavo to death and ordered her feeding tube removed.


Congress, Administration Caves to Judge


Instead of immediately moving to hold Greer and all subpoenaed parties in contempt of Congress after the Judge and others clearly had tampered with the witness and evidence, that is the feeding tube was removed, the House committee asked another lower state court to recognize the subpoena.

The House committee also quietly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to order the feeding tube reinserted while it appealed in lower courts to have its subpoenas recognized.

The Supreme Court would not issue such an order.

So, why hasn't Congress acted?


In fact, Congress has failed to begin even the most preliminary step � the reporting of a resolution declaring subpoenaed parties in contempt of Congress.


Inaction surprising in the face of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's pledge last week to hold Greer in contempt of Congress for ignoring a congressional subpoena for Terri Schiavo's testimony.

"No little judge sitting in a state district court in Florida is going to usurp the authority of Congress," DeLay said.

Indeed, Senator Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist is on record, saying that subpoenas compelling Terri Schiavo to appear at a March 28 congressional hearing make it a crime to disconnect her feeding tube - and threatened anyone who interfered with her testimony with jai.

"Federal criminal law protects witnesses called before official Congressional committee proceedings from anyone who may obstruct or impede a witness' attendance or testimony," Frist said.

He continued: "More specifically the law protects a witness from anyone who - by threats, force, or by any threatening letter or communication - influences, obstructs, or impedes an inquiry or investigation by Congress. Anyone who violates this law is subject to criminal fines and imprisonment."


According to the rules, in order to be convicted of contempt of Congress, the congressional committee subject to the contempt first must report a resolution that the affected individual is guilty of contempt. This takes a majority vote of the committee. The full House or Senate then must approve the resolution, which sends the matter to a federal attorney, who may call a grand jury to decide whether to indict the affected individual, and prosecute - if the grand jury returns an indictment.

Often such a procedure would take time. But Congress demonstrated in its recent Schaivo bill it can move quickly to pass a law and present it to the President for his signature.