Clearwater, FL — Governor Bush said Thursday afternoon that his legal team has looked and found no way that he can overturn a judge's decision to remove the feeding tube that was helping Terri Schiavo stay alive.
Bush said he was concerned about Terri's life but says he doesn't have the legal power to contradict the judge's decision, which has been upheld in rulings by other courts. As governor, he said he pledged to uphold Florida law, not overturn it.
“We have to be respectful of the judiciary,” Governor Bush said. “I can be critical. I can express my opinions, as I've done. But … when I was elected, I put my hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the law.”
Meanwhile, an attorney who was one of the initial prosecutors of assisted suicide crusader Jack Kevorkian says Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) has the legal authority to intervene to help Terri Schiavo.
Attorney Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, a pro-life legal firm, sent a letter to Governor Bush Thursday morning saying Bush should conduct a formal investigation into Terri's situation.
“It is clear that there is sufficient evidence upon which to conduct a formal criminal investigation,” Thompson writes.
Thompson and other attorneys allege that Michael Schiavo could be investigated as well because of a conflict of interest and for possible physical abuse to Terri prior to her heart attack.
George Felos, attorney for Michael Schiavo, planed an afternoon news conference to respond to the letter by Thompson and other pro-life attorneys who have said Bush has the authority to investigate.
After a 20-minute meeting with Terri's parents Bob and Mary Schindler on Wednesday, Bush promised to ask his legal staff to find any method for him to intervene to help Terri.
State courts have affirmed Michael Schiavo's right to end Terri's life, and both the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts have refused to hear the case.
Protesters supporting Terri's right to live attended the event.
Related web sites:
Letter 1 from law firm to Bush
Letter 2 from law firm to Bush
Terri Schiavo's Feeding Tube Removed
Washington, DC — Doctors removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube on Wednesday afternoon. Although Terri is not hooked up to any artificial breathing apparatus, the feeding tube provided her with food and water that allowed her to remain alive.
Terri's father Bob Schindler confirmed that the tube had been removed and attorneys for her husband, Michael, said doctors have told them it will take anywhere from a week to 10 days for her to die.
“I just haven't given up hope yet,” Mary Schindler told reporters outside the hospice.
She watched along with Micahel Schiavo, who demanded that Terri's live be ended, and was reportedly “visibly shaken” and distraught afterwards.
Terri's parents are clinging to an 11th-hour meeting with Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL). He promised to have his legal team investigate any possibility whereby he could intervene on Terri's behalf.
George Felos, Michael's attorney and an assisted suicide advocate, claimed the Schindlers were “in denial” about his claims that Terri wouldn't have wanted to be kept alive.
Wesley Smith, a leading national spokesman on bioethics issues, says the decision denies Terri's right to live.
“We're talking about a woman who is not terminally ill, who's not hooked up to machines, who is going to live a normal lifespan unless her food and water is taken away,” Smith explained.
Smith interviewed neurologists and others for his landmark euthanasia book Forced Exit and said that Terri will die a painful, “terrible” death.
“People can go into seizures. Their lips can crack. They can vomit. The hands mottle and turn cold, because all the water goes in towards the heart.”
Pro-life groups say the case of Terri Schiavo is not new.
Burke Balch, the director of medical ethics at National Right to Life, tells LifeNews.com that Terri's situation signifies a clear trend towards denying basic medical care to the severely disabled.
“For about two decades, the law in virtually every state has decreed that 'surrogates'” may authorize denial of treatment to those who cannot speak for themselves,” Balch said. “Consequently, vulnerable people with impaired consciousness have routinely been denied life-saving treatment, food and fluids until they die.”
“Perhaps not until the publicity about this case have large numbers of Americans recognized how deep and widespread is the commitment to the “quality of life” ethic among doctors, hospitals, and the courts,” Balch added.
Related web sites:
Bob and Mary Schindler
Michael Schiavo Bars Terri's Parents from Unsupervised Vistis
Clearwater, FL — Michael Schiavo made good on his threat to keep Terri's mother and father from visiting her unsupervised at the hospice where she lives.
Bob Schindler, Terri's father, revealed on Tuesday that he had smuggled a videocamera into Terri's hospice room as the family released a new videotape they say proves Terri is responsive to them and not in a vegetative state as Michael alleges.
The videotaping violated an order by Judge George Greer mandating that Terri's parents not take pictures or video of Terri during their unsupervised visits.
Deborah Bushnell, an attorney who represents Michael in his capacity as his wife's legal guardian, wrote a memo to family attorney Pat Anderson saying they could no longer visit Terri “unless Mike or his authorized representative is present.”
“If the Schindlers wish to visit Terri, they should call Hospice Woodside before their visit to assure that [Schiavo] or his representative is at the facility or will be there at the time of their visit,” Bushnell added.
Terri's family and pro-life groups are concerned that Michael and his attorneys will be “conveniently unavailable” to be present for visitations.
“The cruel, merciless wickedness of Michael Schiavo is only surpassed by the courts who have failed to protect his wife, Terri, from his hand,” Lori Hougens, director of New York Right to Life and a Congressional lobbyist on end-of-life issues, told LifeNews.com. “Michael Schiavo wants his wife dead.”
Pamela Hennessy, a representative of the family, told CNS News that the legal memo is “entirely senseless” and Michael's “last attempt at cruelty.”
Hennessy said Michael was attempting to ensure that Terri dies by herself.
The letter closes with a sarcastic comment urging Anderson to “please urge your clients to be courteous and considerate of the Hospice Woodside patients and staff.”
Related web sites:
Legal memo to Terri's parents
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and LifeNews.com. For more information or to subscribe go to LifeNews.com or email [email protected].)
