Terri Schiavo: September 2004 Archives

aka "the Maleficent Seven."

Mark Shea posts a letter from a reader:

I just made a comment in your Terri Schiavo thread where I listed phone numbers to call in her ongoing defense by ordinary citizens. When I followed up with a call myself to the Dir. of Pub. Info for the Fla. supremes, they are now giving only an answering machine reply of "due to volume of calls" best way to comment is to e-mail or just leave message. I left a message anyway. But... when calling the Gov's office I was told that Gov. Bush is appealing the case to the Supreme Court. That's good. When I asked if they were receiving many calls, she said only 2 today so far!!

With the power of bloggers examining the Rathergate stuff and just today finding another flawed CBS report, can we, with your help again, unleash another "Power of the Blog" for Terri and get those calls going to Gov's office with accompanying horror reactions to Fla supremes. He needs our support for what he's still trying to do even during this trying time of emergencies in the state.

In the comments box, the reader gives the phone numbers:

Telephone Hotline for Supreme Court Staff,
the Public, & Media: (850) 921-8552

Jeb Bush, Governor
850 / 488-4441
Executive Office of the Governor
400 S. Monroe Street
The Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001

Craig Waters
Director of Public Info (for Fla Supreme Ct)
850 414 7641
cell 850 566 2116

From the terrisfight.org newsletter:

The parents of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, Bob and Mary Schindler of Gulf Port, Florida, will appear on CNN’s Larry King Live tonight at 9.00 pm ET. Mr. and Mrs. Schindler will discuss their reasons for continuing the legal battle to protect the life of their disabled daughter, and why they think her rights have not been protected by the courts. [emphasis added]

CURE's statement on the Schiavo decision:

While those seeking to murder Terri have denied her the opportunity that she deserves for rehabilitation and while they have distorted Terri's condition in their Goebbels-style campaign to dehumanize her, this battle has never been about the medical facts.

Nor should it be! The life of a person living in [a] coma deserves no less protection than the healthiest TAB (temporarily able-bodied person). In fact, it requires and deserves greater protection, and any civilization that has transcended the jungles of social Darwinism would provide it.

the judges will.

You've probably heard that the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that the governor is not constitutionally permitted to intervene when a patient without written advanced directives is scheduled to be starved to death.

Governor Bush is going to appeal, and Michael has graciously agreed to wait to commence the starvation while the governor submits his appeal. What a guy!

Father Johansen has posted Terri's parents' statement. He also brings us a link to a new blog by Cheryl Ford, the registered nurse working with Terri's parents who broke the news of the "exit protocol" written to make Terri look comfortable as she starves to death.

Even its advocates know it isn't a peaceful death, even as they assure us it is.

Father Johansen has posted the "Exit Protocol" devised for Terri Schiavo back in 2001, when her feeding was scheduled to cease in April. It was discovered during a review of her medical records at the Hospice (and the fact that Terri has lived so long at the Hospice should itself be a clue: she's not terminally ill, she's disabled.)

The protocol is a care plan designed to minimize Terri's suffering she underwent as she starved to death (wait a minute -- weren't we being told she can't feel anything anyway and would be undergoing a quick, easy death?)

The Hospice expected that Terri would probably experience pain, skin breakdown (everything from chapped lips to skin ulcers was addressed in the plan), dry mouth, and an inability to manage the thickening secretions in her nose and mouth. The Hospice planned to administer morphine by nebulizer when her breathing started to grow labored.

And, when she began to experience uncontrollable muscle twitching and spasms (ever had a Charley horse?) the plan was to give her diazepam (Valium). They had even anticipated the possibility that Terri would suffer grand mal seizures.

"An easy way to go." "This is what Terri would have wanted."

Pain, skin breakdown, choking on one's own mucus, gasping for breath, and seizures. "Painless." Uh-huh.