Lawyer: Terri Asked to Stay Alive

[CapeFish]

Lawyer: Terri Asked to Stay Alive

 

Friday, March 25, 2005

 

 

 

TAMPA, Fla. In what may prove to be Terri Schiavo's parents' "final shot," their attorney was trying to persuade a judge Friday that the severely brain-damaged woman had expressed her will to live.

 

According to an emergency motion filed late Friday afternoon, attorney Barbara Weller said that during a hospice visit on March 18, she asked Schiavo pointedly what her wishes were. Weller directed Schiavo to say the words, "I want to live."

 

In response, Weller claimed Schiavo attempted to speak, and managed to get out the first two vowel sounds, "ahhh" and "waaa." Weller said Schiavo became very agitated and could not finish the sentence. Two other people were in the room and witnessed the exchange, Weller said.

 

Doctors believe Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state (search) and is unable to process or respond to stimuli. But a few physicians have come out recently for the Schindlers to dispute that diagnosis.

 

Pinellas County Circuit Judge George Greer (search) heard the emergency motion in Clearwater, Fla., on Friday. A ruling was expected by noon on Saturday.

 

Greer also denied a new request by the parents Friday to recuse himself from the case.

 

Meanwhile, Bob and Mary Schindler, Schiavo's parents, had also taken their case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, the same court that refused twice this week to side with them.

 

The appeal came after U.S. District Judge James Whittemore (search) for a second time ruled against the Schindlers, who had asked him to grant their emergency request to restore her feeding tube while he considers a lawsuit they filed.

 

The Schindlers argued in that appeal that their daughter's due process and religious rights were being violated.

 

Click here to read the full ruling (FindLaw pdf).

 

Attorneys for Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, responded to the Schindlers' appeal, arguing they had abandoned all pretense of the law and were simply making "a pure emotional appeal."

 

The parents' latest appeal, which opened with the sentence, "This is a mercy killing case," asked the court to order the Florida hospice where Terri Schiavo was staying to immediately transport her by ambulance to a hospital for medical treatment to sustain her life.

 

The appeal also asked that the case be returned to district court with orders for an evidentiary hearing.

 

"The information that was presented last night to the federal judge in Tampa was very strong and we're encouraging these [appellate] judges when they review the appeal to make a right decision," Bob Schindler told reporters Friday just before noon EST, referring to the latest Whittemore decision.

 

"We've had some of the best legal minds in the country working on this and it always seems we're losing in court. It's not because we have poor attorneys, all right. They're offering sound, legal motions. But we haven't been very successful.

 

"But I do think that what was presented last night in the federal court is very, very viable and we're encouraging the appellate court to take a hard look at this thing and do the right thing," Schindler continued.

 

The tube was removed a week ago on a state judge's order in favor of 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.

 

Terri Schiavo, 41, has been without food or water for 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.

 

"Terri is weakening," Bob Schindler said Friday morning after visiting Terri in the hospice. "She's down to her last hours so something has to be done and it has to be done quick." After a later visit, he added: "I told her that we're still fighting for her, and she shouldn't give up because we're not. But I think the people who are anxious to see her die are getting their wish."

 

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (search) ordered his legal team to scour state laws for a way to reconnect Schiavo's feeding tube. There were calls from the parents' supporters for him to take further action.

 

On Thursday, Bush said his powers "are not as expansive as people would want them to be. ... I cannot go beyond what my powers are and I'm not going to do it."

 

A spokeswoman for the governor, Alia Faraj, said Friday he was "saddened by the decision. ... Judge Whittemore's willingness to take a look at Terri's case gave us a ray of hope."

 

In his 11-page ruling, Whittemore wrote that the Schindlers couldn't establish "a substantial likelihood of success on the merits" of their case. He also noted "the difficulties and heartbreak the parties have endured throughout this lengthy process" and praised the lawyers' civility, saying it was "a credit to their professionalism ... and Terri."

 

The Legal Back-and-Forth

 

On Thursday, both the U.S. Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court denied attempts to save Schiavo. The Schindlers were also hoping that Gov. Bush would somehow find a way to intervene but Bush warned that he was running out of options.

 

"We're minute by minute right now. But it doesn't look like we have much left," Suzanne Vitadamo, Terri Schiavo's sister, told The Associated Press late Thursday.

 

Whittemore said many of the plaintiffs' motions were redundant after the hearing.

 

At the hearing's outset, Whittemore asked Schindler lawyer David Gibbs III (search) to focus on the legal issues because he was aware of Schiavo's declining health. Gibbs argued that as she lay dying, her rights to life and privacy were being violated.

 

The drama wasn't limited to the courtroom. Tampa police called in a bomb squad after a suspicious black backpack was found on the north side of the federal court building. The hearing was not interrupted, and the package was safely detonated by police.

 

Thursday evening, a man was arrested after he went to a gun store in Seminole and threatened its owner with a box cutter while demanding a weapon to "rescue" Schiavo, the Pinellas County sheriff's office said.

