Life Issues: October 2003 Archives

Am I Missing Something?

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Mark Shea highlights some of the current articles who state is was "unconstitutional" for the Governor, or anyone to intervene in allowing Terri to starve to death. OK, no matter what you think about the immoral "Right to Die" stance, in my opinion, it is stupid that anyone should starve to death in American today. It is despicable to force someone to starve to death. Even if it were Terri's last wish (yeah right) like her husband claimed to "die with dignity", the law has a right to jump in and say "well, tough cookies, people are not put to death from starvation on this country."

What kind of society are we coming to where this can be justified?

OK, I have to find something lighthearted and meaningless to blog about. I am disgusted about the attitude I am reading and am even reading Catholics who support this. My gag reflex needs to calm down.

More on "More on Terri's Removal"

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Maybe he could resign as guardian, Terri's parents take up the guardianship, they get Terri into rehab, and then sue him for the rehab money that got spent on lawyers. How delicious!

With a spoon!

What The ?!?

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I got this in the from of an email from a list I am on, and I cannot speak for the veracity of a forwarded email, I am sure extra prayers never hurt.

Lord have mercy...
Please protect Terri.
St. Michael the Archangel protect us in battle...

While many have heard that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube has been re-inserted, her life is in eminent danger. Michael Schiavo is still her legal guardian. The would-be murderer is responsible for guarding his own victim! In addition when Terri was moved from hospice, he immediately blocked visitation rights at the hospital for her parents, siblings and family priest - the only source of Terri's comfort, love and joy. An emergency motion ordered visitation restored for the family but it was not received in the attorney's offices until 5:15PM today. By the time the family was able to get down to the hospital, her husband had removed her from the hospital and taken to an "undisclosed location" - we are told perhaps back to hospice.

In any case, the family has not been informed - they do not know her medical condition or whether the feeding tube has been reinstated or not. An IV was inserted at approximately 9:30 last night. This is a woman starved for 7 days with no food or water yet Michael has the audacity to remove her from the hospital care!

It is an outrage that Michael Schiavo and his attorney feel they can spit in the face of the governor, the Fl House and Senate - and trample Terri's rights with absolutely no regard for her health, happines or wishes.

Complaints have been filed through the Department of Health and Human Services yet nothing is being done to protect Terri from physical harm or to assure her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Please take a moment and file your complaint with the Office of Civil Rights. Click here for the form: Discrimination Complaint Form or go to: http://hhs.gov/ocr/discrimhowtofile.html
You can also file your complaint by email at OCRcomplaint@hhs.gov or call the District Office in Atlanta: Roosevelt Freeman, 404 562-7886. Tell them to immediately act and remove her care/custody from Michael.

In addition, please contact your US Congressman and ask him to investigate why the Department of Justice is not protecting Terri's civil rights as a disabled American and further request that the Department of Health and Human Services Civil Rights Office act at once to protect her.

Go to our website to read the formal letters of complaint filed by Children of God for Life, the family and medical personnel through Delegate Robert Marshall with Attorney General Ashcroft, the House Judiciary Committee and President Bush, asking for immediate federal intervention. You should read the facts to help explain the problem to your Congressmen. www.cogforlife.org/schiavo.htm

We will keep the site updated daily with new developments until Terri is safe and her rights guaranteed by the US Constitution and the State of Florida are upheld!
God bless,
Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director
Children of God for LIfe

Pete Vere has better details.... This seriously just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

TERRI'S BILL PASSES!

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Thanks to the Mighty Barrister for this great news!

Now let's pray that Michael Schiavo's bid for an injunction fails....

Terri update

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This morning I tried to call the office of Senator Jim King, the President of the Florida Senate. It took me a few tries to even connect, and then at around 9:45 I got a recorded message that began with a little speech to the effect of, If you are calling concerning Terri Schiavo, the bill was passed by the committee this morning and will go to the Senate Floor at 6:45. The message box was still full, so I couldn't leave a message thanking Senator King.

This afternoon I received an email from Earl Appleby, a forwarded message from "Central Command":

URGENT!!! SENATE AND TERRI'S LAW

The bill is being pushed back because of language. We need to keep the pressure on. Here are the contact details for Florida's Senate.

But even if the bill passes, there's more trouble ahead: George Felos, Michael Schiavo's lawyer, has already filed for an injunction just in case the bill does pass and Governor Bush does sign it. Judge "Do you dare to question my decisions?" Greer is scheduled to hear that case this afternoon.

Meanwhile, here's a nice reflection from Wesley J. Smith:

Will Terri live or die? That can't be known. But this much is clear: The Schiavo case has changed everything. Our government leaders have been put on notice that tremendous numbers of people in this country are determined to halt the erosion of the sanctity/equality of life ethic in the practice of medicine. The routine practice of dehydrating the cognitively disabled who need a feeding tube--which occurs to the conscious and unconscious alike in all 50 states--is going to receive a badly needed review. The bioethics movement, which has been leading us down this treacherous slope, can no longer expect to pontificate from on high in medical matters of life and death and expect the people to just meekly go along.