 

Meanwhile, family members worried that Schiavo was becoming more and more malnourished as the legal battle played itself out.

 

"It's very frustrating. Every minute that goes by is a minute that Terri is being starved and dehydrated to death," said her brother, Bobby Schindler. He said seeing his sister was like looking at "pictures of prisoners in concentration camps."

 

Brian Schiavo, brother of Terri Schiavo's husband Michael Schiavo (search), strongly disagreed with that assessment, telling a news network that Terri Schiavo "does look a little withdrawn" but insisting she was not in pain. He added that starvation is simply "part of the death process."

 

A lawyer for Michael Schiavo said he hoped the woman's parents and the governor would finally give up their fight.

 

"We believe it's time for that to stop as we approach this Easter weekend and that Mrs. Schiavo be able to die in peace," Felos said.

 

"Jeb Bush does not own the state of Florida and just cannot impose his will on Terri Schiavo," Felos told CBS' "The Early Show" on Friday.

 

Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly from a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder. She left no living will, but her husband argued that she told him she would not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents dispute that and contend she could get better.

 

The dispute has led to what may be the longest, most heavily litigated right-to-die case in U.S. history.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court refused for the second time Thursday to review the case. Congress passed an extraordinary law over the weekend to let the Schindlers take their case to federal court.

 

For all the court documents in the Schiavo case, click here (provided by FindLaw).

 

Later Thursday, Greer denied Bush's request to let the state take Schiavo into protective custody and, presumably, restore her feeding tube. Bush appealed that decision to the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

 

In documents filed in Greer's court, Bush cited new allegations that Schiavo was neglected and abused, and challenged her diagnosis as being in a persistent vegetative state.

 

"The requested intervention ... appears to be brought for the purpose of circumventing the courts' final judgment and order setting the removal date in violation of the separation of powers doctrine," Greer wrote.

 

The Florida Supreme Court later declined to take up a separate appeal on another Greer order that blocked the state's social services agency from taking temporary custody of Schiavo while challenges are argued.

 

State law allows the Department of Children and Families to act in emergency situations of adult abuse.

 

Late Thursday afternoon, DCF filed another petition before Greer seeking to provide emergency protective services for Schiavo. Greer had not scheduled a hearing by Thursday night but, according to Bush's office, he indicated one could occur Monday.

 

"For this lockdown to occur without having the ability to have an open mind, and say, 'Well, maybe there are new facts on the table, maybe there are new technologies, maybe, just maybe, we should be cautious about this' ... is very troubling," Bush said.

 

Even before the state high court's ruling, the governor acknowledged Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that his hands were increasingly tied.

 

"It is frustrating for people to think that I have power that I don't, and not be able to act," he said. "I don't have embedded special powers. I wish I did in this particular case."

 

In his decision, Greer said an affidavit from a neurologist who believes that Schiavo is "minimally conscious" was not enough to set aside his decision to allow the withdrawal of food and water.

 

"By clear and convincing evidence, it was determined she did not want to live under such burdensome conditions and that she would refuse such medical treatment-assistance," Greer wrote.

 

Schiavo has now been off the tube longer than she was in 2003, when the tube was removed for six days and five hours. It was reinserted when the Legislature passed a law later thrown out by the courts.

 

"Bob and Mary are begging Governor Bush to save their daughter on this Good Friday day," Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan monk, said after Friday's ruling. "Now is the day. Now is the time for the governor to have courage. The governor needs to take action and take action soon. She's dying." He contended the governor still has the power to take her into protective custody.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 

 

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151454,00.html

[PhishPhan]

Its sounds real believable...

 

...especially when you realize this supposedly happend a week ago and they are first saying this happend now.

[CapeFish]

Its sounds real believable...

 

...especially when you realize this supposedly happend a week ago and they are first saying this happend now.

720691[/snapback]

Schiavo's claim that she wanted to die is really believable...

 

...especially when you realize this supposed wish by her came 7 years after she had her accident when the Florida Legislature passed a law allowing hearsay wills.

[PhishPhan]

Its sounds real believable...

 

...especially when you realize this supposedly happend a week ago and they are first saying this happend now.

720691[/snapback]

Schiavo's claim that she wanted to die is really believable...

 

...especially when you realize this supposed wish by her came 7 years after she had her accident when the Florida Legislature passed a law allowing hearsay wills.

720726[/snapback]

 

The issue of pulling the feeding tube did not come up until the husband felt it was time to do it. Was he ever asked in court about it before those 7 years came up? No. It was a non-issue until he felt it was time for her to move on.

 

If he said as soon as this happend "Oh yeah, she doesn't want to live like this" and didn't wait the 7 years and wanted to pull the feeding tube from day one, I am sure none of the people against him wouldn't be calling him blood hungry now.

 

Why would he have brought up the fact she didn't want to live incompacitated her whole life before he was told by doctors and decided she would be like that her whole life?

[CapeFish]

Had that law not passed in 1999, she would still have the feeding tube in her today. He changed his story from the malpractice trial.

[PhishPhan]

Had that law not passed in 1999, she would still have the feeding tube in her today. He changed his story from the malpractice trial.

720742[/snapback]

 

But he asked for it to be removed in 1997.

 

BTW the judge called this last effort by the family "boardering on the abuse of the legal system".

 

Where is your proof he took back what he said? Because if he lied under oath I would think he would have faced purgury charges, and the last I checked he didn't.

 

And the tube may still have been removed anyway. The decision, hearsay, living will or not, when there is no proof of what the person wanted, it is left up to the spose in the state of Florida, and he is still the spouse.

[CapeFish]

In the trial he testified that he needed the money to take care of Terri. He then won the case. Shortly thereafter he pulls the plug on Terri's rehab. A court battle ensues between him and the family. The law passes in 1999 and he states that she expressed her "wish" and we are now at the point we are at.

[PhishPhan]

He began the fight to pull the feeding tube in 1997. You said the law passed in 1999. So he didn't wait until that legislation passed to say what he did.

 

Like I said, why would he have said she wanted to have the tube pulled before he realized she would be incompacitated the rest of her days?

[CapeFish]

He began the fight to pull the feeding tube in 1997. You said the law passed in 1999. So he didn't wait until that legislation passed to say what he did.

 

Like I said, why would he have said she wanted to have the tube pulled before he realized she would be incompacitated the rest of her days?

720766[/snapback]

She hasn't had tests done in years! Almost all the tests the court is using currently were done before the Malpractice suit.

[PhishPhan]

He began the fight to pull the feeding tube in 1997. You said the law passed in 1999. So he didn't wait until that legislation passed to say what he did.

 

Like I said, why would he have said she wanted to have the tube pulled before he realized she would be incompacitated the rest of her days?

720766[/snapback]

She hasn't had tests done in years! Almost all the tests the court is using currently were done before the Malpractice suit.

720769[/snapback]

 

2002... thats why all those tapes are from then.

 

Once brain cells die they do not regenerate. So once her cerebral cortex was gone like it was when they scanned her, it will forever be gone. Brain cells do not regenerate. The husband sees her too, as does the husband's family. If she was as alive as the family says she is I think they would be having second doubts about this.

[CapeFish]

Another nurse now has come forward publicly to affirm that Terri is not in a coma and can communicate. This is the 3rd nurse who has come out publicly to say the same thing.

[CapeFish]

In the court hearing, it was stated that Terri yelled the syllable "wah" so loudly that her sister's husband and an female officer ran into the room.

 

It appears that along with the jurist asking her the question of whether she wanted to live or not, there was also a police officer in the room.

 

There also was the family in the room when she supposedly said this.

 

Edit: Before yelling "wah" she said "ahhhh"

 

The jurist was asking her to determine If she wanted to live.

[CapeFish]

Miami Herald: Showdown between state agents and police narrowly averted a few days ago.

[Guest Fritz]

I think the solution to the problem would be to put the Schindlers in a permanent vegetative state and kill Michael Schiavo. Then, let Terry Schiavo live.

[FutureGM]

Their newest attempt was denied, according to news reports.

[MarlinFan10]

I think the solution to the problem would be to put the Schindlers in a permanent vegetative state and kill Michael Schiavo. Then, let Terry Schiavo live.

720788[/snapback]

BRILLIANT!!!

[CapeFish]

Their newest attempt was denied, according to news reports.

720906[/snapback]

Your news reports are faulty then. CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and WFTS all still have a ruling expected by Noon Today from Greer.

[MarlinGuru]

I doubt that that the "wah" or "ahh" response means anything. The woman is unconcious and her body just responds to different sounds and lights. I'm pretty sure that most people would like to be disconnected from a feeding tube when they are in a vegetative state with no hope whatsoever of recovery.

 

I had a relative that had a brain stroke. When I went to visit this relative in the hospital, he "looked" at me when I came in the room. He also made many funny gestures and movements, yet we all knew that his brain was messed up and he was unconscious. Our family later decided to disconnect him (in this case not reconnecting the O2 tank) because he had wished this earlier.

 

So I don't really pay attention to that "omg she smiles and talks" b/s because those are just expressions that are on her face and any movement she does is involuntary.

 

Bash me if you would like, but I think it is for the better that they disconnected her after 15 years from that feeding tube.

[MarlinFan10]

Damn news channels, isn't there other stuff going on in the world?

[Nugget]

I wonder if she was black if this would even get local coverage?

[Guest marlins02]

I wonder if she was black if this would even get local coverage?

721052[/snapback]

 

 

see reservation school shooting. that says it all.

 

this whole thing needs to go away, its become a complete joke.

[FutureGM]

They have made so many attempts that have all been denied. It starts to get confusing.

 

Now they seem to be saying that they will stop their legal challenges.