In a sense, the Schiavo case is a miracle. Because so many people around the country and the world have come to love her, root for her, and yes, pray for her, our country has been given a rare opportunity to look at where we are heading as a culture and reinvigorate a simple moral maxim: When in doubt, choose life.

The Florida House passed Terri's Bill 68-23 last night.

The President of the Senate's on board now, too. I was discouraged yesterday because my email to Senator King kept bouncing back, but it looks like it's because his email was swamped with pro-Terri emails!

Meanwhile, George "I talk to dying people telepathically" Felos, Michael Schiavo's lawyer, complains that this is unconstitutional. Perhaps he missed the part of the Florida Constitution establishing the legislative branch? slept through the "separation of powers" part in high school civics?

Mahalo plenty to early birds William Luse and Mark Shea for these links.

Dear Governor Bush: The future is watching

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Dear Governor Bush:

History is being made in your State at this very moment. When the history books get written, how do you want to be remembered?

Do you want to be remembered as the patriotic governor who defended Terri's rights as an American and as a human being? This morning, I read the news and learned that Terri is being denied the right to practice her religion -- Michael Schiavo AND THE POLICE prevented her from receiving Holy Communion from her priest. How much longer before someone else tries to take away your First Amendment rights to freedom of religous expression?

Do you want to be remembered as the brave governor who stood up for the rights of the disabled and saved a helpless, innocent woman from a horrible death by starvation? If Terri Schiavo were a criminal on death row, she would not be executed by starvation. If she were a stray dog in the pound, she would not be starved to death. If Florida won't starve murderers, and won't starve pets, why will it starve its disabled citizens?

There was a point in history where the evil plans of the Nazis could have been foiled -- a point when, if enough lawmakers, doctors, and other citizens had said NO, the mass killing of the disabled would have been prevented. There would have been no Dachau, no Auschwitz.

For that was how it began in Nazi Germany. Before the first train car rolled away to the death camps, the Nazis were euthanizing the weak and disabled -- the "useless eaters."

We are at a similar point now. A few judges in your State have made outrageous decisions that effectively tell Terri to shut up and die already. Not dying fast enough? No food, no water, no wasting time with rehab. Shut up and die!

This is not the time for "playing it safe." This is the time for patriotism. Act now, Governor. Defend the defenseless. Defend our Constitution. Help stop our nation from repeating the crimes of the Nazis.

Do you want to be remembered as the governor who stood by principles and did what was right? Or as the governor who stood by while evil attacked our country?

You do have options, Governor! The media has reported that several lawyers have submitted outlines of actions you could take. You could arrest Michael Schiavo for contempt of court, for failing to spend Terri's trust money on rehabilitation as ordered. You could close down the hospice for fraud and criminal neglect. You could impeach Judge Greer. You could send in the National Guard.

Be brave, Governor. Take action, and be remembered as the Governor who did the right thing.

Sincerely yours,

Peony Moss, RN

I don't know if this will help at all...

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Five different lawyers and legal entities have submitted suggestions to Governor Jeb Bush on actions he can take to save Terri Schiavo.

Read more here.

May I add a few more? such as impeaching Judge Greer? calling out the National Guard? How about charging Michael Schiavo with contempt of court for spending the rehab money on lawyers? Investigating the hospice for fraud?

Thanks to the Mighty Barrister and JS Kern, commenting at Apologia, for the links.

Thinking About Terri

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I was up feeling ill last night thinking about how horrible it must be for poor Terri right now. It takes 7-10 days to starve to death. I was up anyway giving Gorbulas nebulizer treatments because he has a cold and is quite wheezy. But this was on the forefront my mind. I still do not understand any of this. Where is the feminist movement to back up a woman being mistreated by her husband and our current institutions?

When I went to sleep, I dreamt that I met up with Peony, and we did this covert operation thing and rescued Terri. (Peony was wearing a long black trench coat in my dream.) I hope our prayer efforts are more effective.

When I look at the recent pictures of Terri Schiavo, I always remember a patient I helped care for about ten years ago, when I was in nursing school.

I was halfway through my first year, and had taken a job as a nursing assistant at a hospital. I worked the night shift, on the float pool, so at the beginning of my shift I'd find out where I was going that night. At first I hated the float pool, but after a while I began to enjoy it as I got to know the staff of the different floors and learned their ways.

On this particular night, I was assigned to a medical unit. I'd been there before and had gotten to know the other nursing students who worked there all the time. One of the crueller customs at some hospitals is bathing "total care" patients -- brain-damaged patients unable to help themselves -- at night, when things are quieter, freeing up more time for the day shift to get their baths done.

Tonight there was only one bath, and it wasn't for any of my patients. I was suprised when Patty, the other nursing student, implored me to help her. Patty was a tough young woman from Baltimore, heartlessly practical and usually completely unflappable, but she confessed that she just couldn't face going into her patient's room alone.

I looked down the hall. Her patient was all the way at the end of the hall, in an isolation room -- the kind with a little antechamber between the room and the corridor. That antechamber and the two heavy doors barely muted the eerie wailing coming from the room.

Bath time rolled around, and as Patty got the towels and blankets together, I flipped quickly through the chart. It was a terribly sad story. The patient was a young woman, barely into her thirties. She had been abused as a child and had struggle for years with mental illness. Just as she had begun to emerge from that turmoil and pull her life together, she had developed a serious infectious disease and went into cardiac arrest. They had managed to revive her, but she had suffered a severe anoxic insult -- brain damage -- while her heart had stopped.

We entered the room. The patient was painfully thin, with short, shaggy dark hair. Her arms, hands, and legs were beginning to draw up into contractures, but occasionally she would helplessly paw at the air. She started to cry out again. Patty shuddered, as she unpacked the washcloths, anticipating yet another nerve-wracking night.

I went around to the other side of the bed. I was feeling relaxed -- it was a slow night, there were two of us there to give the bath, and I was going home in four hours. Out of habit, I greeted the patient and introduced myself.

The wailing immediately stopped. Patty looked up and stared.

I started explaining what we were going to do and apologized for having to disturb this poor woman at three in the morning. She didn't attempt to speak, but watched us intently and didn't cry out again.

We started washing up. I was struck by how pretty the patient was, and told her so. Patty got into the spirit of things, and before long we were practically playing spa -- brushing hair, brushing teeth, massaging the patient's hands and feet. We exercised her hands, arms, and legs, changed the linens, and finally tucked her into bed and dimmed the lights. Patty was beaming as she propped the patient's hand on a pillow. "Thank you! Oh, thank you!" she gushed -- to the patient.

I don't know what happened to the patient. (She probably got shoved in a nursing home, where her family might or might not have visited her.) I don't know what happened to Patty, either, but I hope that as she started her career she remembered that night as vividly as I do.

From Terrisfight.org:

October 15, 2003 is the day the courts have ordered the withholding of nutrition and hydration from Terri Schiavo. It is also the Feast of St. Teresa - Terri's name-sake. In a desperate effort to get the attention of someone who could stop this court-sanctioned death, the Schindler family has released a video of Terri that they took some 24 months ago, showing Terri laughing with her mother.

Because of this, Mr. Schiavo's attorneys have ordered that Terri may no longer have visitors. Not even her mother and father are allowed to see her or to even say goodbye to her.
(link requires Adobe)

More on Terri

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As many others around St Blog's have posted, if something dramatic doesn't happen, Terri Schiavo is scheduled to have her feeding tube removed tomorrow at 2:00 PM.

Joni Eareckson Tada arrived in Florida today to join the vigil.

The linked article also has a quick rundown on the legal maneuverings behind the effort to get rid of Terri. Every time I read about how she's been treated in the courts, I just come away more disgusted and frighened.

The article mentions that her trust fund, which was intended for her rehabilitation but instead has been used to litigate her extermination, has run dry, and that the hospice where she's been kept is now being paid by federal funds through Medicaid. Some of Terri's former nurses have alleged falsification of medical records. I would love to see a flock of lawyers and inspectors general descend upon this place, looking for fraud.

Terri's Time is Running Out

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From the Terri's Fight mailing list:

Terri Schindler-Schiavo, age 39, will have her feeding tube removed at 2PM on Wednesday, October 15, unless Governor Jeb Bush is persuaded to intervene.

On Monday, October 13, at 12 noon, Terri’s family and friends will begin a 24-hour-a-day vigil outside the Woodside Hospice where Terri lives. Hospice Woodside is located at 6774 102nd Avenue N. (near 66th Street N and 102nd Avenue N) in Pinellas Park, Florida. The vigil will continue until Terri is rescued by Governor Bush, or killed.

Terri’s family asks that you please come to the vigil as we call on Governor Jeb Bush to save her life. Your presence is welcome for any length of time, day or night.

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October 13, 2003 Statement from the parents of Terri Schindler-Schiavo--Bob & Mary Schindler:

We love our daughter very much and we want her home. Over the last 13 years, Terri has laughed with us, cried with us, talked with us, and even tried to get out of her chair. The accusations that Terri is in a coma or is a "vegetable" are a lie.

We beg Michael Schiavo, and those working with him to end our daughter’s life, to let her come home to her family. We will sign any agreement you want, giving you all monies related to Terri’s collapse and any insurance money that may be forthcoming. You take the money. We just want our daughter.

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The family especially invites you to be at the vigil in front of the Woodside Hospice for press conferences scheduled for:


Monday, October 13, at noon
Tuesday, October 14, at noon, and
Wednesday, October 15, at 2PM

**For those who live in the Tallahassee area; if you could attend a vigil in front of the Governor’s Mansion please contact us immediately.

"...'cause it's ain't my jurisdiction.

And no more wasting time seeing if she can eat by mouth, anyway."

What if the Schindlers (Terri's parents) had argued that depriving Terri of rehabilitation was depriving therapists of work, and therefore depriving Florida of tax revenue based on their income oh, crumb, not even that would have worked since Florida has no state income tax.

Times Against Humanity promises more coverage later today.

But what else can be done, short of civil disobedience? If only there were enough doctors and nurses who refused to play along with this.

More Good News for Terri's Fight

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Governor Jeb Bush has filed an Amicus Memorandum on behalf of Terri! (link requires Adobe)

Thanks to Earl at Times Against Humanity for the heads-up.


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